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Remembered Today:

4 young men who were hiding behind...


larneman

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Reading in one of My Christmas Gifts called the Newry's War Dead, I came across this tale.

4 young men who were hiding together, behind the lines since sometime in 1914, were excuted as spies.

The 4 were:

Pvt. Robert Digby, 31, from Hampshire

7636, 1st Bn., Hampshire Regiment, 30/05/1916, 4, LE CATELET CHURCHYARD

Son of Robert and Ellen Digby, of "Beechcroft", Beaumont Rd., Totton, Hants. Born at Northwich, Cheshire.

Pvt. Willie Thorpe from Liverpool

8561, 1st Bn., King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment), 27/05/1916, 1, LE CATELET CHURCHYARD

Pvt. David Martin from Newry

7636, 1st Bn., Royal Irish Fusiliers, 27/05/1916, 3, LE CATELET CHURCHYARD

Husband of Mary Martin of 2 Athens Street, Woodstock Road, Belfast.

Pvt. Thomas Donohoe from Co. Cavan

8537, 1st Bn., Royal Irish Fusiliers, 27/05/1916, 2, LE CATELET CHURCHYARD

The story is well told in this memorial book to the Newry and area war dead but I was wondering if this was a common occurance.?? I have read the story of Nurse Edith Cavall and her courtmartial but the tale of these 4 is even worse and shorter.

Also along the same lines did the "Allies" do the same to captured german soldiers out of uniform caught behind their lines??

Liam

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Pte 9368 Robert Digby, 1st Hampshire's is featured in the Ordinary Heroes section on the mother site. The article can be found HERE

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The story is well told in this memorial book to the Newry and area war dead but I was wondering if this was a common occurance.?? I have read the story of Nurse Edith Cavall and her courtmartial but the tale of these 4 is even worse and shorter.

Also along the same lines did the "Allies" do the same to captured german soldiers out of uniform caught behind their lines??

Thanks Tim and Marc for the information and also Marco for the great link to his site.

But my real question was, "Was this a common occurance" and did the "Allies" do the same to german soldiers caught behind their lines out of uniform.

Liam

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But my real question was, "Was this a common occurance" and did the "Allies" do the same to german soldiers caught behind their lines out of uniform.

Of course, German soldiers having an experience to mirror that of Digby et al is highly unlikely as they were mostly on the advance in 1914 and in 'unfriendly' territory, where civilian assistance such as Digby received would have been highly unlikely. Having said that, had such an escapade been possible, there is no reason to believe that Allied treatment would have differred greatly and many texts refer to Belgian or French civilians being shot as spies by their own authorities due to 'signalling' to the enemy, etc and German soldiers captured behind lines were liable to be shot less officially by both British and French troops as snipers.

Additionally, a handful of 'real' German spies were shot at the Tower of London during the war.

While not 'common', there were a number of further British cases of hiding behind enemy lines including fairly large parties and some soldiers who survived safe in hiding, both with and without much civilian assistance, until the Allied advances of 1918.

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You will also find details on these four men in a new book (page 27-30) which was privately published in 2004 by the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum Armagh, "Angels and Heroes - the story of a machine gunner with the Royal Irish Fusiliers August 1914 to April 1915"

This is based on the personal journal of a Sgt Wilson who served with the RIF, and his actions with the BEF covering the period from the Retreat from Mons up to the attack of 25 April 1915 at St Julien (Ypres Salient). The journal had lain unread in a relatives home in Lancashire, until it was found in late 2003. The family passed it on to the museum, who recognising it’s importance decided to have it published.

On 27/28 Aug 1914 the 1st Bn. RIF had been acting as rearguard (yet again!). On the night of the 28th August when the muster roll was called a number of men were missing, two of these men were Thomas Donohoe and David Martin. As the battalion retreated in the face of the enemy advance, they were caught on the wrong side of the line, and took refuge near the village of Villeret, which was now in German occupied France.

When hiding in woods they joined up with Wm. Thorpe and later Robert Digby another two soldiers, who had also had been left behind in the chaos of the retreat. Only four of many who had been left in this predicament. They managed to evade the Germans for almost two years. Digby, who was fluent in French, fell in love with the daughter of the family offering him protection, and fathered a child.

