COURT-MARTIAL

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23414, 22 August 1941, Page 8

COURT-MARTIAL

DESERTION CHARGE

(P.A.) ■ WELLINGTON. August 21. After being at liberty for 21 months, Gunner William Gladstone Hopkins was arrested in Wellington by the civil police, and pleaded guilty before a district court-martial at Trentham to-day to desertion. The Court will forward a report of the proceedings, including the recommendation of sentence, to the convening officer. Particulars of the charge were that, being a soldier of the Royal New Zealand Artillery, accused deserted His Majesty’s forces at Auckland on November 11, 1939, he having been transferred to Devonport from the army school of instruction, Trentham, and absented himself till arrested by the civil police at Wellington on August 13, 1941, dressed in plain clothes. A summary of evidence showed that a Court of Inquiry held on December 15, 1939, decided that accused had illegally absented himself without leave, and a warrant for his apprehension was issued by the adjutant-general in April, 1940. Constable E. Burnett’s evidence stated that he ascertained that accused was livirig at Thorndon with a Mrs Cottrell. They were occupying a room as l\lr and Mrs Hopkins.

The defending officer, in mitigation, said that at Auckland accused became friendly with Mrs Cottrell, whose husband, it was alleged, ill-treated her. Accused decided he would take the woman to Wellington. The Army authorities were told of this through the husband. Though the accused had done well in his course, he was told he could not be taken on the New Zealand permanent staff unless the association with the woman stopped. Thus the-accused had the choice either of a promising career in the Army, or his definite responsibility to the woman. Accused thought he could not honestly or fairly do other than stand by the woman. She did not take divorce proceedings against her husband because the probable publicity would have brought the accused to the notice of the Army authorities. Accused lived openly in Wellington, and worked at Lower Hutt, making no attempt to conceal the desertion. If the war had not begun two months before matters came to a head over the woman, he could have bought his discharge' from the Army for £lO. as was provided for. Registered as a single man for Army service, he had been called up in the last ballot. He asked the Court to look at the matter in the light that accused did the decent thing by standing by the woman. Accused was anxious to rehabilitate himself in the Army and asked that the punishment be light so that as soon as it was over accused could do his bit in the war. *