To encourage the others
From E. Derek Smith
Sir: Bruce Anderson (‘Conduct unbecoming’, 19 November) might be interested to know that about ten years ago History Today magazine published a detailed and fully documented account of the infamous conviction and execution of the innocent Lieutenant Leigh, after the battle of the Somme in 1916. Mutiny was threatened as soldiers were being shot for cowardice, but officers were not. A clear order came from the High Command: ‘An officer must be charged and shot.’ Lieutenant Leigh got lost in fog, slept in a ditch, and found his way back to his unit next morning, having been absent less than 24 hours. He was court-martialled and shot, the conviction of an officer being widely publicised throughout the army.
After the war a captain of the staff told the whole story, and written orders in the archives were not denied. It was officially stated that the risk of mutiny was so serious that at least one officer had to be shot to demonstrate that officers were subject to military law as well as other ranks. The article in History Today seems highly relevant to present policy on officers’ responsibility.
E. Derek Smith Oxford
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