The BRUTAL Execution Of The Teenager Shot At Dawn During WW1

During the First World War, there were over 300 executions carried out of British Army soldiers and Commonwealth soldiers found guilty of desertion, cowardice of military offences. Today these executions attract a huge degree of criticism as the British Army had no time for people with conditions such as Shell Shock. But shockingly there was one 17 year old boy who was 'Shot at Dawn' for his desertion, and he should never have been on the front line in the trenches. Herbert Burden signed up to join the fight in the First World War, despite being 3 years too young. Recruitment officials asked no questions and he was then sent to fight.
But during the conflict, Herbert Burden deserted a number of times from the fight. He even left his own unit briefly and returned to England, before signing up with a different one. But after fighting on the Ypres Salient, Herbert Burden deserted and he was arrested the following day. He was placed on trial, but at no point he mentioned that he was in fact 17 and 2 years too young to be fighting during World War One in the British Army. Burden was sentenced to death, and he was then 'Shot at Dawn,' by a firing squad and is remembered as the youngest person executed by the British Army. He is commemorated today in the Shot At Dawn Memorial in a statue.
Join us today as we look at, 'The BRUTAL Execution Of Herbert Burden - The Teenager Shot At Dawn.' To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
Check out our SECOND CHANNEL TheFortress for a new video EVERY DAY! Subscribe to this by clicking this link:
/ thefortresss
Thanks for watching! Support the channel by subscribing, liking, and sharing.
Follow me on Twitter: / theuntoldpast
Follow me on Instagram: theuntoldpast
Disclaimer: All opinions and comment stated below in the Comments section do not represent the opinion of TheUntoldPast. All opinions and comments and dialogue should discuss the video above in a historical manner.
TheUntoldPast does not accept any racism, profanity, insults, sexism or any negative discussion aimed at an individual. TheUntoldPast has the right to delete any comment with this content inside it and also ban the user from the channel.

[@GrumpyAustralian]

Due to the execution of Breaker Morant & Peter Hancock during the Boer War the Australian government refuse to give the British Government/Military authority to exercise military justice over Australian military personnel!

[@55vma]

🇦🇺🐨🇦🇺

[@reneedennis2011]

That's a good movie. It's considered a classic. There's also a good episode of Timeline about Breaker Morant.

[@utrinqueparatus4617]

In WW1, 129 Australian soldiers, out of a total of 416,000 enlisted (0.03%) were sentenced to death by their own authorities (117 for desertion in the front line in France), though no executions were carried out due to fear of the effect they might have on a purely voluntary army. For the British it was 306 out of more than 4M (0.008%). So, maybe the threat of execution had the desired effect on a largely conscript army!

[@amypoff8589]

He was probably so traumatized that he didn’t want to fight the conviction and live with the hell running through his mind. This has happened to so many young men and their mental health is rarely addressed after conflict.

[@dannydersman8932]

Isn't it strange how all of these executions were approved by old men far away from the front lines? Imagine if a general spent some time in the trenches away from the plush HQ and learned how wrong they were.

[@martinleifnymark7432]

How do you think they become Generals? At some stage they would have seen action somewhere. A lot would have served in the Boar war. All generals, from all armies. Would be in the rear. Not their job to be in a front line trench. The first World War was like no other. Mass killing on an industrial scale. Not making excuses for the bad Generals. It is what it is. Hindsight is a wonderful thing 🇬🇧

[@christopherdean1326]

@@martinleifnymark7432 a) Boer war, we might have done better against boars ;-) b) A surprising number of generals were actually in the front lines in WW1. Blackadder Goes Forth, while fantastically written and hilariously funny, was not an accurate representation of the Great War. The truth is that a larger percentage of officers died than of "other ranks". Senior officers had to be near the front line, because communications were so unreliable, and primitive when they did work, that they had to be close by to react to the changing situation of battle. Yes, the main "tactic" was to send men over the top, because the only way to break through a defensive line is to put "boots on the ground". Also, after the retreat from Mons, the bulk of the regular army was gone, and they had to rely on barely trained volunteers, and later, equally poorly trained conscripts, to fight the war. Later, once the war had "gone to earth", and the trenches ran from Switzerland to the Belgian coast without a gap, there was little opportunity for anything else but "going over the top. I have read extensively about WW1, and the stereotypical view of how it was is seldom accurate.

[@thereisnosanctuary6184]

The Old Boomers of their day.

[@pleasuretokill]

Rich old people get us into war, most of them shield or buy their own children safety and let the poor kids die in the wars they started. Every single rich, old sack of shlt who starts a war should have his kids FORCED into that war, on the very front lines, for the entire duration.

[@josephlambe2796]

As always the officers survive due to privilege, the Erks have no privilege so they die like cattle, just like at the Somme etc, people are brave need to fight for our country and I believe that and support it always, but mistakes were made…

[@renee1961]

He was So Young!! He was also Brave to have Enlisted.

[@xminusone1]

In WW1, officers were handed out guns and would shot anyone who refused to participate in an assault. It happened on both sides. I would be curious to see if the politicians would have been so brave if they were even put in that position themselves. Especially those lords who never saw combat but on a map.

[@davidmiller6981]

Yes the chicken hawk politicians never send themselves or there children

[@hubriswonk]

Absolutely not brave enough............

