Treatment of deserters
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by
SarahPowell
I've found an interesting reference to lenient treatment of a man who I guess could potentially have been treated as a deserter - see entry for 22nd Feb at http://talk.operationwardiary.org/#/subjects/AWD0002vlv. The man (an Indian bearer) 'got lost' while on fatigue duty and turned up later in a neighbouring village. Major Fleming, the ambulance CO, seems to have made a decision that the man was 'weak-minded' (= learning disability? mentally ill?) rather than trying to run away, and had him evacuated sick. So clearly not everyone who went AWOL was shot at dawn.
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David_Underdown
moderator
306 men were executed for purely military offences (ie desertion, cowardice and similar), a few more were executed for crimes that would have been potentially capital even in civilian trials (eg murder, rape etc). Only about 10% of death sentences were actually carried out, with the vast majoirty being suspended, and eventually commuted to lesser punishments. A few of those executed had had at least one previous death sentence passed on them which had been suspended before sentence was actaully carried out (a handful were executed only following being found guilty of their third capital offence).
There was some appreciation that to hold a man who had been conscripted to the same standard as a volunteer was potentially unfair, and if you were a pre-war regular then you really were expected to set an example, and know what you had let yourself in for. Bearers were carrying out very menial tasks and were usually from among the lowest ranks of Indian society. There was quite a paternalistic attitude in Indian regiments generally, so I'm not particularly surprised to see this understanding shown to someone who was not a fighting soldier.
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SarahPowell
That's really interesting, thank you! I had assumed COs would have a much less sympathetic attitude to men who just couldn't cope, for whatever reason.
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The unit I'm tagging (also Indian) had a man given a lighter sentence for falling asleep at his post due to being very young.
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ral104
moderator, scientist
That fits with the paternalistic attitude David mentioned. Interesting, isn't it? I'd never realised just how distinct a culture the Indian Army was.
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David_Underdown
moderator
The officers sent to the Indian Army were oftne among those who scored the highest at Sandhurst. You initially went to India only on probation, and had to learn at least one of the languages spoken by the men of the unit (possibly two, I can't quite remember), only after gaining acceptable marks in the language tests would your commission be approved.
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