Deserter from the army in 1917 - Would it have made local news?

[BlueSavannah]

Hi,

I have just been looking at the service records for Ben Eastwood (born 1888 in Sheffield). It would appear he was admitted to the Wharncliffe War Hospital in Sheffield on the 26th September 1917 and was discharged from there on the 27th December 1917 to return to his unit. Ben never returned and after a meeting he was declared a deserter.

Would any information about this have made the local news? I have had a look at the newspapers on FMP which didnt bring anything up, but I dont think they cover Sheffield in the 1900s as a document I know was in the paper (I have a copy of it) doesnt show on FMP.

I have no idea where Ben was hiding but he returned to his family eventually as he had 2 children in 1919 and 1920.

Regards

[Shona]

I have come across a number of men who deserted when carrying out my war memorial research.

During the First World War, the London Police Gazette published a weekly list of Deserters and Absentees from His Majesty's Service.

As regards local newspaper stories, it varies around the country. I have seen advertisements asking for the whereabouts of missing soldiers, including those who 'went missing' in the UK.

Of course, those who deserted while on active duty in, eg, France, were often shot at dawn for deserting. Most tended to be ranks. Officers who absconded or suffered from shell shock were more likely to be discharged and shipped back home.

I have also come across men who vanished from hospital when they were meant to have returned to duty. Some never surfaced again - perhaps they changed their name and lived the rest of lives under an assumed identity. Others did reappear.

Sometimes families helped to hide the deserter. One family I came across lost three sons in quick succession. The youngest was wounded and sent to England for treatment. Relatives hid him from the authorities. This was quite close to the end of the war, though.

[BlueSavannah]

Many thanks for the info Shona.

I found it odd that Ben returned to his wife Caroline on the same street they were living on before he joined the army and had 2 children whilst living there. However, after 1920, I cannot trace either Ben or Caroline including likely deaths for them.

[Shona]

There was an amnesty for deserters at the end of the war. They were meant to contact the army to sort out their financial affairs. however they had to contact the army and financial accounts had to be settled.

The Army had to call a court of enquiry to declare someone a deserter. As you can see in Ben's records, he was meant to have gone from hospital to Dover for embarkation at the end of December 1917. The enquiry was held later on in 1918. Interestingly, I noted that he had previously been injured in 1916, receiving a gun shot wound to the face. That time, he did return to his unit.

There was an amnesty for deserters at the end of the war. The deserters were meant to contact the army to sort out their financial affairs.

It is interesting that they seem to 'vanish' from the records. Could they have emigrated? Or perhaps they went by other names, still fearful of the knock on the door from the military police, in spite of the amnesty.

[BlueSavannah]

I wondered if they had emigrated but I can't find any record of them on any passenger list so I don't think they did.

Maybe they did change their names, but not sure I would ever be able to know for sure if they did or didn't.

[Shona]

Would tracking the children help? I have seen a Violet Eastwood - is she connected?

[BlueSavannah]

Violet is connected, she is their daughter and is on the 1911 census with them aged 2 months.

I havn't yet tried to track the children as was concerned that there was a slight possibility that the last few that appear to be born might still be alive.

[Shona]

Good point!

[kiterunner]

Do you have the birth certificates for the children born after the war, Claire? I realise we can't post their details in case they are still alive, but just wondering whether Ben is shown as the father on the certificates, and if so, what is his occupation on them? And have you looked at the electoral registers?

[kiterunner]

Ancestry shows a memorial register entry for Ernest Eastwood, AB, P/JX 268397, RN, HMS President III (lost in SS Fort Babine), 13 September 1943. Age 23. Son of Ben and Caroline Eastwood, of Hillsborough, Yorkshire.
Ancestry CWGC Memorial Register (http://search.ancestry.co.uk/iexec?htx=View&r=5538&dbid=2706&iid=40465_291369-00057&fn=Ernest&ln=Eastwood&st=d&ssrc=&pid=22013)

[BlueSavannah]

Hi Kite,

I don't have any birth certs for their children but for the two that were born after his desertion, I have found the baptisms in the original parish records at Sheffield and Ben was named as the father. For the child born in 1919, Ben's occupation was still given as a Soldier. For the child in 1920, his occupation was back to being a labourer.

These two children were baptised at the same church as the earlier children before he went to war. I understand that maybe Caroline had children with another man but would she have likely got away with baptising them at the same church she was known at?

Are any electoral rolls for the 1920s online?

[BlueSavannah]

oh wow, not seen that before. Ernest was the child born in 1920 so at least I know I can say his name now knowing he isn't living. The address Ben & Caroline were known at was in Hillsborough, Sheffield so this suggests they are still there in 1943?

[kiterunner]

Are any electoral rolls for the 1920s online? Not as far as I know.

oh wow, not seen that before. Ernest was the child born in 1920 so at least I know I can say his name now knowing he isn't living. The address Ben & Caroline were known at was in Hillsborough, Sheffield so this suggests they are still there in 1943? Yes, it does.