Chapter 16
2036
The Beginning
Brenda Arnold was still grieving over her husband’s death in the tunnel collapse earlier this year. Having learnt that Marie Judge had also died, she realised that she must fight. So was pleased when John Judge asked her to meet him in the underground at Goodge Street to discuss a matter for which he needed her help. Brenda was considered to be a well-respected Overgrounder and already well known for the help she gave the rebels and the vulnerable people above ground.
As she entered the tunnel, she was met by Alan Walker and his now girlfriend Nurse Janice, who were to escort her to John’s command centre. Janice welcomed her. ‘Hello Mrs Arnold, thanks for coming, John is waiting for you.’
John greeted Brenda warmly and went straight to the point, ‘tomorrow, three innocent young soldiers are going to die, they are to be executed by firing squad.’ Brenda clasped a hand over mouth to stifle the shock she felt. ‘They are being used to set an example to the rest of the troops and it’s something we have to stop.’
‘How can I help?’ I’m not exactly Rambo am I!’ she said with a coy smile.
‘No, I know you’re definitely not Rambo Brenda. I don’t want you to go into the camp all guns blazing’ John said playfully. ‘What I would like you to do is deliver a message. You will not have to do anything except hand the message over. What I want you to say is this “this message is for the personal attention of General Carsforth and it is to be delivered to him or one of his aides immediately”.’ Are you ok to do this Brenda?’
‘Of course John, just show me where I have to go.’
‘Thanks, Brenda. Your action may help us prevent some innocent lives being lost. The letter must get to the General or one of his aides before the executions are carried out tomorrow. Can you deliver this today?’ John passed her a sealed envelope. ‘It will be safer for you if you don’t know what’s in it.’
Brenda eagerly took the envelope ‘It will be the first thing I do after I leave here.’
After a short briefing, she embarked on her journey and duly arrived at the Ministry of Defence offices in Whitehall. She confidently approached the entrance that was guarded by armed soldiers. When she stopped and tried to speak to the guards, an officer came from an entrance office. ‘Can I help you, ma’am?’ he asked.
‘Yes, I hope so.’ She replied. ‘I have been asked to deliver this envelope to General Carsforth or one of his aides.’ She put on her broadest East End accent.
The officer took the envelope ‘who gave you this?’
‘Some tall geezer said his name was Judge or something. Didn’t bother me who he was, gave me twenty notes.’ She said with an overly large grin. ‘So as soon as you give that to General what’s his name I can get off to the pub.’
‘I shall personally deliver this to General Carsforth Ma’am,’ the duty Officer said. ‘Just leave it with me and off you pop and have yourself a nice few drinks.’
Brenda sensed that this Officer was patronising her and was probably just going to dump the letter in the nearest bin. So she added on leaving, ‘the tall geezer said that if his message wasn’t delivered then your boss will have your guts for garters.’ She giggled and jauntily walked off.
Brenda wasn’t wrong, the Officer hadn’t taken her seriously and would have ignored her instructions, but her closing comments made him look carefully at the envelope. On the reverse it said, “This is a message from John Judge”. The importance of those words was not lost on him. He hurried to the Generals offices and spoke to one of his aides who took the envelope and went into the General’s wardroom where he was in discussion with several of his senior Officers.
Carsforth saw the message on the back of the envelope and quickly tore it open. After reading it, he laughed and dismissively threw the letter on the table. ‘Let us continue our plans for tomorrow gentlemen. We cannot let sentiment get in the way of our need to re-establish discipline in the ranks. If Judge is true to his word, then the two Subalterns who have been captured will have to forfeit their lives for that cause. They will have served their country with honour.’
The letter was quickly passed around the group of Senior Staff Officers and Battalion Commanders. It said, “We have captured two of your Commissioned Officers in their failed attempt to infiltrate our bases. If you proceed with the planned execution of the three soldiers tomorrow, your Officers will also be executed. If you release the accused to police custody, we will do likewise with your Officers.” It was signed “John Judge Commander United Kingdom Free Army”.
Many of those present did not share the General’s disregard for their fellow Officer. Some were seriously concerned by the way the outdated law of death by firing squad was being used without the accused having a proper trial. Of greater concern was the accused not having legal representation. A gloomy silence descended on the room.
Carsforth looked around at the faces of his Staff and anticipated dissent. ‘I trust I have your unwavering support Gentlemen. I must be able to see you setting an example especially in front of your men.’ He thumped the table, ‘I want you to get the message across; deserters will be executed. If we do not show complete solidarity on this, then I can assure you we will have an unprecedented morale issue and possibly a large scale mutiny to handle.’ He slammed his fists on the table again. ‘That will not happen on my watch. Do I make myself clear?’
Each member of his staff nodded or mumbled an agreement. Many of those present believed the opposite that the executions were more likely to cause low morale and even mutiny, but most felt powerless to do anything about it. Carsforth was not a man with whom to cross swords.
Just before 11 am the next day, the London-based Battalions were marched on to the parade ground taking up their positions to form three sides of a square. On the open side, newly set into the ground were the three wooden posts that would restrain the sentenced soldiers to face their executioners. There was a darkness and foreboding in the air. Thousands of eyes were transfixed in that direction. The executions were planned for noon and the presence of the troops so early was deliberate. Carsforth wanted them to ponder on what they were about to see and instil as much fear as he could. The assembled troops were called to attention as Carsforth entered the parade square with his entourage of Staff Officers. He took up a position adjacent to the spot where the firing squad would be located. He looked around and it wasn’t fear he saw but revulsion.
