Executed at Dawn: British Firing Squads on the Western Front 1914-1918

by David Johnson

Much has been written about the 302 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were executed for military offences during the First World War, but there is usually only a passing reference to those who took part—the members of the firing squad, the officer in charge, the medical officer, and the padre. What are their stories? Through extensive research, David Johnson explores the controversial story of the men forced to shoot their fellow Tommies, examining how they were selected, how they were treated before, during and after the executions and why there were so many procedural variations in the way that the executions were conducted.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2015

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base. For the author of the Tucker series, see https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first execution of a soldier by Britain in the First World War occurred some six weeks into the war. Thomas Highgate was 19 and had 45 minutes between being notified of his sentence and being shot by a firing squad.

Today we know many of the executed were suffering from shell shock or had mental disabilities that prevented them from behaving as they were expected to, in a situation that left even hale and mentally stable men in shambles.

There are already books about the personal lives and background of the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were executed during WWI, including their crimes. Johnson acknowledges these resources and instead sets out to examine the military rules that lead to the execution orders and the exact details of the executions - where the soldier was held for how long, how the firing squads were chosen, the role of chaplains, and the variations in process we can discern for the 306 recorded executions, as well as the process of pardoning them nearly 100 years later.

Johnson presents things as neutrally as possible and lets the firsthand accounts speak for themselves for the most part. He does frequently acknowledge, however, that the facts are horrifying and the executions affected more than the victim and their family. It was not simply that a firing squad was likely to be made up of men from the prisoner's own detachment, but could be men undergoing Field Punishment and even at-hand wounded who were able to operate a rifle. The blindfold was anecdotally more to spare the firing squad from seeing the man's face and misfiring, rather than to be humane to the victim.

It is difficult to read the firsthand accounts, and strange to read the words of those who supported military capital punishment. The very culture that demanded such high military standards and punishments also encouraged silencing one's misgivings and doubts about the process. To a degree it is telling that 90% of soldiers convicted of capital offences had their death sentences commuted. But to say so does not lend a speck of humanity to the executions. Johnson emphasizes over and over that the men in the firing squads had gone to war expecting to kill Germans, not their own friends.

The strange balance between acknowledging how deeply disturbing the whole process was with maintaining a characteristic stiff upper is best illustrated by the first three lines of the letter in Appendix 4. Private Albert Troughton wrote to his family before his April 22, 1915 execution:

"Dear Mother, and Father, Sisters and Brothers,

Just a few lines to let you know I am in the best of health and hope you are mother. I am sorry to have to tell you that I am to be shot tomorrow at 7 o'clock in the morning the 22nd April. I hope you will take it in good part and not upset yourself..."

I find it hard to imagine Johnson could have presented any piece of history regarding the executions that is more appalling or truer to the form of the day. Troughton reassures his family he is in good health but is about to be executed by his own country. He is sorry to be the one telling them, not that he is going to die. By April 1915 his family may not have felt how much danger he was in and would have worried for his safe return. A letter assuring them of his good health would be welcome - but it is also a letter telling them he is condemned to death. At the last he is asking them to maintain an expected air of resolution in the face of his loss.

Johnson's book tries to acknowledge the resolution felt by those watching the mechanisms of the court martials and death sentences pass. I take comfort in viewing his book as declining to be resolute and accepting in the face of an emotional topic of history. We cannot turn off that part of ourselves that is grieving and horrified, 100 years later, and to continue examine the causes and processes of those horrors is perhaps one way of coming to terms with them.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to read in terms of both the subject matter and the authors style of writing (many parts were repeated). It was however worth reading. There are so many tragedies of World War 1, and this book highlights the incidents of those poor souls who were executed at dawn as well as those that had to participate in the executions. Lest We Forget all the victims of war regardless of the circumstances of their death.

[Glyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have profooundly mixed opinions regarding this book.

This is one of a number of books on this painful subject and is the first that I have read. Johnson's research is clear and strong and he makes excellent use of a large number of executions throughout the book to give a wide ranging overview of the historical context. I give him all due credit for this.

I do however have several major concerns regarding the conclusions that he extrapolates from that evidence. Clearly this is a review of a book not of the subject so I shall briefly outline these concerns in how they affected my experience of reading as opposed to them being a historical essay.
Firstly, despite the introductionstating he will concern himself solely with the factual I felt there were several occasions where he approaches polemic.
Secondly He was either unaware (which speaks of flawed research) or deliberately omits to mention (which is a terrible historiographic method) that Britain in World War One had the most repressive censorship in the nation's history. This should have been addressed along with the general secrecy around Britain's use of the civil death penalty when discussing lack of transparency.

These demean what was in many ways a fascinating and informative book.

[Mr Michael R Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

This book tells of one of the most shameful periods in British Military history. Young men, shot by their comrades, not as a punishment, but as a deterrent and to bolster discipline.
Does 306 represent the true total, unlikely as it appears that Military Police were stationed behind the lines shooting, without arrest or trial, those they suspected of desertion.
These young men were more often than not sentenced by an officer class that had not served a day in the front line and therefore had no comprehension of what these men endured.
Shocking!!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Not an easy read and not the best starting point on the topic - this is more about the process of execution than the individual cases, although some cases are highlighted. Very thought provoking.