[@IndieVolken]

errrrr ; is that revolvers they were given as standard issue ? as much as it pains our modern sensibilities - the option of "waiting behind" or changing your mind when going over the top would have set a dangerous precedent , and was in no way viable - I agree with the politicians comments though , and the officers back at ghq - but once you had committed there was no backing out - unfortunately Napeleonic tactics fought using modern weapons of destruction

[@FernandoRodriguez-kl3oc]

Sadly, it’s an obvious answer.

[@justmyopinion152]

Politician and Brave are two words that don’t go together. Even more sickening is when a politician calls another politician a “warrior”. They’re pathetic little slim bags.

[@Stax-ht9md]

RIP Herbert Burden - let yours be a cautionary tale for young men

[@martinleifnymark7432]

No executions for desertion now. Last one was in WW1 I think

[@samhatenfield4108]

@@martinleifnymark7432 we e executed one for being a coward in ww2

[@pleasuretokill]

Yeah... all young men, except for the children of the rich and the ultra rich. They historically can get "bone spurs", other ailments or daddy can just buy them right out of there. Historically, the children of the very rich rarely see war. Their parents get the country into wars and then poor kids die in them. Im glad Im too old to get drafted. Fuck dying for this country nowadays...EVERY person who has a hand in getting us into war should have his kids forced into that war....on the front lines for the entire duration of it.

[@clivestraw1913]

It should have been the generals. Who should have been shot not brave men

[@Blue-hf7xt]

It still happens in modern times. Young men fall to the war propaganda from government to enlist for wars.

[@michaelcampin1464]

Very very poignant as today 5th December 2022 at 6am we lost a very good friend at age 56. He was a Northumberland Fusilier and served in Northern Ireland along with other places of conflict. RIP my friend Chris Pratt

[@kengrimes1012]

Sleep well fusilier, you've earned your down time

[@fus149hammer5]

Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense. Rest in peace my fusilier brother.

[@michaelcampin1464]

@@fus149hammer5 next Wednesday at 1pm at Sunderland Crematorium. No Flowers they are gor the living not our deceased brothers. Par Mere Par Terra. God save the King

[@fus149hammer5]

@@michaelcampin1464 Have a drink for me in his memory.

[@michaelcampin1464]

@@fus149hammer5 believe me we will and we will celebrate his passing each year. Gone but never forgotten

[@pointsofsue2487]

My father fought in WW2 barely 16 years old. He left a boy and returned a man of 20 having fought through Europe... I grew up with a real hero. Miss you old man.

[@debrasaunders7200]

❤

[@seanavp]

*No doubt your father was a great man who loved his country, much respect!*

[@mattolivier1835]

Nah, he was a loser. It wasn't his war. He should have minded his own business. Shame. You grew up with a criminal.

[@glennfolau6959]

Very sad indeed, I am from New Zealand and there were indeed a few New Zealanders shot for desertion. Many Kiwis do not even know about those who were shot, as it would have been well and truly swept under the mat. Like this young lad, many were keen to see the world, and do their bit for the war effort, although they wouldn't have been aware of the horrors of war until it was too late, or why they were even fighting.

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

Only five New Zealanders were executed........and no Australians.......

[@utrinqueparatus4617]

@@MichaelHill-we7vt 28 New Zealanders were sentenced to death, but only five executed. 129 Australians were sentenced but none were executed.

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

@@utrinqueparatus4617 indeed, the entire story concerning those soldiers who went to the firing squads during the First World War is misunderstood, usually misquoted or otherwise misconstrued, and so many people to this day seem to believe that the British Army shot "thousands" for little or no reason..... the truth is very, very different, and believe me, even when presented with the actual facts, there are still some people in my experience, who simply cant, or won't accept the truth of the matter. In very simple terms, the British Army went out of its way NOT to execute its own men unless there simply was no real alternative......

[@Jenifer_G]

What about Kitchenet, he was a mass murderer, seen some horrible docs about him.

[@glennfolau6959]

@@Jenifer_G That's true, he championed the "scorched earth" policy in the second Boer war, but he met an untimely end himself, when a boat he was traveling on, was torpedoed by a German U boat.

[@denisemeredith2436]

I have seen that memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, it is very moving and it is heartbreaking to think of those men shot at dawn because they were suffering from shell shock.

[@seanohare5488]

True

[@rowdyyates4273]

Poor fu-r ! Well he didn’t get a medal for nothing- and faught for as long as he could which is more you can say for those generals so far back that one would need binoculars to see them- and was better than those still shooting pheasants back in Blighty????

[@rowdyyates4273]

@M Y T H I C A L N O V A proof what! That your a bot🥸

[@rowdyyates4273]

@M Y T H I C A L N O V A proof of what?

[@scottessery100]

Wellington called his troops the scum of the earth and see how Russia 🇷🇺 treat their troops. Sledgehammer at dawn 🥺

[@paulorchard7960]

So traumatised by his experience’s he chose suicide by firing squad over admission he was underage and should never have been there! Tragic!😢

[@pencilpauli9442]

Someone in my family was given field punishment for reporting late back to his regiment. He was chained to an artillery wheel and was killed while restrained during a German attack. There is a similar account in Michael Morpurgo's "Private Peaceful". While not as heinous as the murder of soldiers, it is evident that there was an inhumane culture of punishment throughout the British Army.

