Thomas Tracey

[corisande]

I came across this MIC when researching Irish Brigade men (he is not one, in fact)

He appears to have been a man who had his doubts as to whether he wanted to be in or out of the British Army.

And after all that, appears to have asked for his medals in 1928, but was refused!

[Wendy Macpherson]

That's very interesting, I wonder how he ever managed to desert five times and not be shot and made an example of. I was reading about a couple of New Zealand men that allegedly deserted, and were given a very shoddy tryal and then shot at dawn...RIP

Wendy

[michaeldr]

I wonder how he ever managed to desert five times and not be shot

One possible explanation could be that he seems to have used at least three different names in six different regiments (RMF twice) - Quite a character

[27thBN]

Quite a character ,a man with a very high survival instinct 5 times is quite an achievement .

MC

[IPT]

What's intriguing is how have they collated this information together on this MIC?

Presumably he has six MICs in total?

Also, does that mean that his medals were refused or simply not claimed. (If he didn't claim these, he may have claimed one of his other sets)

[27thBN]

What's intriguing is how have they collated this information together on this MIC?

Presumably he has six MICs in total?

Also, does that mean that his medals were refused or simply not claimed. (If he didn't claim these, he may have claimed one of his other sets)

Really good point i thought about that !!!

MC

[Heid the Ba]

That's very interesting, I wonder how he ever managed to desert five times and not be shot and made an example of. I was reading about a couple of New Zealand men that allegedly deserted, and were given a very shoddy tryal and then shot at dawn...RIP

Do you have the names of these soldiers?

Thanks

[philrigger]

That's very interesting, I wonder how he ever managed to desert five times and not be shot and made an example of. I was reading about a couple of New Zealand men that allegedly deserted, and were given a very shoddy tryal and then shot at dawn...RIP

Wendy

Probably because he deserted while in the UK rather than on Active Service overseas. = Just a guess.

Phil

[Wendy Macpherson]

Do you have the names of these soldiers?

Thanks

In September 2000, the New Zealand Parliament passed into law a Pardons Act allowing for pardons for the 5 New Zealand soldiers executed for military offences.

Our men have been pardoned at last

Frank Hughes

John Sweeney

John Braithwaite

John King

Victor Spencer

The families never received their sons medals, and pensions not paid to wives or families..... pretty stink really ha!

[headgardener]

He may have deserted 5 times, but that doesn't mean he signed up on 5 separate occasions; there's 'only' 2 alias' listed on his MIC. His service as Moran seems only to have been with the RIrRgt, his period of service as Michael Treacy was only with the RASC, so most of his service was simply as Thomas Tracey. Most of those regiments listed on his MIC would have been the usual administrative moves that we see on most MIC's.

A fascinating find, nonetheless. What's most interesting to me is that he deserted in Jan 1919, but then went on to have post-war service (that's a 7 figure army number next to his final period of service with the RMF). Am very surprised that the army chose to retain his services at a time that they were demobbing plenty of more....reliable?.....personnel.

[Heid the Ba]

Wndy Mac: it was really just the names of the two soldiers you didn't think got a fair trial that I was after.

Thanks.

[Muerrisch]

Surely the thread title is wrong: a man cannot desert 5 times from 6 regiments, at most it was 5 from 5.

Desertion [penalty death] when warned for active service is in the Manual Military Law 1914. Don't think it was ever applied, but SAD is not, by a long way, something that interests me in the slightest.

Pedantry is, however, one of my subjects.