In the spring of 1916 the occupying forces issued a notice of amnesty advising all allied soldiers in hiding where to give themselves up by 30 April 1916, and they would be treated as POW’s. After that date they would be treated as spies. These four men did not trust the amnesty and left the village to try and escape back across the German lines. They failed, and returned to the village of Villeret. On 16th May the Germans entered the village and went almost directly to the hiding places. It was strongly believed that they were betrayed to the Germans.

Donohoe, Martin and Thorpe were captured, Digby escaped, but to stop reprisals on the villagers, especially on his daughter and adopted family, he gave himself up five days later. They were tried and found guilty and sentenced to be shot as spies. The villagers retrieved their uniforms and brought them to the prisoners. On Saturday 27 May 1916 Donohoe, Martin and Thorpe, now in uniform marched through the village of Le Catelet to the old castle walls where they were executed, and then buried in the churchyard at Catelet. Digby was executed the following day.

The next day, being Sunday, when the parish priest opened the church gates he found the three graves to be covered in freshly planted flowers.

When I visited the graves in May 2004 they still are covered by flowering plants. It is wonderful to think that after all these years the villagers still remember.

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We don't know. They certainly weren't the only British soldiers caught behind enemy lines and shot by the Germans. They weren't even the biggest group: in February 1915 11 (yes, that's right - eleven) British soldiers were taken from their hiding place near Guise, tried and shot, together with a local civilian who had hidden them, in the chateau which served as the local German HQ. They are buried in the local cemetery. If you ask the curator of the chateau nicely she will show you their place of execution.

Their story has everything: love, betrayal, mystery and that rarest of trench warfare commodities - sex. If their story had been scripted in Hollywood, you would not believe it. But it gets no attention.

Further up the road in Etreux Communal Cemetery there is a lone grave of a soldier (Ox and Bucks from memory) who is said to have been caught behind the lines and shot by the Germans. Certainly his date of death is way out of kilter with the known fighting in that area.

There are also said to be two others buried in one the Le Cateau cemeteries.

For me it raises the interesting possibility that there were soldiers who sucessfully evaded capture, were absorbed into the local population - and never went back to blighty. Will Bird tells the story of a Canadian soldier who was left behind after a trench raid in the Vimy area, made his way to Lens, was taken in by a local family and got a job down the mines.

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There are other instances of British soldiers being shot in this way. One or two lie in the large communal cemetery in Saint-Quentin, if memory serves me correctly.

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Hughes Pte.John 2RIrRif & Pte. Thos. Hands 1KOR Lancs 8.3.15 - St.Quentin Northern CC, executed as spies.

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Guest Russell.Gore@crawley.gov.uk

Regarding German Soldiers being Shot as spies,i would have to say that incidents did occur,a mention of this is in THE BURGOYNE DIARIES,it seems that some German Soldiers were left behind in situ,as spys and snipers, masquarading as civilians when the Germans were pulling back and stabilising their line during the winter /spring of

14/15,i would have thought that once these men were caught not wearing uniform,that they would have been shot almost immediatley as spies.

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  • 1 year later...

When hiding in woods they joined up with Wm. Thorpe and later Robert Digby another two soldiers, who had also had been left behind in the chaos of the retreat.

Fascinating for me,as I had a wonderful pal working in Jeddah 12 years ago called Bob Digby,from Hants and now living in High Wycombe. Wonder if he is related and knows of this.Will have to include in my xmas card to him this year.

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  • 12 years later...

Hi Everyone,

I have just found this Post, and I have a great interest in it. I, like many, many others have read the books, visited the village these lads were hidden from the Germans, and of course been to their graves many times to lay Poppy wreaths. In one of the books it stated that they were shot up against the wall of the Chateau in Le Catelet. Does anyone know where this Chateau was? I have e-mailed the Mairie four times, been in there with an interpreter, and got nowhere. They did not even want to discuss it. All I want to do on my next trip there, is to lay a Poppy wreath on the site. Maybe the guilt of those four soldiers being grassed up, is still there after all these years. Please, if anyone can tell me where it was, I will be very grateful.

