Bible that stopped a bullet

HOLY BOOK WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF SUFFERING, BRAVERY AND HOPE

- CHARLES HANSON

HOLY BOOK WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF SUFFERING, BRAVERY AND HOPE

WE know that religion can save lives. Think of those countless stories of men and women who have been redeemed by the love of God. But how many times has the Bible literally saved a life?

This was the question I asked myself when we had a very special New Testament was consigned to our militaria department.

This one had a bullet still lodged in it - stopped at page 865 - and had, in a very literal sense, saved the life of its brave owner. Talk about divine intervention.

It also offers a remarkable window into the life - and near-death - of Private John William Webb, a soldier who survived some of the fiercest fighting of the war's final weeks.

Born in Gloucester on December 12, 1877, Webb was nearly 38 years old when he first stepped forward under the Derby Scheme in December 1915.

By the time he was approved for service in June 1916, Britain was deep in a war that had already reshaped a generation.

Unlike the teenage volunteers of 1914, Webb belonged to an older group of men those with established lives, trades and families - called upon as the conflict demanded ever more manpower.