10459 Corporal Povey, 1 Bn. Cheshire Regiment
George Henry Povey, born in Sealand in 1891, was one of the eight children of Dinah and Robert Povey. The 1901 Census records that the family lived at 2 Davies Cottages, Hawarden and were supported by the wages of Robert and his eldest son Thomas (18), who worked as sheet metal packers.
In December and January 1915, the 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment were holding the line in the vicinity of Wulverghem in the Ypres Salient. Although there had been little movement by either the German or British positions for a couple of months, the General Staff were unsettled about the large scale unofficial truce that had recently taken place in no-man’s land. Although men from the battalion had not fraternised with the enemy during the celebrated Christmas Truce, half a dozen other battalions from 5 Division, including from 1/6 Bn. Cheshire regiment had done so, and enjoyed a boisterous football match with the enemy.
After a couple of days, hostilities resumed and although the cold and muddy conditions at the front were unsuitable for major operations both sides were constantly probing the others defences. The latter activities included reconnaissance patrols or raids that were generally conducted at night. The procedure for dealing with these incidents generally stipulated that the enemy had to be repulsed and a warning had to be communicated to other troops in the sector, in the support trenches. However, because the night time raids were stealthily and swiftly executed, it would not have been unusual for the raiders to be back in their own lines before the victims of their attack were able to summon assistance from the support trenches.
If it appeared that a raid was likely to overwhelm soldiers in the British front line trenches, they were expected to fall back to designated support points, to rally and repel the incursion. This had already happened on numerous occasions and while many such retirements later proved to be false alarms, the soldiers who had been ‘spooked’ were subsequently punished, for quitting their posts. Of the latter, ten soldiers had been separately tried and sentenced to death by Field General Courts Martial for quitting their posts but thus far their punishments had been commuted to lesser, mostly custodial sentences.
The incident that led to Lance Corporal Povey being executed for Quitting his Post was essentially a false alarm. Although there is no reference to the weather conditions at 2.30.a.m. on 28 January, the weather in the sector had been changeable, with a good deal of freezing rain and fog restricting visibility. If that was indeed the case, there is nowhere any reference to the fact in any documentary evidence associated with Povey’s case or for that matter, the cases of the other men who were put on trial.
On 29 January, Second Lieutenant A.W. Rhodes, 1 Bn East Yorkshire Regiment, set down his understanding of the incident via a summary of evidence.:
“On the morning of 28th January 1915 in the field at about 2.30 a.m. there was an alarm that the Germans were in our trench, this alarm proved to be false and appeared to have been caused by a German taking a man’s rifle out of a loophole in the trench, a panic was caused.”
He continued:
“When things had quietened down a roll of the men in the trench was called and the accused Corporal Povey was absent, Corporal Povey was present when the panic began, during the panic, I saw several of my men making off in the distance. Corporal Povey was sent back to my trench by the officer i/c the support point about 3.15 a.m.. During the panic the Germans did not open any regular fire on my trench.”
When invited to quiz Rhodes about this statement, Povey declined to say anything.
Two sergeants serving with 1st Bn. Cheshire regiment corroborated Rhodes’ statement. The first declared:
“On the morning of the 28th January 1915 in the field about 2.30 a.m. there was an alarm and a panic in my trench the accused Corporal Povey was present in the trench before the alarm was commenced, and when things had quietened down I called the roll of the men in my trench and Corporal Povey was absent.”
The second added:
“On the morning of the 28th Jan. 1915 at about 3 a.m. I was in the supporting point behind our trenches with some of our company. I called the accused Cpl. Povey into the supporting point as he was running towards us. He was armed and fully equipped.”
Invited to respond to the NCOs’ allegations, Povey again declined to make a statement.
Rhodes and Cooke also went on to identify four soldiers in further statements, and on 31 January, Povey and four soldiers, all of whom were separately charged with; “When on Active Service, leaving his post 6(1) without orders from his superior officer” They were tried separately by a Field General Court Martial that was convened at Bailleul on 3 February.
