LETTERS
Sir: Bruce Anderson (Politics, 31 May), on the subject of the servicemen executed for cowardice during the first world war, states: `In the second world war, by which time things were better understood, there were no executions for cowardice.' G.J. Norman, highly critical of him, makes the same point in your letter columns a week later. I have reason to believe that they are both wrong — at least in so far as the Royal Air Force is concerned.
Coincidentally, at roughly the time that Mr Anderson would have been submitting his copy to you I found myself listening to a senior retired officer (in his eighties, but still very spry) whom I feel obliged to call X. At a crucial stage in the war, as X was busy telling me, apropos of this particular controversy, he was serving in a theatre of operations where the enemy had superiori- ty in the air. The fighter squadron under his youthful command, diminishing progres- sively in strength, was forced to battle on against heavy if not overwhelming odds with scarcely any respite or reinforcement.
The gist of X's tale was this: one day, cracking under the constant pressure, one of the pilots in his squadron had refused to carry on flying. X tried everything in his power to persuade him to change his mind, pointing out the dire consequences in terms of disgrace, loss of rank and likely harsh prison sentence for failing to obey orders. Whilst, assisted by one or two of the other pilots in the squadron, X had still been arguing with the recalcitrant airman early the following morning, the Air Officer Commanding had happened upon the scene and demanded to know what was going on. On learning the truth the AOC had wasted no time at all. He had immedi- ately ordered a field court-martial to be held in the afternoon. The pilot concerned was condemned and shot for cowardice before sundown on the very same day.
It would not be right for me to reveal any more details concerning this incident. How- ever, following upon his execution, so I was told, the condemned man was officially reported as 'missing'. Of the veracity of X's tale I have no doubt whatever. It only occurs to me to wonder how many others — surely this cannot have been a totally isolated event during the six years of war? — who were officially posted 'missing' were executed in this way. One hopes not very Many. But what, in reality, seems to have been so much 'better understood', as Mr Anderson avers, by the military authorities in the second world war was the need to spare the unfortunate relatives any knowl- edge of the truth.
Charles Fitzgerald 88 Holmdene Avenue, London SE24
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