[@jamesaritchie1]

Pure BS. You're another loudmouth with no experience and living in complete ignorance. War is inhumane, though "inhuman" is a stupid word used by stupid people. A hundred million people were killed in various wars throughout the twentieth century. THAT is what humans are. That is what being humane actually means. In war, people get killed. Shooting deserters is something that can save hundreds, or even thousands of lives. Unpunished deserters would most likely lose the war. As for someone in your family,swhow me the evidence.

[@pencilpauli9442]

"As for someone in your family,swhow me the evidence." (sic) Oral tradition. I have no motive other than retelling the story as I heard it. You are free not to believe it if you wish, if helps you sleep better at night nice and cosy in your fascistic fantasy land. You can choose barbarism and inhumanity if you want. Humans also have the capacity for reason, cooperation and compassion. I have no interest in your disgusting might is right nonsense, so save your breath. ✌🏾✌🏾☮☮🕊🕊❤❤

[@pencilpauli9442]

@@jamesaritchie1 5 seconds on Google and I find the following: "Field Punishment Number One, often abbreviated to "F.P. No. 1", "No. 1 field", or even just "No. 1", consisted of *the convicted man being placed in fetters and handcuffs or similar restraints and attached to a fixed object, such as a gun wheel* or a fence post, for up to two hours per day. During the early part of World War I, the punishment was often applied with the arms stretched out and the legs tied together, giving rise to the nickname "crucifixion". This was applied for up to three days out of four, up to 21 days total. It was usually applied in field punishment camps set up for this purpose a few miles behind the front line, but when the unit was on the move it would be carried out by the unit itself. It has been alleged that this punishment was sometimes applied within range of enemy fire. During World War I Field Punishment Number One was issued by the British Army on 60,210 occasions.[1]" (My emphasis) So, no it wasn't bullshit.

[@modelrailwaynoob]

Field Punishment Number 1 was very common in the British army at that time.

[@reneedennis2011]

I am so sorry 😞.

[@richardmoss5934]

Fascinating. The more that I learn about such details the more I understand why my grandfather spoke so little about his experiences.

[@bevanfletcher6563]

My Grandfather joined the New Zealand Division in 1914 when he was just 16, he fought at Gallipoli, where he saw his 2 older brothers, Cousin and Uncle killed . He also fought on the Somme, Messine and Passchendale. In 1918 during the German Spring Offensive his last remaining brother was killed, my Grandfather was the only member of his family that served, that survived the War. He was an old man when I was born, but my mother said that he never once mentioned anything about the war to anyone. I can't begin to imagine the horrors he must have witnessed during those 4 years. I remember back to when I was 16 and there's no way I think I could have endured what he did.

[@martinsims1273]

@@bevanfletcher6563 Too much pain to dig it up (to remember it), and to go through it again.

[@glyn829]

Terrible war with so many lost such a sad story

[@merryrose6788]

Even in WW2, "shell shock" or "battle fatigue" was considered a weakness. Later, psychologists began to understand that "strong, experienced soldiers" were getting shell shock in greater percentages than the new recruits. Length of time in battle equaled more shell shock. It was Audie Murphy, a war hero turned Hollywood actor, who spoke publicly about this condition and admitting that he had it. A Swedish band, Sabaton, wrote a song to one of Audie's poems, "The Crosses Grow at Anzio." And they also wrote a song about the 1914 Christmas Truce, where German soldiers in the trenches began singing Christmas carols, and were answered across No Man's Land by opposing troops from Britain, etc. The commanders were not happy about the fact that soldiers on both sides spent Christmas playing ball, exchanging gifts, and getting to know each other. After this, soldiers were told they would be shot if this did this again.

[@renee1961]

Rest In Peace for All of The Innocent Victims., and Those That Fought for Them. 💔💔💔💔🥀🥀🥀🥀🙏🙏🙏🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ God Bless The Survivors.💔💔💔💔🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@renee1961]

Rest In Peace Private Burden 💔💔💔🙏🙏🙏🥀🥀🥀🕊️🕊️🕊️

[@barbaranelson4982]

I remember reading about this years ago they were just young boys 😢

[@winnifredforbes1114]

I live in a small town in western Canada. We had many men who returned home with “shell shock”! So sad.

[@Genghis-Khan121]

I would read up on the Canadian soldiers shot at the end of the second ww I think it was , the war had just finished the allied soldiers from Canada based in north wales I think it was , was shot for desertion simply because the war had finished and they wanted to go home back to Canada, im sure if you Google it then it will come up , truly shocking considering many factors but these lads voluntarily came over to fight for us British only to be killed in this manner

[@winnifredforbes1114]

@@Genghis-Khan121 Thank you. I will look it up!😿

[@jamesaritchie1]

Bullsh*t.

[@barbaraallen435]

My great uncle was under 18 when he was killed on the Somme,his parents did complain that he was under age and was assured that he wouldn't be sent to France until he was 19, but he went to France 5 days after the army had spoken to my Great Grandparents

[@philipr1567]

The Liberal MP Arthur Markham campaigned for the Army to release soldiers under 18 who had volunteered and been sent overseas to fight. Needless to say, the Army was less than fully co-operative. Some sources claim that the casualties on the first day of the battle of the Somme included 500 'boy soldiers'.