The President of the court was Major H.R. Done, 1 Bn. Norfolk Regiment and the two members were: Captain C.A. Ogden, 4 (Reserve) Bn. Durham Light Infantry and Captain R.E. Partridge, 1 Bn.Dorsetshire Regiment. The prosecution was conducted by the Adjutant of the 1 Bn. Cheshire giment and as was customary, none of the defendants enjoyed the assistance of a defending officer, even though they were charged with a capital offence.
The case against the first soldier to be tried, Pte. H. Hennerley involved three witnesses. Rhodes testified that there had been a panic in the trench; Cooke recalled that immediately after the panic was over, Hennerley had been absent and Sergeant Parker stated:
“I was in the supporting point about 3.00 a.m. on 28th Jan. The accused came running back – he was fully armed. I told him to go back to the trench. There was no firing going on at the time.”
In his own defence, Hennerley explained:
“… I was in the trench. There was an unusual noise in the trench I looked through the loophole and could see nothing. I saw men leaving the trench and heard somebody shouting, ‘Clear out they are on us.’ I followed the men and Corporal Povey told me to make for the supporting point which I did.
Hennerley’s case cannot have taken more than ten minutes. He was found guilty and sentenced to ten years Penal Servitude but with the court’s recommendation to mercy. The next case to be heard by the court involved Corporal Povey and the written proceedings reveal that it was a similarly brief affair. Verbatim, the Written Proceedings read as follows:
“[Prosecution:]
1st Witness: 2/Lt. A.W. Rhodes, 1st East Yorkshire Regiment, duly sworn states: On 28th Jan. 1915 about 2.30 a.m. there was an alarm in my trench, and a panic ensued. After the panic the accused was absent, he was present before the panic.
2nd Witness: No. 6023 Sgt. T. Cooke, 1st Cheshire Regiment being duly sworn states: On 28th Jan. 1915 there was an alarm in my trench and a panic. The accused was absent when the roll was called – he was present before the panic.
3rd Witness: No.6481 Sergeant J. Parker, 1st Cheshire Regiment, being duly sworn states: I was in the supporting point on 28th Jan. 1915 about 3 a.m. when I saw the accused running, I called him in – he was fully armed. I ordered him to go back to his trench.”
The Written Proceedings make no reference to Povey having been invited to cross-examine his accusers nor does he appear to have made any further statement, either in his own defence or in mitigation of the offence. However, the court sentenced him to death.
The trial of Pte. J. Devine proceeded in a similar fashion, with Rhodes and Cooke reciting virtually the same evidence that they had presented in the first two cases. However, instead of Parker, Corporal J. Chesters, gave evidence as the third witness for the prosecution. Chesters told the court that at a time unspecified in his testimony:
“On 28th Jan. 1915 I was in charge of the guard at the R[oyal] E[ngineers] farm. The accused was brought to me by a N.C.O. of another Regt. He had no rifle.”
There is no indication in the Written Proceedings that Devine was invited to cross examine any of the witnesses for the prosecution but in his own defence, he stated:
“I left the trench because I heard an order come down the trench ‘Clear out boys the Germans are on us.’ I saw Corporal Povey going and I thought it was time for me to go. My rifle was taken somebody in the panic.”
With apparently little more ado, the court found Devine guilty and sentenced him to ten years’ Penal Servitude but with a recommendation to mercy.
The trial of Pte. E. Ormonde was equally speedy but the record of the trial is somewhat unsatisfactory.
In Ormode’s case, the Written Proceedings indicate that Rhodes stated:
“I was [in –omitted?] command of trench 11B on the mornig of Jan. 28th when about 2.30 a.m. there was an alarm and a panic. The accused was absent after the panic had ceased but was present before.”
However, Cooke’s testimony reads somewhat curiously:
“There was an alarm and panic in my trench on the morning of Jan. 28th. When I called the roll the accused was absent, he had been present before. I heard somebody shout ‘Come on boys let them have it’, and several men started firing. I did not hear anybody shout ‘Clear out boys’ or similar words.”