 

                                                            Regards

                                                                      Bob Bowers.

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Hi Bob,

This may be of interest - from https://webverman.pagesperso-orange.fr/Repcom/Catelet.html

In the main street of the village, a path leads to the old fort in which the castle had been built. The whole thing dominates the road leading to Vendhuile.
A fortress built in 1520 under Francis I by John of Estrées. The Catelet suffered several seiges: in 1557 by the Spaniards, in 1595 by the Prince of Chimay, in 1636 again by the Spaniards, in 1650 by Turenne during the Fronde, in 1655 taken by M. de Castelnau, and in 1658 when he was taken over by the Prince of Condé.
In 1674, the fort of Catelet was dismantled, the undermining and1 mine overturned the walls. In 1710, the fortifications were restored a little. In 1684, various members of Sart's family became governors of the Catelet and from the 18th century on, they settled there permanently. During the Revolution, the owner was Count Charles Eugene de Sart. At the end of the 19th century, the heiress of Sart's family married Mr. Fournier of Alaincourt. Their daughter will be the last owner of the chateau.
description:
The property containing the old fort and the castle had an area of 8 hectares. A small alley led to the castle made up of two parts that were quite disproportionate. A first building dating back to 1679 was a single-storey wing built of brick and stone and covered with slate. It consisted of six unevenly distributed spans. In 1740, a large pavilion was added to this wing in a strong advance. Also built of brick and stone, it had two levels covered with a mansard roof with skylights. It was two spans wide. On the left side of the castle, a little behind, was the set of buildings around a square courtyard and serving the commune.

Destruction: During the First World War. A new castle was rebuilt on its site in 1925.

 

I've had a look for the new castle here http://www.map-france.com/Le Catelet-02420/

but can't see it. EDIT - I wonder if the strange lattice-work south of the village might be the remains of the fort/castle. It seems to have been close to the main street..

 

Forgive the translation I used a web translator. I've made some hurried corrections..

 

Mike

Edited by Langdon
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Soldiers caught behind enemy lines were liable to be tried and shot as spies if they were out of uniform. I think that this applied to most, if not all, combatant nations. Even if they were in uniform, and therefore entitled to be treated as prisoners of war, some of them might still have been shot - snipers being a prime example.

 

Ron

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Basic rule of international law: you can be a POW when identified as a combattant, that means in uniform, wearing distinguishable signs, wearing weapons openly and abiding by the rules of war. Has been so in the earliest version of the Genevan Conventions. Fail to answer to the description of a combattant in any way, then you cannot be a POW and means you're a civilian or irregular fighter. 

 

Come to think of it, I read "A Foreign Field" quite some time ago and enjoyed it... could go back to the book one day... 

 

M.

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https://webverman.pagesperso-orange.fr/Repcom/Catelet.html

 

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2216701/le-catelet-churchyard

 

It says that there's a plaque at the execution site if I'm reading this correctly 

 

Michelle 

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On 28/09/2019 at 13:00, Ron Clifton said:

Soldiers caught behind enemy lines were liable to be tried and shot as spies if they were out of uniform. I think that this applied to most, if not all, combatant nations. Even if they were in uniform, and therefore entitled to be treated as prisoners of war, some of them might still have been shot - snipers being a prime example.

 

Ron

 

Ron,

Marilyn’s interpretation of the position regarding enemy soldiers caught behind the lines is correct. 

With respect to the 24 British soldiers caught behind the lines and shot by the Germans, their cases were disposed of as follows: 11 for brigandry (forming an armed band of robbers); 9, including the 4 soldiers found in Le Châtelet, for  spying; 4 not known, but probably spying. But all 24 were caught in the same German rear-zone known as Etappe No.2, based in Saint-Quentin and commanded by Lieutenant-General Stephan Von Nieber. British soldiers caught elsewhere were not shot, but sent to a POW camp.

