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Shot at dawn

Smudger

Smudger

master brummie
I`ve been reading about how many squaddies were shot at dawn for cowardice or desertion, 306 is the official total for junior ranks. Couldn`t find any evidence of how many officers were executed ( if any ). In my opinion there is no such thing as cowardice. It`s unimagineable to most just what happens when you`re under constant bombardment, machine gun fire & mustard gas, it must have been terrifying. I once stood behind an anti tank gun when it was discharged & i wasn`t expecting it, & i nearly filled my pants! Even the law "a person is innocent until proven guilty " did not apply in the forces. A soldier was guilty until sufficient evidence could be provided to prove his innocence. & proving innocence in most cases was impossible. Sad times.
 
The list on Wilkipedia doesn't show any officers, (correction, two officers are shown on list)

SHOT AT DAWN

Colin
 
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If you read the book Blindfold and Alone by Willson and Corns you will see it wasn't all that the myths make out. Some of the men executed were guilty of other crimes, murder and rape included.
However, some certainly should not have been executed. I visited Ocean Villa cafe on the Somme run by Avril Williams and she took me into the cellar that was used as a dressing station. You can see at one end a small area that was used to hold James Crozier before being executed. He may well have been under age and his only crime was wandering around unarmed and out of uniform, probably shell shocked. He was given rum, hung on meat hooks on a post and executed. Strangely, the soldier in charge was also called Crozier but not related.
 
Lieutenant Edwin Dyett age 21 was shot on 5th Jan 1917 for desertion after he claims he got lost in No Mans Land, he is buried at Le Crotoy in the Somme.

Haigh had ordered that more officers were executed to 'strengthen the spirit of the troops' and in all 3 officers were shot.
 
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Maybe he should have put himself on the list. How can you have a quota of shot men of any rank. One thing is certain about wars I suspect and that is that the winners stay alive. Maybe if the hierarchy led from the front, there would be a shortage of applicants.
 
I thoroughly agree Rupert. I always thought Tony Blair should have been the first person to enter Iraq
 
​National Memorial Arboretum
 

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Thanks Dave a very sad time in our History...Wars are awful...
 
Smudger said:
I once stood behind an anti tank gun when it was discharged & i wasn`t expecting it, & i nearly filled my pants!
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I hope that gun wasn't a WOMBAT/MOBAT Smudger !

I'm allways sceptical when I hear the story that one of the firing squad's rifles was loaded with a blank. Anyone who has fired a rifle would know the difference between firing a blank and a live round.
 
maypolebaz said:
I hope that gun wasn't a WOMBAT/MOBAT Smudger !

I'm allways sceptical when I hear the story that one of the firing squad's rifles was loaded with a blank. Anyone who has fired a rifle would know the difference between firing a blank and a live round.
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It certainly was a Wombat. I was about 10ft away leaning against a staff car when it went off, & even the car rocked! I bet the poor buggers who fired artillery all the time suffered from ear trouble in later life, no noise cancelling earphones back then, probably just a wad of cotton wool. Still, better to be on the firing end than the receiving end.
 
Smudger said:
I bet the poor buggers who fired artillery all the time suffered from ear trouble in later life, no noise cancelling earphones back then, probably just a wad of cotton wool.
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Most of my service was with the Gunners, in close proximity to the guns.
The only thing that affected my ears, though was firing SLR, before ear defenders were issued.
The noisiest gun I ever heard was the 120mm on Chieftain.
Off thread ? Not this time, I was with the Queen's Own Hussars too. (They recruited in Brum & W Midlands).
 
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