Julian Putkowski (born 1947) is a British

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

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 nor ...

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 t ...

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

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Putkowski graduated from the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

in 1976. He has since then been researching

military discipline Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodies ...

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, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

s in

by Authority of the

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 Gur ...

Act''. The

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Con ...

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 conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

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 trait 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 succumbs to cowa ...

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

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

courts 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 memb ...

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

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-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 cultu ...

.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