[@renee1961]

Private Burden kept trying to stay, but it was too much for him! He could have gotten out, but didn't. 💔💔💔💔💔🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

[@donaldhoult7713]

@renee1961. The enlisted and conscripted soldiers had no choice but to remain: this was not so for those at the top of the feeding chain. Winston S. Churchill was one of the latter. Churchill joined the Army halfway through 1915 and demanded a Major General appointment ( I believe ). Because he was not to be trusted with such a role he was made just a Brigadier General and sent to a relatively ' quiet' and ' static ' area. There he stayed for six months; at which point he RESIGNED and returned to England to further his political career. It seems that he was also a ' coward ' and ran away? Certainly, he was profligate in sending others to their deaths - in TWO huge wars - but very sparing of his own exposure to any real danger.

[@martinsims1273]

@@donaldhoult7713 It is a fact,that when the D-day invasions were taking place, Churchill was intent on going over there himself, and the military top brass involved had to plead with him not to go, and put himself at risk, as he was too valuable as the country's leader.

[@renee1961]

@@donaldhoult7713 thank you for that information. Have a good night!

[@LeedsUnitedJohn]

I feel for him and the firing squad that were tasked in killing him.

[@neilking2179]

Where have all the young men gone, gone to graveyards everyone, When will ever learn, when will we ever learn.

[@gemmamudd7167]

I don't know why the prime minister and the German minister go into a room and fight each other instead of all the people killing each other when it's got nothing to do with us

[@lorenzbroll0101]

They were known as 'Cannon Fodder'. They would do exactly the same these days too.

[@kennithchapman9689]

He had been through so much my the time of his execution He wasn't even sure how old he was 🤕

[@14Aymara]

Excellent video about a very sad story. Private Burden was almost a child and of course he had no idea of what a war was like, I can imagine how he felt. It looks as though the Army wasn't aware about what PTSD was. Poor lad, may you rest in Peace. 😢💔🙏

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

Perhaps a little context might be in order here...during the course of the First World War, almost TWELVE MILLION men served in the British Military.During the four years of conflict, some 3080 were tried by court-martial and sentenced to death...and of these 3080, just 346, or approx ten percent were actually executed, so more than 90 percent of all those actually sentenced to death were NOT executed. Secondly over a four year period, just 346 out of a total of twelve million is an absolutely minute percentage, the British Army can rightly be proud of its sterling efforts NOT to execute its own men, and only did so when it had become absolutely unavoidable. British Army medical officers did actually make incredible advances in the study and understanding of shell-shock(or PTSD, as we know it today) A look at the offences for which men were executed also makes a very valid point, here is a breakdown of the offences for which these men met their fate..... three were executed for Mutiny, which in any army on the planet, in time of war, would merit a death sentence. Just 18 were for cowardice, while the greatest number, 266, were for desertion, which again, in time of war, has always carried the death penalty. Six were for violence to, or striking of, a superior, five were for deliberate disobedience, two were for sleeping at post, i.e. leaving sentry posts unguarded and sleeping, thereby placing hundreds of men at risk from enemy attack, seven were for "quitting a post without authority" which is essentially another form of desertion, and two were for casting away arms. This leaves 37 remaining, and these are most indefensible of all, because the 37 men in question here were executed for murder, which at the time of the First World War was a capital offence, and had those 37 men been civilians, not soldiers, they would still have been executed for their crimes.Technically, these are not military offences as such, although committed by serving soldiers, so they were dealt with and punished by the military. Indeed, nearly 40 of the men who were executed were already under sentence of death for previous offences, and indeed one man, Rifleman Allsopp, was finally executed after having deserted on no fewer than three occasions, he had previously been under sentence of death, and had this commuted, before deserting again, so it cannot be said that the Army did not give him every chance of avoiding execution. Put into context, out of over 125,000 courts-martial carried out during the Great War, only 3080 death sentences is a very small percentage, and 346 actual executions is a very small percentage of that figure. Yes , I accept that there will be those who will argue, with the benefit of over a century of hindsight, that 346 is still too many, but in the light of the prevailing conditions between 1914-1918, the British Military's record in this highly emotive field is worthy of recognition and praise for its humanity. There was the greatest war in history going on, it had to be won, and sometimes harsh measures needed to be taken, and difficult decisions needed to be made. Looked at from the other point of view, nearly twelve million men DID, fight, DID NOT desert or commit murder, and fought in that most awful of wars..........had the deserters and mutineers not be made examples of, morale could have collapsed, discipline could have broken down, and possibly the war could have been lost....bear in mind that the British Army was the only major combatant of the First World War which did not suffer any major breakdown of morale or discipline....that tells its own story I think................

[@14Aymara]

@@MichaelHill-we7vt - Very interesting. Thank you for these important details I'm sure most of us ignored.

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

@@14Aymara one of the strange things about the Great War is that so many people have heard of the myths and stories, and accept them as true, when in fact, many are just that.. myths... I try whenever possible to get the facts right.... sometimes it really does surprise people to learn that stuff they had always taken as correct was wrong...........

[@rogueriderhood1862]

@@MichaelHill-we7vt Very hard to change people's minds though, Michael. Al Murray said in one of his books that getting people to think again about the First World War is like spending all day pushing a large ball of dung uphill, only to have it roll back downhill. He's not wrong.

