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Eric Poole
Eric Skeffington Poole (20 January 1885 – 10 December 1916) was a British Army soldier who was the first commissioned officer to be executed by British military authority during World War I. Originally from Canada, after serving on the Western Front for four months he was sentenced to death by court martial for desertion during the Battle of the Somme, and shot by a firing squad on 10 December 1916. Early life Eric Poole was born on 20 January 1885 in Nova Scotia, Canada. From 1903 to 1905 he served in the ranks of the Canadian Army's 63rd Regiment, Halifax Rifles. He emigrated to England with his family at some date before 1914, residing in the town of Guildford, Surrey.'Name of soldier added to war memorial & details of another 'shot at dawn' corrected', 'The Guildford Dragon', July 2015. http://www.guildford-dragon.com/2014/11/08/additional-name-of-soldier-added-to-war-memorial-and-details-of-another-shot-at-dawn-corrected/ First World War After the outbreak of World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas, and 28,330 volunteer reserve personnel. The modern British Army traces back to 1707, with antecedents in the English Army and Scots Army that were created during the Restoration in 1660. The term ''British Army'' was adopted in 1707 after the Acts of Union between England and Scotland. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief, but the Bill of Rights of 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Therefore, Parliament approves the army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. The British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contalmaison
Contalmaison () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Contalmaison is situated on the D147 and D20 crossroads, some northeast of Amiens. History As with many towns in this part of France, Contalmaison saw a great deal of fighting during World War I and was one of the allied objectives in the first Battle of the Somme. A high number of casualties fell on the first day: 1 July 1916. The advance from the British line in front of Albert, was led by the 34th Division, a New Army formation recruited in Edinburgh, Northumberland, Grimsby and Cambridge. Elements of the 16th Royal Scots ('McCrae's Battalion') and of Tyneside Irish battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers succeeded in penetrating the village defences on 1 July before being outnumbered and forced to withdraw by stubborn German opposition. The village is notable for its McCrae's Battalion Great War Memorial which honours the fallen of the 16th Royal Scots. Designed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Flanders
) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map = Provincie West-Vlaanderen in Belgium.svg , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Region , subdivision_name1 = , seat_type = Capital , seat = Bruges , leader_title = Governor , leader_name = Carl Decaluwé , area_total_km2 = 3197 , area_footnotes = , population_footnotes = , population_total = 1195796 , population_as_of = 1 January 2019 , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec2 = HDI (2019) , blank_info_sec2 = 0.935 · 5th of 11 , website = West Flanders ( nl, West-Vlaanderen ; vls, West V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poperinge
Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge proper and surrounding villages. The area is famous for its hops and lace. The town Poperinge is situated about 13 km (8 miles) to the west of Ypres (Ieper). The region is famous for growing hops and furnishes 80% of Belgian production. The town is home to the national hop museum and is called "hops city", ''hoppe stad'' in Dutch, a play on ''hoofd stad'', the word for capital. A triennial hop festival and parade is held in the month of September. The local brew is known as Hommel (which means hops in the West Flanders dialect). The carillon in the tower of the town's oldest church, Sint-Bertinuskerk, was noted as one of the most beautiful in Flanders in mediaeval times. It was destroyed during wartime in 1677 and restored in 1781. Poperi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firing Squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are usually readily available and a gunshot to a vital organ, such as the brain or heart, most often will kill relatively quickly. A firing squad is normally composed of several soldiers, all of whom are usually instructed to fire simultaneously, thus preventing both disruption of the process by one member and identification of who fired the lethal shot. To avoid disfigurement due to multiple shots to the head, the shooters are typically instructed to aim at the heart, sometimes aided by a paper or cloth target. The prisoner is typically blindfolded or hooded as well as restrained. Media portrayals have frequently shown the condemned being offered a final cigarette as well. Executions can be carried out with the condemned either standing or sitt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until the end of the war. He was commander during the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Arras, the Third Battle of Ypres, the German Spring Offensive, and the Hundred Days Offensive.Sheffield 2002, p. 21.Sheffield 2002, p. 263.Hart 2008, p. 2. His military career included service in the War Office, where he was instrumental in the creation of the Territorial Force in 1908. In January 1917 he was raised up to the rank of Field Marshal, subsequently leading the BEF during the final Hundred Days Offensive, when it crossed the Canal du Nord and broke through the Hindenburg line, capturing 195,000 German prisoners. This campaign, in combination with the Kiel mutiny, the Wilhelmshaven mutiny, the proclamation of a republic on 9 November 1918, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Expeditionary Force (World War I)
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the six-divisions the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The term ''British Expeditionary Force'' is often used to refer only to the forces present in France prior to the end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By the end of 1914—after the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Aisne and Ypres—the existent BEF had been almost exhausted, although it helped stop the German advance.Chandler (2003), p. 211 An alternative endpoint of the BEF was 26 December 1914, when it was divided into the First and Second Armies (a Third, Fourth and Fifth being created later in the war). "British Expeditionary Force" remained the official name of the British armies in France and Flanders throug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps form the Army Medical Services. History Origins Medical services in the British armed services date from the formation of the Standing Regular Army after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Prior to this, from as early as the 13th century there are records of surgeons and physicians being appointed by the English army to attend in times of war; but this was the first time a career was provided for a Medical Officer (MO), both in peacetime and in war. For much of the next two hundred years, army medical provision was mostly arranged on a regimental basis, with each battalion arranging its own hospital facilities and medical supplies. An element of oversight was provided by the appoin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
23rd Division (United Kingdom)
The 23rd Division was an infantry division of the British Army raised in 1914 in the Great War as part of Kitchener's Army. The division was sent to France in August 1915 under the command of Major-General Sir James Melville Babington C.B. C.M.G. During the war the division fought on the Western Front until October 1917 when it moved to the Italian Front. It remained in Italy and was disbanded by March 1919. Unit history 1914–1915 Formation and training The division formed part of Kitchener's third New Army, with concentration of units beginning on 16 September, the 68th Brigade at Bullswater and the 69th and 70th brigades, together with Royal Engineers companies at Frensham. It was commanded by Maj. Gen. James Melville Babington, who was at first hampered by a lack of clerks, cooks and a means of communicating orders, other than verbally. Together with other New Army divisions, uniforms of any description were not received until mid October, by which time many of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment. In addition, courts-martial may be used to try prisoners of war for war crimes. The Geneva Conventions require that POWs who are on trial for war crimes be subject to the same procedures as would be the holding military's own forces. Finally, courts-martial can be convened for other purposes, such as dealing with violations of martial law, and can involve civilian defendants. Most navies have a standard court-martial which convenes whenever a ship is lost; this does not presume that the captain is suspected of wrongdoing, but merely that the circumstances surrounding the loss of the ship be made part of the official reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, Screening (tactical), screening, rear reconnaissance, logistic traffic management, counterinsurgency, and detainee handling. In different countries it may refer to: * A section of military forces assigned to police, or garrison, occupied territories, usually during a war. * A section of military forces assigned to policing Prisoner of war Detention (imprisonment), Detentions. * A section of the military responsible for policing the areas of responsibility of the armed forces (referred to as Provost (military police), provosts) against all criminal activity by military or civilian personnel * A section of the military responsible for policing in both the armed forces and in the civilian population (most gendarmeries, such as the National Gendarmerie, French Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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