Julian Putkowski (born 1947) is a British

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians ...

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

, and broadcaster. He has written extensively on military executions in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Life

Putkowski graduated from the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

in 1976. He has since then been researching

military discipline Military discipline is the obedience to a code of conduct while in military service.Le Blond, Guillaume. "Military discipline." ''The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project''. Translated by Kevin Bender. Ann Arbor ...

and dissent. In 1989, he was co-author, with Julian Sykes, of ''

Shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

at Dawn:

Execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

s in

by Authority of the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

Act''. The

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Convention, articl ...

of the book led indirectly to renewed public interest in the topic of

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s executed during the war, culminating in the issue of

pardons A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

to 306 men who were shot for various offenses, including

cowardice Cowardice is a characteristic wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumb ...

. Later, Putkowski wrote a book entitled ''Murderous Tommies'' with Mark Dunning, a lawyer interested in British Army

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

courts martial A 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 arme ...

cases. ''Murderous Tommies'' is also about the First World War, and gives an account of 13 soldiers who committed

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

.Julian Putkowski and Mark Dunning, Warfare magazine
/ref>

References

Published works

* Putkowski, Julian & Dunning, Mark; ''Murderous Tommies'', (England: Pen & Sword, 2012) * Putkowski, Julian & Sykes, Julian; ''Shot at Dawn: Executions in World War I by Authority of the British Army Act'', (England: Pen & Sword, 1996) * Putkowski, Julian; ''British Army Mutineers 1914-1922'', (UK: Francis Boutle Publishers, 1998) * Putkowski, Julian & Chielens, Piet; ''Unquiet Graves / Rusteloze Graven Guide: Execution Sites of the First World War in Flanders'', (UK: Francis Boutle Publishers, 2000) * Putkowski, Julian (trans. Yves Buffetaut), ''Les Fusillés de King Crater (II)'', (France: Ysec éditions, 2002) * Putkowski, Julian, ''The Kinmel Park Camp Riots 1919'', (England: Flintshire Historical Society. 1989) Living people Historians of World War I Military discipline and World War I British military writers British military historians 1947 births {{UK-nonfiction-writer-stub