FLOGGED WITH CANE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26198, 8 July 1946, Page 5

FLOGGED WITH CANE

MEMBERS OF CHINDITS OFFICER COURT MARTIALLED LONDON, July 5. At a general court martial in London to-day a British Army officer was alleged to have ordered a regimental sergeant-major to flog two British privates in Burma in June, 1944. The officer is Major Phillip Graves-Morris, of the Worcester Regiment, who served with Major-general Wingate’s Chindits.

Graves-Morris pleaded not guilty and also entered a plea of “in bar of trial,” meaning that if the offence was committed it was condoned by a competent military authority. His counsel, Mr Russell Vick. K.C., asserted that the men were beaten across the back with something a little thinner than a schoolmaster’s cane. “I expressly use the word beaten, for somehow the word flogged has crept in,” he said. “It was a very humane beating.” Mr Vick added that in the circumstances in which Graves-Morris and his men were placed it was necessary to award punishment of this nature for cases of-serious indiscipline, Mr Vick said that when the beatimwere reported to the brigade commander he took no action. One of the soldiers had been brought before the ' column commander when found sleeping on sentry duty, a most serious offence when fighting against a cunning and brutal enemy. He was sent to trial and awarded field punishment. He agreed to take a beating, which was properly administered with a bough cut from the bush.

Brigadier W. B. Lentaigne, who commanded the brigade, gave evidence, which included flogging for serious offences. “Major-general Wingate definitely favoured unorthodox punishments in important cases. He realised that normal punishments, such as detention and stoppage of pay. were meaningless.” said Brigadier Lentaigne. One of Major-general Wingate’s battalion commanders, Major Frank Wyman, gave evidence that Wingate told his officers that for offences likely to result in loss of lives they were empowered to flog offenders and turn them loose with rations, or in exceptional cases to shoot them. “You will apply that scale because I am satisfied it is the only way we hope to bring the men out alive,” said Wingate. Graves-Morris. in evidence, said he ordered a man found asleep on sentry duty 28 days’ field punishment. > He explained to him that everyone had a full day’s work to do, and it was thus impossible to carry out the field punishment. The soldier therefore signed a statement electing to be caned.

Mr Vick, addressing the court, argued that field punishment was of no use because the whole campaign was worse than field punishment. There had to be other means of bringing home any particular man’s temporary lapse. The accused acted as a competent military authority on the snot, because the punishment had to be swift and rigorous, and he at the earliest possible time reported his action to his second in command.

The prosecutor, summing up. said Wingate's order was manifestly wrong because there was nothing in the Parliamentary Acts or the King's Regulations to allow for the order. ■ The court allowed the plea of condonation subject to confirmation from a high authority. The court adjourned.