Researchstudent Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 Hello i was wondering if anyone could please help point me in the right direction. I am looking for advice on where I can find a list of specifically theft related offences that were tried in the front lines. This is a new avenue of enquiry for me towards my dissertation and I will admit to being completely clueless as to where to look. I’ve found plenty of books on CMs that resulted in the firing squad but the “lesser” offences leave me drawing a bit of a blank. Any advice is greatly appreciated thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin DavidOwen Posted 10 February , 2019 Admin Share Posted 10 February , 2019 Welcome to the forum Pretty sure an expert will be along soon but in the meantime try searching the National Archives - there are records such as this http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2601708 which may contain information of use to you (or then again may not). Good luck with your dissertation. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin DavidOwen Posted 10 February , 2019 Admin Share Posted 10 February , 2019 A search of this forum for "theft" and "court martial" brings up a number of results and this thread puts a number on the cases involving theft at over 4000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tullybrone Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 Hi, If you go onto the Australian Archives site and do a name search you get a drop down choice for Court Martial records and you’ll find some (not all) downloadable original CM files from WW1 & WW2 (plus peacetime cases) Just put a random surname in the search box - starting with one of the more “common surnames. When you find a file of interest you may also find that the individuals service record is also available to download. Good Luck. Steve https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRC Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 I don't know if it will help but the Canadian National Archive has this page on what consituted an offence under the Army Act at this time. Even if it was Canada specific it's likely to be copied in full from the equivalent UK legislation. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/courts-martial/Pages/courts-martial.aspx If you play around with the search facilty there are quite a lot of records relating to court martials and the decade 1910-1919, (their choce, not mine:-) Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mills-bomb Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 Nice to see that you (unlike so many ‘experts’ on here) actually use the correct term in the title. It grips my @@@@ when I see ‘court’ not ‘courts’ martial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 I had to proofread someone who used "court marshals" a few weeks back ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulkheader Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 40 minutes ago, seaJane said: I had to proofread someone who used "court marshals" a few weeks back ... That is so far off, it is actually quite funny, in a perverse way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 10 February , 2019 Share Posted 10 February , 2019 Military offences triable by court-martial are listed in the Army Act 1881 (though the date was dropped as the Act was modified over the years). It is contained in the Manual of Military Law, an official War Office publication. The 1914 edition is the one you need. Section 41 of the Act refers to those offences which are offences under the ordinary criminal law, which in the UK would be triable only in the ordinary courts, but could be tried by court martial if committed by soldiers serving abroad. Most of the purely military offences involving theft related to thefts from other soldiers, or from the inhabitants of the country in which the soldier was stationed, or thefts of military property or funds. The Manual of Military Law is available online here: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031059614;view=1up;seq=9 and explains many of the variations, including which offences should be charged under which sections of the Act. Good hunting! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Researchstudent Posted 10 February , 2019 Author Share Posted 10 February , 2019 Thank you all so much. My dissertation is about trench art primarily but I came across a reference in my reading to the fact that taking empty shell cases especially was an offence and I thought it would make an interesting line of enquiry to see if anyone was ever taken to task over it. Thank you all so much you've given me many avenues of enquiry here that should make for some interesting research. Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 11 February , 2019 Share Posted 11 February , 2019 The British Army had quite a sophisticated scheme for what today would be called recycling. Shell cases were eminently suitable for this, and brass and most other metals were in great demand. That said, the popularity of trench art would suggest that the Army did not treat the loss of these items as particularly serious. It might have been different if one man was found in possession of a large number of shell cases. I can save you some time in your research by saying that there are absolutely no references to trench art in the Manual of Military Law! Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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