THE EXECUTION OF SHEFFIELD SOLDIERS IN THE FIRST WORLD
WAR
"A shocking crime was committed on the unscrupulous initiative of few individuals, with the blessing of more, and amid the passive acquiescence of all". - Tacitus
When I posted the page on the execution of Private Henry Hughes in 1918 I was aware that he was not the only soldier to be executed by the British Army who came from Sheffield. In one book I read it stated that there were two more soldiers from Sheffield that shared Henry's fate. However a reader of the article contacted me and informed me that at least SIX soldiers from Sheffield were executed during the First World War. Thankfully he supplied me with the names of the others and after a few hours of research I was at least able to identify them and locate their final resting places.
The six soldiers executed (and their date of execution) were
Pte James A. Haddock - 16th September 1916 - age 32
Pte Ernest Walter Jack Harris - 3rd February 1917 - age 20
Pte Henry Hughes - 10th April 1918 - age 27
Pte Walter Dossett - 25th June 1918 - age 22
Pte George Ainley - 30th July 1918 - age 20
Pte Frank Bateman - 10th September 1918 - age 28
As I stated in the article on Henry Hughes there is an excellent web-site Shot at Dawn that deals comprehensively with the many, often complex issues, that surround this harrowing aspect of the war. The analysis and arguments put forward on the site are well thought out and convincing and I have no hesitation in recommending the content wholeheartedly. Unfortunately I have been unable to locate any detailed statistical analysis of those 306 British soldiers that were executed but several points arise that may put some perspective on what is an emotive issue.
1. All the soldiers listed above were Private's the lowest rank in the British Army. The records show that only three officers were executed during the whole war and one of those was for murder.
2. Three of the six were under 22 years of age. The British Army had no reservations about sentencing and executing soldiers who were just in their teens. The state forbid the execution of anyone under the age of 19 but the Army ensured that they were exempt from this legislation by stressing the primacy of the Army Act. Soldiers aged 17 were executed
3. With the possible exception of Jack Harris, all the above were from some of the poorest parts of the city. The family's they left behind were working class in the literal sense of the word. Given the atrocious state of education in the UK at the time they would have been poorly equipped to deal with the charges that they faced. Many would have been more or less illiterate.
4. All six were executed for the military offence of desertion. The offence was by far the most common to attract the death sentence in the first world war. All these offences took place in France and Belgium. Even though the rate of desertion was 4.3 times higher in the United Kingdom no soldier was ever executed for desertion at home. The reason for this is that the executions abroad could be largely covered up by the military establishment whereas any conducted at home would have undoubtedly have provoked riots and demonstrations. This was especially the case after the futile loss of life that occurred during the Somme Offensive of 1916. By 1917 morale in the civilian population was plummeting as the casualties escalated and there were genuine fears that the fabric of society was collapsing.
5. All six served with regiments that were based in the North of England. This fact alone often meant that the chances of being executed for military offences was that much greater. To give two examples. Of the 53 soldiers in the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment who were sentenced to death, eight were executed i.e. 15%. A similar ratio exists for the Lancashire Fusiliers - 52 soldiers were sentenced to death and eight were executed including Jack Harris. Two of the army's most prestigious regiments The Cavalry Regiment and the Grenadier Guards had 26 and 12 soldiers respectively sentenced to death but, and you guessed it, not one soldier was ever executed. The pattern was repeated through the British Army. Some regiments such as the Cheshire and the West Riding executed approximately 25% of those sentenced to death whilst the Bedfordshire Regiment did not execute any of their 22 convicted soldiers. It was that capricious!!
6.Again there is no detailed statistical analysis but it has been suggested that the rate of executions increased at times when the British and French Army's were under pressure from German advances. This certainly appears to be the case here with three executions coinciding with the aftermath of German Spring Offensive of 1918.
Sources
Unquiet Graves Guide Execution sites of the First World War in Flanders - Piet Chielens and Julian Putkowski
Shot at Dawn - Julian Putkowski and Julian Sykes - The standard reference work about soldiers executed under the British Army Act in the First World War (1989).
Rusteloze graven gids – Executieplaatsen uit de Eerste Wereldoorlog in de Westhoek
The Guide is centred on the countryside around Ieper (Ypres) and Poperinge in the Westhoek of Flanders and visits the places of execution and graves of men 'shot at dawn' by the British Army in the Great War.
This page was last updated on 23/01/08 12:39