Self Inflicted Wounds.

[Raster Scanning]

The 7th Beds War Diary has an entry as follows " No 23738 Pte Griffin J, C Coy, Shot himself, died in Field Ambulance"

He is listed in SDGW as "died" and is commemorated on the Alconbury Church War Memorial. CWGC wrongly gives his name as Griffen.

He is listed in the Medal Rolls as being entitled to the usual medals.

What I wonder is, was this an accident or intentional? either way a very sad incident. Has anyone else seen an entry like this? If intentional did units sometimes hide the truth to spare the feelings of the family?.

Your thoughts on this are appreciated.

John.

[Andrew P]

Hi Raster

I've read in diaries where there has been mention made of self inflicted wounds, but many seemed to have been covered up.

This covering up of a SIW seemed to occur when the person involved was a well liked or veteran soldier who had reached their breaking point.

Regards

Andrew

[Raster Scanning]

Thanks Andrew

This poor man enlisted in my home town and I would love to find out more about him.

Next time I am in England I will look at the local papers for the time and see if anything further can be found out, I will also check to see if his papers survived at the PRO.

Like you, I suspect that some compassion was shown to prevent the further suffering of his family.

John.

[Bernard_Lewis]

I recall seeing a casualty table in a War Diary at the PRO that was neatly divided into officers, other ranks, killed, wounded etc. and also had a column for self inflicted wounds. Not many, but some were recorded in the barest detail.

Bernard Lewis

[Chris_Baker]

When looking for the records of another man, I recently saw on one of the microfilms in the WO363 Burnt Series at the PRO and noted:

12453 Private J Styles, B Company 2nd Middlesex. Committed suicide at 3am on 18th May 1916 by firing a rifle through his mouth. The papers of various soldiers giving evidnce are on the film.

This poor man is recorded neither by CWGC (at least not on the database on the website) or Soldiers Died. I wonder how many more cases like this there are?

[Kate Wills]

I believe suicide (or attempted suicide) was a criminal offence until well after the war, so maybe that coloured the judgement of the compilers.

[Terry Denham]

Chris

Pte Styles is in the CWGC database but with different intials. He is listed as -

Pte H.A.Styles L/12453 2Bn, Middlesex Regt

Died 18.05.16 Buried Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension, France

Grave E.12

Soldiers Died adds that his first names were Henry Alfred and that he was from Battersea, London and enlisted in Mill Hill

[Andrew P]

One Australian soldier that I've have researched committed suicide.

Pte Vernal Douglas Cousins was a Prisoner of War and from what I have worked out was being worked behind the German front lines when he suffered severe shell shock.

He was taken back to the German prison camps but ended up committing suicide as a result and is buried in Hamburg Cemetery.

A sad end.

[paul guthrie]

I wrote about Alexander McClintock of Lexington, Kentucky in Stand To! a few years ago, 56 or 59 I think. He won DCM with Canadian Army, met the King, wrote a book, Best O' Luck, back in print, very good, became quite well known in the USA. He managed to get a commsion if US Army but unit left without him. He had been terribly wounded 18 11 16 and still suffered from this. After 30 days AWOL he killed himself in a New York hotel. Post traumatic stress disorder? Likely but he did well until he could not return to France.

'

[Guest Pete Wood]

I believe that holding your left (or non-writing) hand above the trench was the favoured method of getting out of the trenches........?

[Mark Hone]

My Dad recalls an SIW before his battalion crossed the Irrawaddy river in Burma in 1945. The soldier claimed the old excuse that his gun had gone off while he was cleaning it, but he was carted off 'and never seen again'

[Martin B]

I have an example of a suicide not from France and Flanders but from the 'emergency' in Ireland (1921). The man in question, from the 10th Hussars, was Court Martialled for being absent without leave and for insubordination to a NCO whilst the Regiment was on a 'drive' against the IRA. On completion of his 30 day sentence for these offences he took his own life. According to his death certificate, held by the Registrars Office in Dublin, he died from 'gunshot wounds, self inflicted whilst of unsound mind'. He is buried at Newbridge near the Curragh. As in the example above he is not commemorated by the CWGC (although the date of his death falls within their remit). Despite the circumstances of his death he has a fine headstone bearing the Regimental crest. I am currently nine months into a struggle with the CWGC and the Army Record Office at Trenchard Lines, Uphaven, to have his name properly commemorated.