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

@@rogueriderhood1862 this is so true....some people have these ideas deeply ingrained and dont seem to actually want their cherished theories to be dispelled or disproved.....there seems to be a sort of collective blind spot, and people want to believe what they believe without a shred of proof, or context.....

[@colin7073]

The Number found guilty of desertion was in the thousands. Percentage wise very few had the sentence of death actually imposed on them. Some of those who were shot were actually guilty of murder, or had deserted without ever seeing a trench. It's important that you read the history rather than relying on disjointed presentations such as this. Suggest you read Blindfold and Alone. Excellent book with court transcripts. Also each soldier shot is commemorated in the military cemeteries without any reference to being shot. RIP They shall grow not old...

[@christopherdean1326]

Exactly. Haig personally reviewed every death sentence, and actually issued a reprieve for something like 90% of them.

[@Genghis-Khan121]

I studied this subject only 40 did not get the pardon the others got ,back in 2006 was it ? I can’t remember those where supposedly guilty of murder treason and more , John major opposed the pardon during his time in office I forget who it was that finally granted the pardon and quite rightly a lot of these cases wasn’t as clear cut as it sounds, there’s a good few inaccuracies in this video and many of the shootings was definitely questionable

[@christopherdean1326]

@@Genghis-Khan121 I was referring to the contemporary process. Something like 2,700 men were sentenced to death, and around 270 were actually shot. The rest had their sentence commuted by direct order of Douglas Haig.

[@tomauty1296]

Gordon Corrigan's book Mud Blood and Poppycock is also good. The army of the time were regrettablly keener to make an example of men who went AWOL too many times.

[@dorothygale5896]

War is a cruelty, there is no way to refine it.

[@mrsusan5672]

Being underage did not guarantee a reprieve - Pvt Joseph Byers was 16 when he was shot for desertion. The rationale of the staff officers was if you're old enough to enlist, and you're old enough to desert, then you're old enough to be shot.

[@grouchyoldman5348]

All the evil of war!

[@renee1961]

Good morning, and Thank You for your videos. I'm learning so much, and I Appreciate everything that goes into each video.

[@mikeyoung7660]

I was informed a while ago that the military police would go into the trenches after they went over the top to look for anyone who didnt go over. A lot of these men were decorated for valour and had already fought in battles. Two young lads from my regiment were shot. To execute 18 year old boys was nothing less than murder. Haig never visited the front lines throughout his time as commander he sat in his Château 40 miles behind the lines.

[@robertstallard7836]

There is NO evidence of the military police doing so. Please cite sources.

[@sandybarrie5526]

just after the armistice, my maternal Grandfather, british army, refused an order, to go to Archangle, Russia, with his battalion, and Haig ordered him cortmartialed. but he was a highly regarded member of the batalion, having won the MM rescuing other British soldiers during Passchendale. The entrire battalion threatened to Mutiny if he was cortmartialed. and as there were many other armys having mutinies at that time, they were affraid of such spreading to england,. so the cortmartial was dropped. but he was never allowed back into England till his duty was up in 1922. after which he came out to Australia.

[@thenoworriesnomad]

Thank you this video..👍👍 God Bless Herbert & God Bless Them All...

[@mattolivier1835]

But don't bless the evil British and dirty French.

[@Olliethesnowman]

Bro I love the way you say “world war” …. Chimes the ear

[@wesharris2559]

Can't change the past, just learn from it.

[@windwalker8058]

My dad was seventeen when he went over there during W11!

[@tonyclough9844]

Remember there are the majority that do desert, I worked with a guy who was in Korea, and he told me he had shot his own men who were deserting. He said you know the guys who will desert when in training, and in the line with thousands of Chinese coming at you you have to take the person's place. This means you have twice the amount to deal with, and you run out of bullets.

[@utrinqueparatus4617]

Think you mean 'the majority that DON'T desert'...but you make a very important point, those that desert just increase the risk of death for those who don't.

[@tonycavanagh1929]

He was a kid.

[@janesykes4483]

Rest in peace Herbert 😇😇😇🥰

[@steffenritter7497]

Very sad story, I must say.

[@hersonlamolli6276]

May they Rest In Peace that goes to show you justice was no served.

[@ryansnyder4997]

World war 1 was a waste of human life the leaders of their country should be charged with war crimes

[@francisebbecke2727]

Sad for him, but also for those who stayed and fought.

[@NSWLancer]

Since the politically motivated judicial murder of Morant and Handcock by those who believed they were Australia's British masters in 1902 no Australian service person has been so killed. Morant and Handcock were criminals, but the legacy of their deaths saved many lives.

[@glennfolau6959]

That is true, but at the time of the second Boer War, Australia and New Zealand were both "Dominions" of Great Britain, and indeed there were at least a couple of Kiwis shot for desertion, although not well publicised.

[@NSWLancer]

@@glennfolau6959 In WW1, Australia was a Commonwealth within the British Empire. Following a number of bad experiences under British command in the Second Anglo-Boer War, the volunteer Australian force (AIF) was provided with a number of conditions including NO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT in WW1. The New Zealanders did allow for their soldiers to be judicially murdered in WW1.

[@roblloyd1879]

Mores of the time, don't compare with 2022.

[@edwhite4992]

Murdering an underage boy was a dishonorable act and hopefully haunted those that conducted such action.

