When my wife and I took part in one of Richard Holmes’ tours to the Somme we stopped for lunch at Avril’s Tearooms in Auchonvillers. In the cellar of the house was an old dressing station, and one of the carvings on the wall was purported, by Avril, to be in memory of James Crozier, by his comrades.  I don’t know if the story of the carvings is correct, but Crozier’s story was one I looked up in the PRO [WO 71/450].

James Crozier was a yound Irishman who had joined up in September 1914 against the wishes of his mother, there is some dispute over whether he was or was not under age.  In January 1916 his unit, 9th Royal Irish Rifles, was near Serre in a cold and wet winter. They went into the trenches at around 7pm on the 31st January and at 8.30pm Corporal Todd told Crozier to remain in his dugout as he would be going on sentry duty.  At Crozier’s court martial Todd said that at 9pm he could not find Crozier and reported the fact to CSM Hill, who also searched but failed to find him.

At around 9am on the 4th February Crozier was seen wandering in the transport lines some 25 miles from the front with no cap badge and rifle etc and when he was challenged he said he was a deserter [WO 71/450].  He was then arrested. Both Babington and “Shot at Dawn” are incorrect in saying that he was in a field ambulance when he was found. Once again Putkowski & Sykes write in a way that gives a false impression of events.  They have not used the documents in the PRO.

During his trial Crozier said that when in the trenches “I was feeling very ill with pains all over me. I do not remember what I did.  I was dazed, I do not remember being warned for any duty.  I cannot remember leaving the trenches even.” Under cross examination he was asked if, when feeling ill, there was any bombardment near him; “there were some rifle grenades bursting about ten yards from me.” He said that he was ill before going into the trenches and that it had got worse with the cold, but he had not reported sick.

After considering their verdict the court reviewed his previous record sheet, which was not particularly good, his character was shown as “Bad”, with two charges of absence against him, one from a working party and one from his billet.

It is an odd coincidence that James Crozier’s commanding officer had the same surname, he was Lt. Col. Frank Crozier and in his memoires he says that he had promised Crozier’s mother that he would look after her son.  Frank Crozier was required by the Court Martial process to comment on the soldierly qualities of the young James which he did on the 15th Feb., it was damning;

“From a fighting point of view this soldier is of no value [my italics J Dillon].  His behaviour has been that of a ‘shirker’ for the past 3 months.  He has been with the Expeditionary Force since 3/10/15.

I am firmly of the opinion that the crime was deliberately committed with the intention of avoiding duty in the Redan, more particularly as he absented himself shortly after the case of another soldier had been promulgated for a similar crime.  The Officer Commanding the man’s company is of the same opinion.  Sentence was remitted in the case mentioned to 2 years I.H.L.”

On the 16th February Brigadier General Withycombe commanding 107 Brigade added his comments to the court documents;

“I recommend that the extreme penalty in the case of Rifleman James Crozier be carried out.  My reasons for this recommendation are that the case is one of deliberately avoiding duty in the trenches and as a deterrent to a repetition of offences of this nature - the discipline of the 9th R.I.R. is good for a service battalion.”

When the documents arrived at Division it was noted that Crozier had based part of his case on his medical condition and so it was decided that Crozier should have a medical examination. The examination was carried out by Lt. Col. Fawcett who found Crozier to be of sound health in ‘mind and body’. The C.O. of 36 Division then wrote that he concurred “in the opinion expressed by Brig. General Withycombe that the sentence should be carried out. There have been previous cases of desertion in the 107th Brigade.”  On the 19th February it was agreed at Corps level that “in the interests of discipline the sentence, as awarded, should be carried out.”

The section in “Shot at Dawn” that relates to Crozier makes it seem that he was found wandering in a field hospital, in a daze and suffering pains throughout his body, that he was then given a medical examination where he was found fit and returned to his unit for court martial. That was not the sequence of events.

When the time came for the execution the battalion was paraded with a wall between themselves and the firing squad, they did not see the execution but they heard it.  As was normal, the firing squad would have been consituted using men from his own battalion. Frank Crozier in his memoir says that “Death, despite all the precautions, was not instantaneous owing to nervousness, the firing party fired wide.”  The officer commanding the firing party had to use his revolver and shoot James Crozier in the head.

Frank Crozier seems to express some regret for the event in his memoir, or at least a respect for the poor Rifleman; “He was no rotter deserving to die like that. He was merely fragile.  He had volunteered to fight for his country ... at the dictates of his own young heart. He failed. And for that failure he was condemned to die - and he did at the hands of his friends, his brothers, with the approval of his church’.

Sucrerie cemetery, Colincamps, France where James Crozier is buried. His inscription is “Remembered with Honour”.