The Execution of the Iron Twelve: 25 February 1915

[Hedley Malloch]

 

Today is the 109th anniversary of the execution of eleven British soldiers and their French protector, M. Vincent Chalandre, at Guise Château, Aisne, France. The six Irish and five English soldiers had become lost during the retreat from the Mons to the Marne in 1914. All those shot were required to dig their own graves.

This year, the Iron Memorial Fund has restored the lettering on M. Chalandre's  headstone in Guise Communal Cemetery. This is featured on the cover of the current edition of The Bengal Tiger, the Royal Munster Fusiliers Association magazine. This is pictured below. The British soldiers whom he sheltered are buried in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission plot nearby.

 

 

Edited 25 February by Hedley Malloch

[Terry_Reeves]

Thanks for posting Hedley.

TR

[GWF1967]

Nice to see the restoration.  RIP. 
 

[Old Forge]

Thanks @Hedley Malloch, it's heartening to see the care taken in restoring the memorial. I wonder how many British soldiers were shot by the Germans overall? I've seen your post detailing those who were executed following some form of judicial hearing, but perhaps there were more who were shot without any hearing.

Richard

[Hedley Malloch]

In the heat of battle - who knows? What marks off the killings of the 25 or so British soldiers I found is that they were carried out after due legal process and considered by the Germans to be perfectly legal. But at least they stopped just before the battle of the Somme. On the other hand, the Germans were executing French soldiers hiding behind the lines right up until the end of the war.