[@scottessery100]

Discipline was all officers cared about

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

Discipline was vital..........because without discipline you cannot run an army......and without an army, you cannot win a war............Britain was in the first "world war" in history, and at various times, in danger of losing...........times were different, times were desperate, and desperate times demanded desperate measures.......However, in the British Military, senior officers cared about many things, and despite what you may think you know, British commanders cared very much for the welfare and morale of their men..........British troops were rotated in and out of the front lines far more often and more regularly than French or German soldiers, food, mail and comforts were got to the front lines whatever the difficulties involved, and medical care was a major priority........but let's not let actual facts get in the way of a sweeping generalisation, eh??

[@scottessery100]

Wellington called his troops the scum of the earth and see how Russia 🇷🇺 treat their troops. Sledgehammer at dawn 🥺

[@richardhaley3347]

A very big embarrassing tragedy for the British Army...a young man's life wasted like it was nothing

[@georgespruce6028]

My Granddad joined at 16 years old. And was Ypres has a sniper.

[@STE.B]

For all we know he did say his age before his death but it had gone too far. Rest in Peace.

[@jenniferwong4530]

They were just kids. Poor things suffered so badly. War is a scourge on mankind.

[@thereisnosanctuary6184]

God Bless All The Future Veterans of War.

[@mattolivier1835]

Why? How about not fight in any more wars.

[@TheFunkhouser]

The British government have a lot of questions to be answered regarding Ww1 executions !!

[@Genghis-Khan121]

It wasn’t just the British trust me go look it up !!

[@TheFunkhouser]

@@Genghis-Khan121 Of course, I know, but the topic here today were the Brits.

[@fus149hammer5]

Well, feel free to interview Douggie Haig and the rest of British High Command but I suspect you won't get much out of them.....

[@larry1824]

Shell shock considered a moral failing and cowardice

[@sharonhill2602]

I hope those officers were ashamed. Poor men dying for nothing.

[@StooFras-TheFiresofHell.]

They probably executed more of their own men than they did the enemy.

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

@@StooFras-TheFiresofHell. twelve million British and Commonwealth soldiers served in the military during the four years the First World War lasted, and just 346 of them were executed for crimes under military Law........346 out of 12 million........surely you can do the arithmetic necessary to see that you're wrong.........?

[@andreaskaser797]

What a wonderful world.....

[@ix-Xafra]

No feminists complaining about equality here...

[@griswald7156]

Horrible management…

[@hubriswonk]

I train combat sports and a few times I have trained grown men who have never experienced any kind of physical violence completely freak out to the point they lose control of themselves screaming and yelling out of their minds. I can easily see how this could happen on the battle field.

[@geoffbell166]

The Great War' was a little bit more traumatic than that,and trench raiders attacked at night,with axes and medieval maces and spiked knuckle dusters and anything else that could main and kill...

[@hubriswonk]

@@geoffbell166 I agree 100% and your statement reenforces my point as to how a man could lose absolute control of his mind and body. I train with weapons as well. Primary training weapon is an electrified knife. That's as real of a cut I can simulation without actually getting cut.

[@geoffbell166]

@@hubriswonk Yeah that's true,knifes and axes are nasty,like it would been in the old days..

[@johnlombard8962]

Sad. I also had family who join the UK army 16 years old died year later 17 years old in combat. The real cowards are government. Killing their citizens

[@SaltiDawg2008]

People that have never served in combat certainly talk a good game below!

[@willarddevoe5893]

Britain, especially, had a Breaker Morant attitude about shooting their soldiers, officially. This didn't end until the novel and Humanities Film Forum Must See Movie The Last Detail tore up military justice in the public eye. What were we fighting for?

[@utrinqueparatus4617]

NOT 'Britain, especially'. France, Italy, Bulgaria, Russia and Germany/Austria executed a far greater percentage of their armies. Proportionally, four times more Australians than British were sentenced to death by their own authorities, but were not executed for fear of the effect on morale of a wholly volunteer army.

[@seanavp]

*Very sad story....*

[@montbrehain]

Should the ones Shot for rape and murder also have been pardoned? If your going to tell a story... tell the full story...

[@elizabethspedding1975]

RIP🌹

[@debrakleid5752]

He wasn’t the only underage soldier to be executed. I’ve heard that when their age was brought up the army basically said “if they are old enough to lie and get in the army then they are old enough to suffer the consequences” or something similar. 250,000 underage boys enlisted thinking the war would end by Christmas and they can see other countries. They couldn’t be more wrong.

[@dpt6849]

The Dutch executed men after their positions were allready overrun by the Germans while being out of munitions during ww2. At least 18 men were executed for this 'cowardly' actions. A day later the Dutch capitulated. The officer responsible received a medal for his heroic ruining several lives during a pointless battle.

[@georgedunn320]

This is interesting. Especially as I had previously been taught that in the First World War "Shell Shock" was understood and treated as a medical condition, but in the Second, its name now changed to "combat fatigue," it was regarded as a weakness of character. By the Vietnam Era, as "PTSD," it came to mean an acquired form of insanity and more or less incurable.

[@philipr1567]

Shell shock tended to be diagnosed as neurasthenia for officers. Ordinary soldiers were often designated as LMF (Lack of Moral Fibre) and treated as cowards. (EDITED - it wasn't LMF - my error! See my correction below).

[@georgedunn320]

@@philipr1567 In WWI, you mean. Also interesting. I have never come across "LMF" as a diagnosis. Any chance you have a cite?

