Grand Father Deserted

[Chris Talbot]

Greetings and Salutations

According to my Grandfather Edward George Broad's MIC (the card is unclear as to his service number is 55221 or 55229) he deserted whilst serving with the RA on the 31st May 1915. I have several questions.

1. What records if any do I need to look at to find more information?

2. Many soldiers were shot for desertion, Edward was not (he lived until 1957) what would his punishment hve been if he had been returned to his unit?

3. If he stayed at large until after the war ended , how long would it be before the army stopped looking for him?

4. He was married in 1919 and had a civillian Job would all have been forgiven?

Thanks for your time

Chris Talbot

[jhill]

This is an interesting topic. There is another related thread going on about "self-demobilization" here:

http://1914-1918.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=14936&hl=

"Desertion" carries with it all sorts of dramatic connotations, but it seems that at the time it was frequently used on documents in a purely mechanical way; that is, merely signifying that the man had been absent without leave for 20 days (or whatever it was).

I have seen dozens of Canadian Attestation Papers with the word "Deserter" scrawled accross the top. Most of them were probably new recruits who had been dissappointed with the demeaner of the serjeant and just walked out of camp and headed back to the woods.

Neither the army nor the government had an incentive make heavy weather about this, as public opinion was quite raw toward both at the end of the war. In Canada there was an extra complicating factor in that it seems that civilian courts tried the cases, resulting in lots of uncomfortable publicity. It seems most of these men were merely discharged quietly, with a stroke of the pen.

Or so it seems to me.

[Guest poguematone]

HELLO CHRIS,I AM NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH MANY ANSWERS BUT MY GRANDFATHER WHO SERVED WITH THE BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT (AND WAS A POW IN THE 1ST WORLD WAR) WENT WITH THE THE REGIMENT TO IRELAND 1919-1922, WAS INVOLVED IN 2 INCIDENTS IN WHICH HE HELPED A NUMBER OF IRA PRISONERS ESCAPE FROM CUUSTODY,HE WAS COURT MARTIALLED BUT HE HIMSELF ESCAPED FROM CUSTODY AND LIVED FOR A SHORT PERIOD IN LONDON,AFTER BEEN RECOGNISED BY A FORMER COMRADE HE AND MY GRANMOTHER ALONG WITH TWO CHILDREN FLED TO IRELAND WHERE THEY LIVED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.THEY CAME BACK TO LONDON IN THE EARLY FIFITIES BUT ACCORDING TO MY MOTHER MY GRANDFATHER WAS CONSTANTLY 'LOOKING OVER HIS SHOULDER' AND QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT BEEN ARRESTED.IT DOES APPEAR THAT HE LIVED A RELATIVELY NORMAL LIFE AND WAS ABLE TO WORK AS MARKET STALL HOLDER UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1958.MY GRANMOTHER WAS VERY SECRETIVE ABOUT THE THIS PERIOD IN HER LIFE AND WE NEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT HIS LIFE UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN MY GRANMOTHER STARTED TELLING MY MOTHER HER FAMILY HISTORY. IT IS AN EMOTIVE SUBJECT BUT THE STORIES NEED TO BE TOLD.GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR RESEARCH AND MANY REGARDS.