The charges of spying were a product of Von Nieber’s paranoia about espionage and nothing else. They did not reflect the legal position as laid down in The Hague Conventions. Soldiers caught behind the lines who surrendered in good order were entitled to quarter. That they did not receive it was Von Nieber’s choice and had nothing to do with the law.

I deal with this topic in my new book, ‘The Killing of the Iron Twelve: An Account of the Largest Execution of British Soldiers on the Western Front in the First World War’, published by Pen & Sword.

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On 28/09/2019 at 12:34, Langdon said:

Hi Bob,

This may be of interest - from https://webverman.pagesperso-orange.fr/Repcom/Catelet.html

In the main street of the village, a path leads to the old fort in which the castle had been built. The whole thing dominates the road leading to Vendhuile.
A fortress built in 1520 under Francis I by John of Estrées. The Catelet suffered several seiges: in 1557 by the Spaniards, in 1595 by the Prince of Chimay, in 1636 again by the Spaniards, in 1650 by Turenne during the Fronde, in 1655 taken by M. de Castelnau, and in 1658 when he was taken over by the Prince of Condé.
In 1674, the fort of Catelet was dismantled, the undermining and1 mine overturned the walls. In 1710, the fortifications were restored a little. In 1684, various members of Sart's family became governors of the Catelet and from the 18th century on, they settled there permanently. During the Revolution, the owner was Count Charles Eugene de Sart. At the end of the 19th century, the heiress of Sart's family married Mr. Fournier of Alaincourt. Their daughter will be the last owner of the chateau.
description:
The property containing the old fort and the castle had an area of 8 hectares. A small alley led to the castle made up of two parts that were quite disproportionate. A first building dating back to 1679 was a single-storey wing built of brick and stone and covered with slate. It consisted of six unevenly distributed spans. In 1740, a large pavilion was added to this wing in a strong advance. Also built of brick and stone, it had two levels covered with a mansard roof with skylights. It was two spans wide. On the left side of the castle, a little behind, was the set of buildings around a square courtyard and serving the commune.

Destruction: During the First World War. A new castle was rebuilt on its site in 1925.

 

I've had a look for the new castle here http://www.map-france.com/Le Catelet-02420/

but can't see it. EDIT - I wonder if the strange lattice-work south of the village might be the remains of the fort/castle. It seems to have been close to the main street..

 

Forgive the translation I used a web translator. I've made some hurried corrections..

 

Mike

 

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Hi Mike,

           Thank you very much for the info. on the castle/chateau.  I found it very interesting to read. I am limited with my software as to how far that I can go back. I would love to read the whole story. You may be right about that lattice, it even has a pond in the grounds. On one map I saw, there are two tracks that lead to it. But on Google Earth, they are not there.

I have also seen a picture of the remembrance plaque on the remains of the wall, but again it does not say where it is. It is very frustrating. I have sent yet another email to the Mairie,,

and I have sent one to the website who has the picture of it. But my main hope, is the email I have sent to Ben Macintyre via his Publisher, he is the guy who wrote the book. He was present at the inauguration of the plaque. So it is fingers crossed. Thanks again for your input Mike, I will let you know the outcome.

                                                                                                       Regards

                                                                                                          Bob.

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Does he still write for The Times? You could also try approaching him via that route. I've just found a card from him addressed to my father in Dads copy of A Foreign Field that I now have. 

 

Michelle 

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Looking at Google Earth, it's hard to see where LeCatelet ends and Gouy starts. Looking at photos of the memorial on line and having a look at google earth, is the circled area a possibility? 

Image via Google Earth 

IMG_1849.PNG

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On 04/10/2019 at 15:04, Michelle Young said:

Looking at Google Earth, it's hard to see where LeCatelet ends and Gouy starts. Looking at photos of the memorial on line and having a look at google earth, is the circled area a possibility? 

Image via Google Earth 

IMG_1849.PNG

I think we may both be wrong, re-reading the translation above in post #16 - "the whole thing dominates the road leading to Vendhuile".

Can't find any reference to the "new castle.. rebuilt on its site in 1925" either...

Looking forward to finding out!

Mike

 

Edited by Langdon
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