I went out today to get this fantastic statue in a lovely little Town called Maghull it took about 4 minuets to do and never lost tracking once and zero clean up, must be a personal best haha.. i used the Otter Lite, and this shows again how fantastic this scanned is...it was also very windy and done with a bad back.... the story behind this is a bit grim read with caution...
Shot at Dawn
Jimmy Smith of the Liverpool Pals
Having survived the slaughter of Gallipoli
and being wounded during the Battle of the Somme,
Private 52929 Jimmy Smith returned to the front as member of the
17th Battalion of the King’s Regiment.
He had almost lost his life on the Somme in 1916.
A massive German artillery shell buried him alive on the Transloy ridge,
leaving bits of his friends around him, and a large deep shrapnel wound
on his right shoulder. According to his sister, it was big enough to put a fist in.
Fortunately, he was rescued, but in a very poor mental and physical state
from which he never recovered. The shocks and horrors of the battles that he had seen
had damaged him to such an extent that he was clearly unfit for further service.
Jimmy was scarred inside and outside by what he had seen and suffering
from terrible shell shock, he started to go absent without leave.
Today, we would recognise that Jimmy Smith
was suffering from serious post-traumatic stress disorder.
During late August and early September 1917, The Liverpool Pals had endured
some of the most vicious fighting of World War I. Predictably perhaps, Jimmy escaped again.
He would have known very well that if he was caught, he might well face
the death sentence, but nothing could make him go into battle again.
Just before midnight on the evening of 30th July 1917, he was arrested in the town of Poperinge.
He was charged with desertion and disobedience, and on 22nd August, he faced court martial.
During the trial, Jimmy did not say a word.
Disgracefully, he was not even given someone to act in his defence.
The three presiding officers found him guilty. Men from Jimmy’s regiment
were selected as the firing squad, most of whom knew he was a brave man
who was suffering from shell shock. He had been awarded two good conduct medals.
Jimmy was still only 26 years old.
His execution was due to take place at dawn on 5th September.
That morning, the reluctant executioners found him bound to a chair
set up next to the wall of a barn. Private Smith was blindfolded and a white disc
had been placed over his heart as a target. Protesting furiously to the commanding officer,
the twelve man firing squad was summarily ordered to execute Jimmy.
The lads aimed and fired, the majority deliberately missing the target. However,
Jimmy was wounded, the chair was knocked over and he lay screaming in pain on the ground.
The young officer in charge of the firing squad was shaking like a leaf, but he knew now
that he had to finish Jimmy off by putting a bullet through his brain with his Webley pistol.
He lost his nerve however, and could not fire as Jimmy continued to writhe in agony on the ground.
The officer ordered one of Jimmy’s friends, to take the final shot and kill him.
The friend, a private from Everton never recovered from the trauma.
Seven decades later, as he faced his own death, still desperately upset,
he told his son what had happened. He never forgave himself.
Today, Jimmy lies in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery. His gravestone bears the inscription
“Gone, but not forgotten”.
This memorial pays respect to Jimmy and the other 305 soldiers of the First World War
who were shot for cowardice or desertion.