The Adjutant in charge of the parade ordered the prisoners to be brought forward. The three men walked with their heads held high and without assistance. As they approached, their allotted final places each turned and spat on the ground in the direction of the General as a last act of defiance. Harnesses were attached to their body’s holding them firmly to the wooden posts to prevent them from fainting or their legs becoming unable to support their weight. The process was painfully protracted. A soldier in the front rank of one of the Battalions wavered and fell to the ground, unable to maintain consciousness. Soldiers either side of him stepped forward to help him up ‘Stand still you men; leave that man where he lies’ the Adjutant commanded. The two soldiers snapped smartly back to attention with the prostrate body at their feet.
In an obviously pre-planned procedure, Carsforth nodded to the Adjutant, who shouted a command. The firing squad of twelve men carrying their weapons at the shoulder marched smartly into their allotted positions. They had been divided into three groups of four, each group allotted to aim at a particular wooden post. Three paces separated the squads to define the alignment to their target. The party securing the sentenced men to their wooden stakes completed their task, each avoiding the eyes of their comrades who were about to die. As one soldier finished securing a strap around the ankles of a condemned comrade, he stood up and a tear rolled uncontrollably down his face. The condemned soldier smiled and winked. The securing party were ordered to step back and march away.
Another delicate nod of the head from Carsforth to hi
s Adjutant signalled that he was to proceed. He moved towards the condemned men to read out their charge and sentences and as he took up a central position he called out the name the first of the three men. Before he could continue one of the three Battalion Commanders stepped forward and shouted ‘I order you to stop this right now.’ The two other Colonels also stepped forward and simultaneously, armed soldiers appeared from behind the ranks of each Battalion. Their weapons were trained on the firing squad and the cohort of Staff Officers including General Carsforth.
Carsforth gasped, ‘what’s the meaning of this Colonel?’ Looking squarely at the Adjutant he commanded, ‘you are to proceed that is an order.’
The Adjutant looked bemused and uncertain. He turned to his firing squad party as one of the Colonels, escorted by a body of armed soldiers, approached in a smart military manner and faced the Adjutant. ‘Stand your men down Sir or I will order my men to open fire.’
The firing squad had already started to lay down their weapons.
There was panic in Carsforth’s voice. ‘What the hell are you trying to do Colonel? Do you realise this is mutiny for which you will hang.’
The Colonel turned to him and said ‘General Carsforth you are relieved of your command and will be held under house arrest until a fit and proper military tribunal can be assembled. At that time, you will be tried for authorising the murder of Private William Woodbridge.’ He looked to his Sergeant, ‘take two of your men and escort the General back to his quarters and keep him under guard.’
The Sergeant removed the sword and belt from the General’s waist ‘come with me now Sir.’ The three escorting soldiers together with their charge moved briskly off the parade ground.
The group of Staff Officers remained rooted to the spot. The Colonel in charge ordered the condemned men to be released from their restraints. ‘You are to be returned to your cells until your offences have been properly assessed and it is decided whether you must be charged or not. Adjutant, you are to dismiss your firing squad; their weapons will remain in our care for the moment.’
There was a noisy restlessness amongst the assembled troops until they were abruptly brought to attention, surprisingly by the Adjutant. ‘Attention’ He shouted loudly ‘and keep quiet. Remember you are soldiers. You will remain at attention until this parade is over. Now stand still.’
Using the Adjutant’s rank, the Colonel in charge said ‘Thank you Captain’ He was grateful that the rebellion planned by the three Battalion Commanders had gone as expected. ‘Battalion Commanders please return your troops to barracks. All staff are confined to base until further notice.’ He walked over to his co-conspirators and said quietly ‘Thank you, gentlemen, it has gone as planned. Now we have to try and rebuild this army’s morale and fighting spirit. We may have to face some serious questions at some point in the future, but I know we all believe what we have done here today was right. For the time being there are to be no street patrols or guards provided for the Police at the Conpens. Let’s get the men back to their billets. We will convene a meeting of all senior Officers including the General’s Staff Officers in 24 hours.’
As the troops started an orderly withdrawal from the square Colonel Jock Fraser noticed a spring in their step that certainly wasn’t there earlier. Their heads were also held higher. He was pleased about that but had faced the most difficult personal battle he had ever had to confront before. As a soldier, he was trained to obey orders from his superiors. His dilemma was that in taking the steps he had he was challenging the very basis of military discipline. When he sent men out in the field in Afghanistan, he didn’t once question or doubt their obedience even though they and he knew they could be blown to bits by an IED. Was he right to challenge the General because he didn’t like what he was doing? Could his men have said no to his command because he might be sending them to their death? Or they didn’t like the order they were given. Was the command being enforced lawfully? If so was it simply a question of disobeying an unlawful command? How many soldiers was Carsforth prepared to murder just to make a point? These were questions Jock Fraser wrestled with for many days and nights before he made the decision to take an action so extreme that he shuddered at the thought. When he received total support from his fellow Commanders’ he knew it was right. He also felt it was essential not to get the Government involved too soon. There would be plenty of questions when it was seen that the Army had been withdrawn from the streets. Those questions would be answered when he was ready and not before. The Army was not to be used against the civilian population ever again.
John Judge Page 52
