Executed at Dawn by David Johnson Page A

death of Private George Ward, 1st Berkshire Regiment, who was executed on 26 September 1914. (The letter gives the date of the execution as 30 September 1914, but the list in Corns and Hughes-Wilson has no executions listed for that date, although Ward was from the 1st Berkshire Regiment so the details appear to match in all other respects.)
    The men of the firing squad would already have been feeling somewhat aggrieved by the time Ward was brought to the place of execution, as they had been tricked into being the ones detailed, as was covered earlier in this chapter. Ward, though, was not about to cooperate, and broke free of the sergeant of the guard and ran off. The story is picked up in the letter: ‘…the firing party fired at him on the run, wounding him in the shoulder. They brought him back on a stretcher, and the sergeant of the guard was ordered by the Provost Marshal to finish him off as he lay wounded.’
    To the horror of having to shoot one of their own was added the fact that they had not killed him outright and then had to watch him despatched by the sergeant.

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    Those involved in a firing squad had a variety of experiences. One soldier recalled being detailed to be part of a firing squad for the execution of a deserter. The prisoner on this occasion was dressed in a set of civilian clothes, and the men were told to shoot at a piece of white cloth pinned over his heart.
    Another recalled a Sunday when the whole battalion was made to parade to witness the humiliation of Privates Beverstein and McBride, who had deserted and as a result were to be shot. The two men had their caps and all insignia removed, as part of the army’s ritual humiliation of the condemned, told they were to be shot next day, and that they were each to be shot by a pair of their comrades. There was sympathy in the platoon for the two men but even more sympathy for their parents, who were told only that their sons had been killed in action. The soldier added that every man took punishment as a fact of life, as they did death.

    Firing squad in 1917.

    Sylvia Pankhurst knew Mr and Mrs Beverstein and took up their son’s case. She published his letters and protested against the injustice of executing a 19-year-old volunteer who had been in the trenches for eight months and had only just come out of hospital with injuries and shell shock. There was a question in the House of Commons about the case, but the only outcome was that from then on executed soldiers were simply said to have ‘died of wounds’.
    Private William Hunt, of the 18th Manchester Regiment, was executed on 14 November 1916 having been found guilty of desertion, and Private P.J. Kennedy, MM, later recalled that he and five others were detailed to form the firing squad. Once the sentence had been promulgated, Kennedy said that the military police took over control of the proceedings, and in an attempt to make the whole business easier for all concerned, they tried to ply the condemned man with alcohol in an attempt to get him drunk – but Hunt refused.
    On the eve of the execution, the firing squad was marched to the designated site for the following morning’s grim event. While the officers discussed various matters, the men were able to get their first sight of the ‘heavy kitchen chair’ that Hunt would be sat on. When the discussions between the officers were finished, the men were briefed and were then taken through a rehearsal, when their officer said, ‘Right. Shall we try it now?’
    Hunt was not cooperative the next morning and refused to walk to the stake, ensuring that his would not be an execution marked by quiet dignity as he was dragged into position. Hunt was not blindfolded, either as a result of further non-cooperation or because it was simply overlooked in the rush to get it over and done with.
    The men’s rifles were taken from them and loaded, one with a blank, and the officer urged them to aim carefully at Hunt, who would be sitting