WW1 Veterans Recall Executions

During WWl, over 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers were executed for desertion or cowardice - some as young as 14.
Ahead of Armistice Day, Charles Wheeler spoke to some veterans of the Great War about the executions.
10th November 2005

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• ww1
• great
• first
• world
• war
• executions
• desertion
• shot
• at
• dawn
• underage
• poperinghe
• harry
• patch
• veteran
• shell
• shock

[wrzoller47]

i believe Harry Patch was the last living Canadian veteran to have actually seen combat

[johnpindar]

@wrzoller47 Canadian???? I believe he was from the South West of England!

[Sevensixseven78]

Hell ya these people didn't deserve to be shot. What about the coward leaders giving orders from the safety of their mansions? Those are the ones who deserve to be shot.

[marcs990]

@andrewkenworthy It wasn't just the British, the Americans and the French did it. One more point, 90% of all death sentences given at a courts marshall were abolished by Field Marshall Haig and downgraded to lesser punishments. Even the USA executed a private in WW2, when everyone else had learnt from history and they still execute now, although only convicts some of which are classed as retarded with mental ages of 10. The USA are the only "first world" country still to do this. All of the

[voiceforveterans]

How sharp their memory is. They almost remember evey detail they have been through during the war.

[andrewkenworthy]

for all the propaganda spat out by the brits about the germans,, they were an incredible army..they gave better conditions for their troops,,concrete bunkers etc..but in ww1 they werent executing their own like the brits did,, shell shock was understood by the germans, assholes were running the british show, assholes with no worth for human life..

[DecencyPOLICE]

Respect for life experience and wisdom of old age , Poor guys , the real cowards were the politicians and royals and elites that sent them to a war!

[clintdelicious]

@baroose67 In the UK you are an adult at 16. Noone should be executed tho even if they are cowards which these men wern't!

[THthefirst]

@baroose67 Sorry, that is just a soundbite.  At the time these things took place, it was accepted as military justice by the soldiers. If you bother to read their accounts, many say that they all knew the consequences of cowardice and that the army would have disintergrated without the threat of the ultimate punishment. Please refer me to the high morals you talk of that were represented in 1916?

And where is your evidence that a 14 year old was shot (or plural - you say "some"). Where?

[THthefirst]

@baroose67 Sorry, that is just a soundbite. At the time these things took place, it was accepted as military justice by the soldiers. If you bother to read their accounts, many say that they all knew the consequences of cowardice and that the army would have disintergrated without the threat of the ultimate punishment. Please refer me to the high morals you talk of that were represented in 1916?

And where is your evidence that a 14 year old was shot (or plural - you say "some"). Where?

[baroose67]

@THthefirst No, I am applying human virtues and high morals which have been around for generations.

[THthefirst]

@baroose67 You are applying 21st century values to a world 100 years ago. 17 and 19 were not children, they weren't treated as such, and didn't live as such. Boys left school at 14. You can't take an emotional, modern view about 100 years ago. In fact, the evidence shows only 10% of all death sentences were carried out, and of those many were for murder, which would have carried the death sentence anyway in England. Some were for cowardice, but you have to make an example in war, sadly.

[Craigg639]

I believe some were also shot as young as 14... But I think this was very rare