[@philipr1567]

@@georgedunn320 - Sorry - this is my error (I got the term wrong). LMF was used by the RAF in WW2. Several sources including: McCarthy, John (1984), "Aircrew and 'Lack of Moral Fibre' in the Second World War", in "War & Society, 2"

[@westaussie965]

They were so backwards back then. All the men that died from enemies…and their own country kills them?🤦‍♀️

[@philipr1567]

The Australian government refused to allow their soldiers to be executed. They were civilised.

[@jaket9559]

We murdered Them and we are meant to be civilised we didn't help them we just shot them it's a disgraceful part of history that we should never forget rip all

[@AugustKling]

Today we have people doing that again. They wear a swastika and fight for the deep state in Ukraine. What a shame for human species.

[@seanohare5488]

I agree

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

Rubbish! Absolute Rubbish! I suggest you study the subject and learn the facts before making wildly emotive and completely wrong statements.........

[@AugustKling]

@@MichaelHill-we7vt Why can't I see a fact from you? Just loud swearing. Are you a left fascist?

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

@@AugustKling You clearly haven't read all my replies on this page.. I have quoted and provided plenty of cold, hard, incontestable facts. I've not not in any way indulged in swearing, loud or otherwise, I have tried to remain civil, and polite, and have not resorted to labelling anyone in any way. Courtesy and politeness cost nothing, remember, manners maketh man........ and furthermore, for your information, I'm neither "left" nor a fascist, and if you "cant see a fact from me" then I would suggest that you simply haven't read all my replies because I've provided plenty of facts which should satisfy you......please go ahead and do so, and then tell me which of my facts you disagree with, and what YOUR evidence is.....go on, I'll wait.............

[@merryrose6788]

Similar theme in Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick. Richard Anderson plays Major Saint-Aubin, who works to unjustly condemn three soldiers. The beginning scene, where he is confidently marching through the trenches is great. A shell explodes near him, and he leans over. The camera on his face shows complete fear and panic. Then he straightens up, and continues with the tour, and later works to get men shot for the same fear he had.

[@selwynlawton7939]

The Australian Army in europe refused the kill their soldiers who deserted. The soldiers were simply convicted by a military court and sent to prison where they received treatment for their mental trama and shell shock!!!!!

[@dash4177]

The Australian Government refused the British the right to shoot Australians,after an incident in the Boer war. Thus no Australian soldiers were executed during the first world war.

[@bertplank8011]

Only because everyone more or less knew each other.....so the Australian generals and govt were obliged to do this Contrast this with today...Andrews the premier of Victoria has made dire threats against people refusing the vaxcine....AND THE LOW LIFE SCUM GOT AWAY WITH IT.....!!.

[@Experiment632]

"Whoever seeks to save his life loses it"

[@gerhardwolfaardt8198]

Kitchener was the butcher of women and children during the second Boer war. 😢

[@davidlewis2447]

I will never forgive Tony Blair he had the opportunity to put this wrong right while he was the prime minister he refused to pardon the all the soldiers executed. What them men went through go over the top and be shot or refuse and get shot by your own army That war was a mass slaughter

[@heidimelendez5623]

A very different time and one boy out of untold thousands. The upper command refused to admit such an animal as shell shock or PTSD even existed. Was it wrong? Absolutely! With modern values what happened in WWI was beyond tolerance. It was beyond tolerance for so many in that war that mutiny was a real fear and occurrence. The one thing about this that I disagree with is that his age would have been an out for him.

[@timothylyons5686]

Today he would have had to present his birth certificate, NHS number and school qualifications certificate, Not got these documents then no joining up.

[@heidimelendez5623]

True enough, and recruiters aren't saying, "Come on you and all your mates will all be together!". Beyond the horrific loss of life in the Pal's groups, the peer pressure of all your neighborhood's men going and potentially being left behind would have been devastating.

[@rsacchi100]

Is there a breakdown of how many were executed for offenses that would also get someone the death penalty in civilian life and how many were executed for strictly military offenses such as desertion?

[@davidhaggan7512]

That is just heart breaking..murdered by your own side . Murdered.. because you are wilfully shot and killed by your own side not by your enemy . Sickening.

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

These men were NOT "murdered by their own side"....... They were tried and convicted of military offences in force at the time, during a horrific world war......and, at the risk of repeating myself, 37 of them would have been executed by civilian courts had there not been a war on, because they were convicted of murder, which was a capital offence at the time, both in military AND civil Law.......I suggest you study the offences the 346 men executed were shot for, and THEN tell me they were "Murdered by their own side"..........

[@davidhaggan7512]

@@MichaelHill-we7vt I was referring to the men who were shot for cowardice (ptsd) . "MURDERED" . climb down of your high horse Michael..i have read numerous cases of soldiers who had been tried and shot for very little . "Executed " im very aware of a lot of these tragic cases that occurred. You call it what you like I call it murder .

