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Shot at Dawn Tom Crozier , Central Scotland Branch In 2005 we made our first visit to Japan, only to realise shortly before departure that our travels coincided with the 60th anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The realisation resulted in a few adjustments to our itinerary to allow us to visit both cities and the Peace Memorial

at Chiran; that was home to Japan’s Kamikaze Pilots. I n 2013 I attended the National Council Meeting of Section Belgium at Mons. While there I learned that Mons had been the location for the first and last significant battles involving British and Commonwealth forces during the First World War. Our visits to Japan and Mons were strangely similar experiences. On each occasion we inadvertently found ourselves in the midst of events to commemorate sacrifices made in the World Wars. So, my wife Pauline and I determined that we would attend the 100th anniversary commemorations of the Armistice in November 2018, to pay our personal homage to those who served. To my understanding, I have no relatives who served in the First War. My Irish paternal grandfather, born in 1864, was in his fifties at the outbreak of war, while my Welsh maternal grandfather was a coal miner in the Rhondda. Pauline’s grandfather did serve, suffering serious wounds to his legs that remained open sores for the rest of his life. Having no relatives who served caused me to research soldiers with my surname. One notable namesake was James Crozier from Belfast. James volunteered against his mother’s wishes, visiting the enlistment centre in September 1915, with his mother in tow. The recruitment officer was Lieutenant Colonel Frank Percy Crozier, not a relative of James. Frank Crozier declined Mrs Crozier’s pleas for him to refuse her son’s request to enlist, promising her that he would “see that no harm comes to him”. James served with the 9th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles in the Somme, but was later tried for desertion and ‘Shot at Dawn’ on 27th February 1916. We set out on our travels in November 2018 with a detour to the National Arboretum at Alrewas. Here we visited the Shot at Dawn memorial where 309 wooden stakes represent each of those unfortunate souls who were all shot at dawn. Taking advantage of our IPA network, I contacted Philippe Deneubourg, an IPA friend in France, who promised to arrange a memorable visit. On Armistice Day, together with our travelling companions Tom and Carol Maclaren, we travelled to Philippe’s home near Frelinghein. The village of Frelinghein sits directly on what was the front line and was occupied by German forces for most of the war. It is the location of the famous Christmas Truce of 1914. Philippe and his wife Sylvianne took us to their village church for the Armistice Service, where Philippe, wearing highland dress, joined other service personnel in the guard of honour. From the church we processed through the village to pay respects at the graves of French, Moroccan, British and German soldiers of the Great War buried there. After the service, at the gravesides, Philippe took us to the field where the famous football match took place. There is now a re-creation of a German trench overlooking the ‘football’ field, with the British front line less than 200 yards distant. At the civic lunch we were introduced to the special guests, Major Miles Stockwell and Colonel Joachim Freiherran Von Sinner, the grandsons of the

opposing commanders on that celebrated day; Captain Clifton Stockwell, of the Welsh

Fusiliers and Hauptmann Baron Von Sinner, of the 6th Jäger Battalion. I was pleased to be asked by the Mayor to address the 200 locals and invited guests, and thankful of the opportunity to express our gratitude for their kindness and their continued commitment to the memory of those who fought. The entire community of the village of Frelinghein marks the Armistice in the same way every year. Our companions, Tom and Carol, do have relatives who never returned from France. The next couple of days were spent criss-crossing the Western Front to seek out their graves. One particular grave was that of Daniel Hendry, buried at Annezin, some 20 miles behind the front line. Daniel was Carol’s great uncle. Daniel died in October 1915 before seeing a son born in his absence. Sadly, his son died just a few months later. Daniel’s wife, remembered by Carol as an aged but favourite great aunt, also lost her only brother, John Mulgrew, who is buried near Ypres. While visiting Daniel’s gravesite at Annezin we learned that the local museum and primary school had been trying to trace relatives of those soldiers laid to rest in their community. We visited the town hall and while the school and museum were closed, the curator, Patrick Honore opened the museum for us. Patrick was able to provide some of the back story as to how Daniel came to be buried at Annezin, having been injured in battle near Bethune and brought 20 miles to the hospital established in the primary school, where he died a few days later. Patrick pulled back a curtain to show the school building across the yard, where Carol’s great uncle had died in the care of French medical and nursing staff. That night we returned to our accommodation via John Mulgrew’s grave and Ypres. It was around 8pm when we arrived at the Menin Gate. As you would expect, it was wreathed in red. It was my privilege to add a wreath supplied by the NEC on behalf of the members of IPA Section UK. As for James Crozier: he was one of over 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers to be shot at dawn. More than 3000 were sentenced to death for the ‘crime’ of desertion, however the remainder had their sentences commuted at the discretion of their commanding officers. All have since received official pardons. Frank Crozier, who had promised to see that no harm came to James, oversaw his execution. It was within Frank’s gift to exercise the discretion and compassion that had been shown to others. I do not know if James and I are related, but research into James’ history revealed that he had lived close to my grandfather’s home in Belfast. Despite the number of Croziers that feature in this story, the name is really not that common. I visited his grave site and the building at ‘Ocean Villas’ (Auchanvilliers), where he spent his last night as a condemned prisoner. By the time you read this, I will have visited the General Records Office and the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland in pursuit of potential family connections.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No.2, 2019