Thurtle

Critics accuse the SAD Campaign of misinterpreting history. They allege we use the prism of modern social, political and military convention to reconstruct an appreciation of First World War executions. It is their way to discredit our call for the restitution of justice and explains an antipathy to the idea of Pardons for those young men who were arbitrarily shot. Of less concern to them, is the abundance of relevant historical material that reflects a significant abhorrence against this ultimate barbarity of military discipline. It is to this history that only we draw attention. There is clear historical evidence that soldiers of the First World War were shocked by the ruthlessness of executions. This can be vividly seen in a pamphlet compiled in 1929 by Ernest Thurtle MP, entitled - Shootings At Dawn - The Army Death Penalty At Work

Shootings At Dawn - The Army Death Penalty At Work

"The movement for the abolition of the Death Penalty for military offences is growing rapidly, as the recent debate and division in the House of Commons

Quite a remarkable story with no corroborative evidence to support the method of shooting. This is the case of Pte George Ward of 1 Royal Berkshire Regiment. Aged 20, and only on his third day of active service he is reported to have left his position and when challenged by his NCO claimed he had been hit by a shell-burst. Six days later he reported back to his battalion and was quickly tried and executed for cowardice. Details of his tribunal are scribbled on a single sheet of paper. His place of burial in Oeuilly has been lost. Three weeks following from the shooting of Pte Highgate, this is the second hurried execution of the war.

This case is far worse than Thurtle would have known. It is that of Abraham Bevistein, who had volunteered at 15 and was shot at 17 years of age. Injured twice, he was executed after being missing for nine hours. Curiously, when his Regiment prepared to sail to France, Bevistein was not included. It seems likely the authorities knew he was underage. But after much enthusiastic insistence by him was he permitted to go France.

The first case relates to Lance-Corporal Alfred Atkinson, 1 West Yorkshire Regiment, who had deserted whilst on rest prior to proceeding to the front. His downfall was primarily due to the fact he had won some money at gambling and had gone on a drunken spree not far from the battalion. The other West Yorkshire deserter was Pte Ernest Kirk. Both men are buried in Chapelle d'Armentières Old Military Cemetery.

Ernest Thurtle was related through marriage to the celebrated pacifist, George Lansbury MP. With the outbreak of the war in 1914 he immediately joined the ranks as a private. Subsequently commissioned, he served in the trenches in France and in 1917 was seriously wounded in the throat in Cambria. In May 1919, he was discharged and devoted himself in a number of concerns affecting former soldiers.
He persuaded Winston Churchill to release men still imprisoned for military offences committed during the hostilities. He then went on forcefully to push for the abolition of the death penalty for military crimes. He became an MP in 1923 and continued his campaign in the Commons.
With the support of the Labour Party, his motion for abolition was narrowly defeated in 1925. This drew considerable public disquiet and embarrassed the War Office. Thurtle wanted to know why it was necessary to retain the death penalty for only the British and some Commonwealth troops, and not the Australians who had fought with distinction? The War Office felt embarrassed with no ready answer.
In 1928 the Government conceded an interim measure to abolish the death penalty for some offences but not for cowardice and desertion. Thus, one year later when Labour came to power Thurlte's work paid off and a Bill was introduced to abolish capital punishments in the