There is no indication in the Written Proceedings that Cooke while making his statement was cross-examined by either the court or by Devine. Yet his final sentence reads as though the NCO was responding to a question. Parker, the third witness to testify against Ormonde, said:
I was in the supporting point – I saw accused running. I called him in – he was fully armed. I ordered him back to his trench.”
In his own defence, Ormonde testified:
“On 28th Jan. about 2.30 a.m. the Germans started firing and we replied. I heard somebody shout ‘Clear out the Germans are on us.’ It caused a panic and we made a rush and we made for the support point.”
With apparently no further ado, the court proceeded to find Ormonde guilty and sentenced him to ten years’ Penal Servitude, with a recommendation to mercy.
The final case involved Pte. T. Cotgrave, 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment, whose case was disposed of as speedily as the others had been. The witnesses for the prosecution: Rhodes, Cooke and Parker recited their testimony, swearing that Cotgrave had been absent from the trench in a similar fashion to the others, though unlike Devine, Cotgrave had retained his rifle when stopped by Sgt. Parker.
In his own defence, Cotgrave recalled:
“On the morning of the panic and alarm came from the left ‘Clear out boys, the Germans are on us. We have no chance.’ We all ran out and went to the supporting point.”
Cotgrave was also found guilty and promptly sentenced to ten years’ Penal Servitude and recommended to mercy by the court.
The Written Proceedings were forwarded to a succession of ever more senior officer for their comments. Most unusually, there are no reports about the convicted men from the battalion commander. Instead, the officer who convened the FGCM, Brigadier Gleichen, commanding 15 Infantry Brigade entered the following communication:
“In referring these proceedings (except in the case of Pte. Davenport 1/Bedfds.) to higher authority, in accordance with minute of G.H.Q. 19.9.14. I beg to state that in my remittal of various terms of penal servitude has been influenced in different cases by the following facts:
Where men took their arms with them, I have reduced the sentence by 5 years.
Where they did not do so – by 3 years.
In the cases of Pte. Devine & Robertson, who were older soldiers than the others, I have remitted 2 & 4 years only respectively. I accept Pte. Davies’ plea that he was not in the trench at the time.
P.S. The whole of the remittals were of course largely due to the Recommendation to Mercy by the Court.”
The commander of 5th Division, Major General Morland, referring specifically to Corpoal Povey, commented, “I consider the death sentence should be carried out”, adding, “ Further cases charged with the same offence, have been forwarded direct to 2nd Army, this day.”
Morland’s condemnation was endorsed by Lieutenant General Fergusson, commanding 2nd Corps and the commander of 2nd Army, General Smith-Dorrien. Addressing his remarks to the Deputy Judge Advocate General, Smith Dorrien declared, “This is a very serious case indeed & I agree with the Corps Commander’s opinion that the death sentence should be carried out in the case of the 1st Battn. Cheshire Regiment.”General addressing his own views to the Deputy Judge Advocate General
On 8 February, Field Marshal confirmed the death sentence passed on the NCO and Corporal Povey was executed at St. Jans Cappel in the Ypres Salient at 7.45 a.m. on 11 February 1915. If his executioners bothered to record where they buried Povey’s body, the information did not survive the war and the NCO has no known grave though his name is engraved on the Menin Gate.
In an alternative account of the trial of Corporal Povey makes much of the Manual of Military Law, in which it is stated that when found guilty of committing similar offence, an NCO should generally be punished more severely than a private soldier. While the authors of the alternative account are factually accurate, they rather overlook a no less important point, namely that even by the miserably inadequate standards of the time, the FGCM patently failed to observe due process. Accordingly, these cases should have been quashed by the Deputy Judge Advocate General The authors also speculate, without any supporting evidence whatsoever, that the five soldiers had been asleep when they were startled by a German, acting “seemingly alone”.The authors also fail to acknowledge that it was only in Rhodes’ summary that there is a reference to the pulling of a rifle out through loophole in the trench. As with many other allegations that litter the summaries of evidence and written proceedings, the allegation was never tested in court.
Copyright © Julian Putkowski
