"So, what did you do in the war then?"

When reading some of the inane comments posted on discussion forums and elsewhere, it's all too easy to gain the impression that all men who have served as soldiers are to be regarded as heroes, even more so if they were unfortunate enough to die in the course of doing so. This is a fiction, and a dangerous one, too: the Armed Forces contain the full spectrum of society, from the salt of the earth to the scum of the earth, and always have.

With the release of Military Service Records into the public domain the truth is often laid bare. Here follows the career of one soldier. Although the events took place nearly a century ago I won't name him; I'll refer to him simply as Soldier “B.”

In civilian life he was a crane driver at Vickers’ Shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. However, he decided to become a soldier, and enlisted in the 4th Battalion on November 10th, 1914. He chose not to serve abroad, electing instead to remain in the UK, initially serving with the 2nd/4th Battalion, and later the 41st (Provisional) Battalion.

I suspect that there was something of the recidivist about him, making him temperamentally unsuited to the disciplined life of the Army, as his surviving service papers amply bear testimony: 

BLACKPOOL - 1/3/15

Charge: Overstaying his pass.

 

Punishment: Admonished and forfeited 2 days’ pay.

 

BLACKPOOL - 4/3/15

 

Charge: Reporting sick without good cause.

 

Punishment: Deprived of 2 days’ pay.

 

BLACKPOOL - 4/3/15

Charge: Shouting on parade.

 

Punishment: Confined to Barracks for 3 days.

 

BLACKPOOL - 5/3/15

 

Charge: Disobedience of order i.e. “showing the upper lip.”

 

Punishment: Confined to Barracks for 3 days.

 

BLACKPOOL - 15/3/15

 

Charge: Absent from Defaulters’ Roll Call 6.0 p.m. to 9.0. p.m.

 

Punishment: Four days’ Field Punishment No. 2.

 
 

March seems to have been quite a busy month for him. I’m particularly amused by the reference to “showing the upper lip.” It’s not an expression I’ve come across before, but it’s one I rather like!

He then appears to have been quiescent for a while, but, once again, his name started to figure quite prominently at the Defaulters' Parade:

 

RYE – 7/9/15

 

Charge: Being late for parade.

 

Punishment: Deprived of 1 days’ pay.

 

RYE – 9/9/15

 

Charge: Being late for guard duty (15 minutes).

 

Punishment: Deprived of 2 days’ pay.

 

WINCHELSEA - 14/9/15

Charge: Unshaved on 8.0 a.m. parade.

 

Punishment: Confined to Barracks for 2 days.

 

WINCHELSEA - 21/9/15

 

Charge: Absent from tattoo 21/9/15 until 9.0 p.m. 23/9/15.

 

Punishment: Deprived of 3 days’ pay.

 

WINCHELSEA - 8/10/15

 

Charge: Parading sick without a cause.

 

Punishment: Deprived of 3 days’ pay and Confined to Barracks for 3 days.

 

WINCHELSEA - 28/10/15

 

Charge: Absent without leave from 10.0 p.m. 26/10/15 until 12.0 p.m. on 28/10/15.

 

Punishment: Awarded 168 hours detention.

 

BIRCHINGTON - 23/4/16

 

Charge: Whilst on Active Service improperly dressed on 11.30 a.m. parade (not wearing identity disc).

 

Punishment: Deprived of 2 days’ pay.

 

BIRCHINGTON – 8/5/16.

 

Charge: Whilst on Active Service (i) being unshaved on 9.0 a.m. parade, (ii) having a dirty rifle.

 

Punishment: Confined to Barracks for 4 days.

 

Co-incidentally, this incident when he was not wearing his identity disc was reported by Sergeant John Longmire, about whom I have posted previously on this blog.

In December, 1916, Soldier "B" was posted to the 4th (Reserve) Battalion and was soon in trouble again:

 

FORMBY – 4/1/17

 

Charge: Irregular conduct on parade.

 

Punishment: Confined to Barracks for 5 days.

 

Finally, on January 29th, 1917, he was posted to the British Expeditionary Force, spending about 5 weeks at the notorious training camp at Etaples before joining the 1st/4th Battalion on March 9th, 1917. Given the reputation of the place – and the men that staffed it – I very much doubt if he dared to turn up late for parade or ‘showed the upper lip.’

In France, he had quite an eventful time too. He was hospitalised once with Trench Fever (26/5/17) and wounded three times; 16/7/17 (Gunshot wound to right wrist and finger received near St. Julien); 31/7/17 (Gunshot wound to shoulder received at Wieltje on the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres); 20/11/17 (Shrapnel wound to left thigh received at Guillemont Farm, near Epehy during the Battle of Cambrai).

After being wounded for a third time the Army must have thought he was due for a rest and he was granted home leave from January 18th, 1918, until February 1st, 1918. He managed to overstay his furlough;

FIELD – 2/2/18

 

Charge: When on Active Service overstaying his pass by a day from 2/2/18 to 3/2/18.

 

Punishment: Confined to Barracks for 3 days.

 

A couple of months later he found himself a prisoner again, except this time it was as a temporary guest of the Kaiser rather than the King. He was captured at Givenchy on April 9th, and held at Mons until the Armistice. Rather surprisingly he remained in the Territorial Army after the war and eventually got promoted to Corporal.


 

So, ultimately it would appear that Soldier “B” made good and served his country admirably. He wasn’t really a bad lad, simply 'a bit of a handful' - what the Australians term a “larrikin” - and the items listed weren’t really crimes, being more misdemeanours, the sort of things he would probably have laughed about years later. True? Possibly, but there’s one crime on his Conduct Sheet which I haven’t yet listed. It was altogether more serious, and a direct consequence of his general lack of regard for authority and his irresponsible behaviour. It occurred at Birchington on May 30th, 1916;

2029, Drummer Boy George Lovell was 16. If you care to look, you’ll find a photograph of his headstone in one of my earlier posts. For causing his death, Soldier "B" got 6 months in a military prison and, despite the brutal regime in such places, he didn’t seem to learn a great deal from it, as witnessed by his subsequent continued appearances at Defaulters’ Parades. Not that much of a hero, to my mind.

I wonder if he ever got asked what he'd done in the war - and what reply he gave?