Talk:Shoreham, Kent

Untitled

I deleted "*Joe Richmond Two Time Duck Race Winner 2004-05." Suspect this is vanity posting, nor is any information given on the Duck Race. Most fundamentally, is this notable? Probably not.Paul W 10:17, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

Pte. Thomas Highgate

The current section reads:

"There is a white memorial cross in the hillside opposite the village church. It was dug in 1920 as a memorial to local men killed in action.

Shoreham was also the birthplace and home of Private Thomas Highgate, who, aged 19, became the first British soldier to be shot for desertion after the First World War Battle of Mons on 8 September 1914. However, there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that he was deserting his post; Pte Highgate was undefended at his court martial because all his regimental comrades had been killed, injured or captured.

In 2000, Shoreham Parish Council voted not to include his name on its war memorial. However, after a posthumous pardon in 2006, it was considered that his name might be added."

Aside from the lack of a reference regarding the details of the trial (which is of questionable relevance on the page dedicated to the village of Shoreham), the detail as originally presented was misleading, namely:

1) 'there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that he was deserting his post'

He was convicted of desertion by Field General Court Martial, and it should be noted that the nature of the 2006 pardon (Army Act 2006, Section 359), rightly or wrongly, did not overturn any of the convictions that resulted in capital punishment themselves. The evidence against Highgate, on the basis of which basis he was convicted, is not nonexistent as the original claimed. He was apprehended by a local gamekeeper, wearing civilian clothes and his discarded uniform was found nearby. He is alleged to have stated to the gamekeeper his intention to desert. Reference: Lawrence James, Warrior Race (Abacus, London, 2001) p.462., and Charles Messenger, Call to Arms: The British Army 1914-18 (Cassel, London, 2005) p.378

2) ' Pte Highgate was undefended at his court martial because all his regimental comrades had been killed, injured or captured'

Again this is misleading: Highgate was a soldier in 1st Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). Although the battalion had been engaged at Mons and during the following retreat there is no evidence to suggest every single member was either dead, wounded or in an enemy POW camp. As Thomas Highgate's arrest, court martial and subsequent execution took place (6-8 Sept. 1914), the battalion possessed sufficient strength to have been deployed forward to take part in the Allied counterattack on the Marne, and fight in subsequent actions. Clearly this would have been impossible had all 1,000 of its officers, NCOs and private soldiers been made casualties in the preceding two weeks fighting. Reference: Lawrence James, Warrior Race (Abacus, London, 2001) p.462.

Therefore I propose the original be edited to read:

"There is a white memorial cross in the hillside opposite the village church. It was dug in 1920 as a memorial to local men killed in action. Shoreham was the birthplace and home of Private Thomas Highgate, who was the first British soldier to be shot for desertion during the First World War on 8 September 1914, following the Battle of and Retreat from Mons. In 2000, Shoreham Parish Council voted not to include his name on its war memorial. However, after a posthumous pardon in 2006, it was considered that his name might be added."

The details of the unfortunate manner in which this young soldier lost his life is therefore still recorded, as is the debate on whether his name should be included on the village war memorial. The unreferenced aspersions on the integrity and evidence of his court martial, and the inaccurate and unreferenced statement suggesting that 1/Royal West Kents had taken 100% casualties have both been removed. I hope this presents the information on this very sensitive topic from a more Neutral Point of View and enables readers to draw their own conclusions, rather than unreferenced and demonstrably misleading information being employed to unduly influence it in one direction. 109.148.89.58 (talk) 00:12, 2 April 2013 (UTC)

External links modified

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