During the First World War, maintaining discipline within the various armies was a subject of debate, concern and controversy. How best to deal with those men who broke, or were perceived to have broken, military laws and expectations would see some soldiers being sentenced to death.
Students from St Catherine’s College in Eastbourne and volunteers researched into this emotive and still controversial time thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant.
To understand life in the Armed Forces during the First World War it was important to also understand the time: culture, class; life. They explored a time with different attitudes towards discipline and punishment. Awareness of mental ill health was very poor at the start of the War years, but soldiers suffering from “shell shock” eventually led to the discovery of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: PTSD, as we know it today. They undertook specific research of those men who were sentenced for cowardice and desertion, with new consideration of some of the causes.
This project is about the importance of honouring the memories of the brave men who were fighting in a terrible war in horrible conditions: all of them.
Acknowledgements and Gratitude to:
The Heritage Lottery Fund; National Lottery players and supporters; St Catherine’s College entire year 8 during 2017-18, their teachers and supporters, and all their parents and family members who helped or volunteered; Ancestry.com; Gateways to the First World War; Royal Sussex Living History Group; The Peace Pledge Union; Sussex Quakers; Newhaven Fortress; The Royal Sussex Regimental Association; the Royal British Legion; the Imperial War Museum; all the volunteers and contributors and the Sound Architect Creative Media Team.