3 replies to this topic

[Keith Sloane]

A NZ soldier faced a Court Martial on April 19th 1917.  This info came from a Sgt's private diary, he having to attend.
His only other comment was "he got off".
The Unit were in the Le Bizet Nieppe area at the time.
His war records make no mention of the Court Martial at all.

Is there a central area where Court Martial proceedings are held?  
Would all British records be held together or would NZ records be separate?  

I'd like to find out what the charge was.   Other than that the soldier had a clean sheet, but unfortunately was KIA at Messines a couple of months later.

Keith

[Ron Clifton]

Hello Keith

There were about 305,000 courts-martial in the British (and Dominions) Army in the Great War. The only ones for which records of the proceedings have survived are the 350 or so that resulted in an execution and these are in the National Archives at Kew, SW London, in class WO71.

There are some registers of courts-martial in classes WO84 and WO86.

Is there an organisation in NZ similar to the AWM in Canberra? If so, they may have copies of the unit War Diaries, including the A&Q Diary of the NZ Division, and one of these may have information about the courts-martial.

Ron

[Keith Sloane]

Hello Ron,  thanks for the info.  Actually realised later and looked on NZ Archived website.  They do have records on Court Martials WWI (in fact 1917 specifically), just a matter
of trying to see what one applies.  The fact he "got off" may mean the record was cleared.
As to Unit diaries, I haven't seen one for this outfit that early.
Keith

[Wendy Mac...]

Hi Keith

How are you getting on with your court martial information. I'm going to be in Wellington at the archives in a couple of weeks, If anything your after is held there I can view in the reading room and digitally photograph if you wish.



Regards Wendy