[@MichaelHill-we7vt]

@@davidhaggan7512 I'm not on any "high Horse" I am just putting things into context and trying to set the record straight here......only 18 British soldiers were executed by firing squad for cowardice during the entire four years of war.They were court -martialled, tried and convicted by due process of military law prevalent at the time...Whatever you may think of that now, those executions were legal, and lawful at the time they took place. Those men most certainly were `NOT MURDERED' you may not like the fact that the British Army(like every other combatant force in time of war) does occasionally execute its own men, but since 90% of all British soldiers sentenced to death by court-martial during World War 1 were not in fact actually executed, I would suggest that the British Military went out of its way NOT to execute its own men. At the risk of repeating myself yet again, only 346 British soldiers were executed during the four years of war, 37 of them for murder, which would have seen them hanged for their crimes under civil law in force at the time, 266 for desertion, which has always carried the death penalty in time of war, 18 for cowardice, 2 for sleeping on duty, there by putting other men at risk, 6 for striking a superior, 5 for disobedience of a lawful command 7 for quitting post without proper authority and 2 for casting away arms..that totals 346, and of these, nearly 40 of them were already under previous death sentences, and had been reprieved...........what are these "numerous cases of men tried and shot for very little" that you apparently have read about?

[@valmid5069]

*Imagine the outrage if the Geneva Conventions were taken more seriously or updated back then. It’s tragic war often bore out terrible consequences*

[@RobinsVoyage]

That's why you never lie.

[@martinmarsola6477]

R. I. P. ❤😢

[@denisemayosky1955]

I know! He was just a baby!😞🥀

[@ironwill8596]

My Great Grandfather fought in ww1 joined at 15 in 1914 and was a pow too

[@alwaysfourfun1671]

It is not only today, that your national government needs your body and soul for their purposes. Government propaganda deluding people to involve them into something that is really not their business.

[@KK1913]

Rich man’s war. Poor man’s fight.

[@KK1913]

@@alasdairmmorrison74 I beg to differ. Just because you put a medal on the chest of someone does not make a general a rich man.

[@LM-et7sg]

That's disgusting 🤮 to me .. I always say it and I will say it till my last breath. When u hurt innocence your soul will never be at peace ur soul will never rest horrible things will happen to you in Your next life... do you believe in the afterlife don't you? Yes you do, I know you do..

[@brandonstoughton9619]

You should cover adrien arcand the Canadian fuhrer.

[@Contessa6363]

RIP❤️🙏🙏🙏❤️

[@ix-Xafra]

How many were just shot with a webley by an officer in the trenches?

[@marvwatkins7029]

This narrator loves death. He talks about it almost exclusively.

[@pq6036]

I am old enough to have spoken to the men of my grandfather’s generation, who like him served in the Great War. Contrary to revisionist “History according to Blackadder” the vast majority of servicemen came home safe and lived full and happy lives. They had little sympathy for soldiers that let their comrades down by failing to do their duty, whether that be falling asleep on sentry duty or running away and in any event, cowardice was not a significant problem because everyone was in it together and they looked after each other. This is shown by the numbers of soldiers receiving the death penalty - out of 8.7 million British and Empire servicemen who served in the war, only 18 were shot for cowardice, 266 for desertion, 23 for murder, 7 for quitting a post, 5 for disobedience of a lawful order, 4 for striking a superior, 4 for mutiny, 2 for sleeping at post, 2 for casting away arms and 1 for “violence”. (Source - Western Front Association)

[@robertstallard7836]

Not only that, but of 3080 sentenced to death for various crimes, only in the numbers you cite was the sentence actually carried out. In all other cases the sentence was not confirmed by the C in C and often commuted to a term of imprisonment and the prisoner released shortly after the end of the war. Thus only roughly 1 in 10 of those sentenced to desth were actually executed.

[@pq6036]

@@robertstallard7836 Agreed - the point is that the British Army were not the butchers the revisionists want us to believe they were 👍🏻

[@mattolivier1835]

So that makes it ok? The British were evil.

[@pq6036]

@@mattolivier1835 Not only OK but necessary (a necessary evil) to maintain discipline and win the war against Germany - an evil militarist aggressor state.

[@mattolivier1835]

@@pq6036 How was Germany an aggressor state? Why was Britain attacking Germany in the first place? The evil British had no right to be attacking Germany.

[@rongendron8705]

Herbert's initial enlistment at age 16, was a 'fraudulent enlistment', even with parental consent & should have been treated as such! Even his second enlistment at 17, should have been treated the same & used as a 'positive defense' against his charge of desertion!/ After studying the reasons for WWI, will someone please explain it to me?

[@TheOmegaman1911]

Kitchener's "infamous campaign " what rot! Without that campaign, you and I would be speaking German! Mend your tongue!

[@markfethney7086]

All wars are Banker's wars, poor lad died for nothing.

[@tzazarizona2676]

War is hell isn't it. Many teenagers fought and did their duty, what is your comment on that.

[@davewilson9738]

Herbert Burden is a national hero. Despite his young age he fought for us, yet the aristocratic elite of the officers in the British army made him an example to the other conscripts that they ruled over with their entitlement. He should never have been there, he was, he fought with his comrades and the elite decided he was a coward. A shameful scandal of a huge magnitude for our history.

[@mrt8179]

The more i learn about this war, the angrier i become at how stupid and evil the whole thing was. And what did the world get for all the death and suffering? even more of it!

[@mattolivier1835]

@@alasdairmmorrison74 I think you're talking about WW2. Germany was justified in doing that. They were taking back their stolen lands. Britian didn't belong in either war. The British have always been evil. I hate them to this day.

[@jimcockburn4652]

No such thing as PTSD back then.