GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16757, 25 January 1918, Page 4

GENERAL COURT-MARTIAL

mm TRIAL OF LT.-COL. TUKNEB. - ' PARTICULARS OF CHARGEB, I TRIBUNAL OF SEVEN OFFICERS | •t 1 || n' FIRST SITTING ON TUESDAY. IJ o ' "' '- A General Court-martial for the trial of Vfe Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. Turner, of the i sth, Wellington, Regiment, late com- = mandant of the Motuihi Island internn ment camp, will be opened in Auckn land on Tuesday morning. The trial will ft take place in the' City Council Chamber, g which has been placed at the disposal of '■ the military authorities by the Mayor. ■j Lieutenant-Colonel Turner stands arn raigned as a result of the escape from f Motuihi Island, on December 15, of 10 e prisoners of war and one civilian. ', The Court will be constituted as fol- £ lows : — h President: Colonel N. P. Adams, r C.M.G., New Zealand Field Artillery. . Members : Lieutenant-Colonel J. L. e Sleeman, Imperial General Staff; Lieun tenant-Colonel D. Pringie, 2nd, Wellinge ton and West Coast Mounted Rifles; y Lieutenant Colonel E. W. Porritt, 6th, s Hauraki, Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel ~ J. A. P. Frederick, Otago Coast Defence 0 Infantry; Lieutenant-Colonel J. Deans, 3 Ist Mounted Rifles, C.Y.C.; lieutenant- . I Colonel F. T. Bellringer, 11th Heiiraent, .. j Waiting .Members: LieuienanLColonel g j J. Hislop, 9th, Hawke's Bay, Regimentj j ] Lieutenant-Colonel J. P. Stevenson, Auckj land Coast Defence Infantry; Lieutenanta' Colonel G. J. Beattie, New Zealand Field i Artillery. tt i Prosecutor: Captain P. E. Baldwin. v e Counsel may appear en behalf of the prosecutor. The Judge Advocate General, Colonel J. R. Reed, K.C., will also be present. Captain j. F. Pullen, Garrison Artillery, will appear for Lieut-Colonel Turner. i The charges preferred against Lieut.- - Colonel Turner are :— 5 I That, being a member of the Defence 3 i Forces of New Zealand, he, without rea. 3 i sonable excuse, allowed to escape persons 3 ' committed to his charge, in that he, at 3 Motuihi Island, on or about December 13, 3'• 1917, while commandant of the said - I island, and having the care, charge, and i j custody of _ prisoners of. ' war and interned alien 'enemies, ) to wit, one Lieutenant-Commander ' 3 Count von Luckner, Lieutenant ; Kirscheiss, Wireless Operator Grun, ■ Wireless Engineer Freund, Naval Cadets " i von Zatorski, Paulsen, Schmidt, Mellert, - and Klohn. Seaman H. Erdmann, and one j • von Egidy, a Samoan Government official, < ' allowed the said Lieutenant-Commander i Count von Luckner and the others men- • tioned to obtain possession of a launch and to make other preparations for their escape, without taking reasonable means to prevent it, and thus permitted the escape of tie said Lieutenant-Commander ' [ Count von'Luckner and the others men- ' tioned. ! An alternative charge is that he, with- ,--' | out reasonable excuse, allowed to escape j persons whom it was his duty to keep, in having done the acts alleged in the par--1 ticulars of the first charge. ', A second alternative charge is that he, O 1 without reasonable excuse, allowed- to ; i escape persons whom it was his duty to • guard in having done the acts alleged in | ' the particulars of the first charge. £ Colonel N. P. Adams, C.M.G., New | Zealand Field Artillery, is commandant of i ' the Featherston camp. He is a lawyer by 1 profession and prior to the outbreak of 1 war was practising at- Nelson. rj Lieut.-Colonel J. L. Sleeman, of the ■ Royal Sussex Regiment, Imperial General ■ J Staff, is director of military training. He »„ took part in the South African war, for his services in which lie was awarded the % . Queen's Medal with three clasps, and the- ul King's Medal with two clasps. At the outbreak of the preeent war, he went to France with the First Division of th«i British Expeditionary Force.