Original subtitles

Here dead lie we

because we did not choose to live and shame the land from which we sprung.

Life, after all, is nothing much to lose,

though young men think it is,

and we were young.

What's it remind you of?

Remind you of anything?

You know when this war's over, I think I'll get me a job in the sewer.

- So you should too! - Well, it's the same smell, the same company.

The perfect soldier.

Aye, the perfect soldier.

- Loved his country. - Killed rats.

- Killed lice. - Went without food.

- Without drink. - Without sleep.

Without...

Went over the top.

- Killed the Kaiser, won the war. - Home again.

- Honourable discharge. - Fat pension.

From his grateful country.

Women waiting for him.

Children fondle him.

Liquor is free for him.

He sleeps in the sun.

Remind you of anything?

I suppose they think I've let 'em down, Corp.

No.

I reckon I'll get a fair trial.

Aye.

It'll come out all right.

Aye, course it'll come out all right.

Well, I'm sorry this job has to be wished on you, Charles.

It's not your fault.

If we weren't moving up so soon,

I suppose it could all be a bit more formal.

That would make it all the more futile, wouldn't it?

- What? - Well, he is on trial for his life.

That doesn't make him original, we're all on trial for our lives.

The only thing that makes him original is that he's failed.

Failed as a man and as a soldier.

The whole blasted thing's a waste of time.

If a dog breaks its back,

you don't sit around chatting all day, you shoot it.

- Excuse me, sir. - Oh yes, come on.

What were you like as a child?

The same.

- Is he in there? - Yes, sir.

Might I have a word with you, sir?

He's no idea what could happen to him, sir.

At least, he don't give no sign of knowing.

I suppose he's bound to know. He's bound to know what he did.

He's bound to know what could happen to him.

Have you been talking to him?

Yes, sir, a bit.

I know it's laid down we shouldn't.

Shall I come, sir?

Is it necessary?

No, sir.

- My name's Hargreaves. - Yes, sir, I know you, sir.

- Do you? - Trönes Wood, sir.

Warlencourt as well.

How long have you been out here?

'14, sir. Best part of three years.

You know of course that you are entitled to the help of a defending officer?

Oh, yes, sir, soldier's friend.

I suppose I can be as much use to you as anybody else,

subject of course to your acceptance.

No objection?

Oh no, sir. I'd like to thank you, sir.

It's not as if you have to do it, sir.

Do you mind standing to attention when you are speaking to an officer?

I didn't think it mattered in here, sir.

Well, it does matter.

Pull yourself together, will you?

Now you're Hamp, Arthur James, 873...

73426, sir.

- Age? - 23, sir.

Occupation?

I'm a soldier, sir.

- I mean in civilian life. - Oh.

I had a trade, sir, boot maker.

Handmade boots, sir. I come from Islington.

Do you know it, sir?

- Yes, I know it. - Yeah?

Were you a cobbler all your life?

- Since I left school, sir. - At what age?

Twelve, sir. Started young, as they say.

Were you a good one?

Oh, yeah. A good cobbler, yeah.

Me father and grandfather were cobblers before I was, see.

- Me grandfather, he started it. - Are you married?

Yes, sir.

- Any children? - Yes, sir.

- How many? - One, sir.

A little boy.

Do you understand why I'm asking you these questions?

You know best, sir.

- All right, stand at ease. - Yes, sir.

I'd better ask you some questions about your...

about your home life.

Home life?

Well, we never really had a proper home life, sir.

We always lived with our mother.

Did you?

Were you on...

- Sit down, sit down. - Oh, thank you, sir.

Were you on good terms with your wife?

Has somebody said something to you?

Would you mind answering my question?

- About the wife? - Yes.

She's took up with somebody else, that's what I got told.

- Who told you? - I got a letter.

- A kind friend? - Yeah, Len.

- I see. - Len Wilson.

Lives just a couple of doors away.

Well, that'll do for mitigating circumstances anyway.

Sir?

A reason.

- An understandable reason. - Oh.

- Did you keep the letter? - No, sir, I hadn't thought.

It's a pity.

Did you...

Did you... did you mention this letter to anyone else?

Yes, sir, I did. Yeah. Er, Willie Bryson

Private Bryson in our platoon. Did you know him, sir?

No, I don't think I do.

Oh. Yeah, he got killed, here at Passchendaele.

Er, did this...

did this trouble with your wife have anything to do with the...

with, erm... with what you're accused of doing?

No, sir. I never thought of it.

Do you reckon maybe it was a reason even if I never thought of it?

I don't know.

That's for you to tell me.

Oh.

You see...

This kind of story's so often true that, er...

well, you could be lying.

And I have to believe you before I can defend you,

do you understand that?

You can believe me, sir.

It'll come out all right, sir.

Why did you volunteer?

King and country.

Sir.

They dared me.

- Who dared you? - The wife and her mother.

They never thought I'd go.

Yeah, I reckon it was that more than anything else.

I wanted to surprise them.

They got a surprise and all when I told them.

And of course...

we didn't know what it was going to be like, did we?

Well, I... I didn't think about it too much

but I suppose you reckon to yourself in my kind of life,

well, it can't be much worse than this, you know.

Not you, sir, but my sort and most of the lads.

But we was wrong.

Up there, well...

it's worse than anything, isn't it?

It's no worse for you than anyone else.

I know that, sir, I know that.

I'm only talking about it 'cause you're asking me.

Alright.

Go on.

Well, when I volunteered, we didn't know any better, did we?

What do you mean by that?

Just a manner of speaking, sir.

You'll have to learn to be careful of your manner of speaking.

Yes, sir.

Funny thing is,

the fellows I come out with,

do you know there's none of them left except me?

Loos.

Loos, that was the first one.

Yeah, it was a long time, that one.

Trônes Wood.

Gomiėcourt.

Warlencourt.

Yeah.

And now this one here.

Passchendaele.

Worse than anything.

Have you been wounded?

Not properly, sir.

I was bleeding a few times and there was one time

I got sent down to a G.C.S.

But it was nothing much. They sent me back the next day.

Of course you hear of fellows wishing

they could lose an arm or a leg.

Same as everybody else. I've heard of...

some of the lads that have tried it on themselves.

Have you tried it?

Sir?

Have you tried it?

Oh, no, sir, no...

Me and Willie, Bryson,

we was thinking of trying it once, but we never did.

It... it wasn't long after that, that Willie's number came up.

When? Here?

Oh, sir. I'm so sorry. Sorry. I've got to go someplace.

Corporal!

- Sir. - Latrines.

- Yes, sir. - Go on.

Come on, Hamp.

Right wheel.

Sergeant, get the rest of your platoon outside with their gear for delousing!

- Yes, sir. - Come on, out!

Right, sir.

Platoon out for delousing!

All out for delousing!

Come on!

Come on outside for delousing.

Outside with all your gear for delousing.

Come on, out!

Captain Hargreaves, prisoner's friend.

Prisoner's friend. Afair trial.

- A fair trial and a quick death. - Very funny.

Didn't you think it was funny?

Not funny if you're in Hamp's shoes.

Ready for you, sir.

I told you he was a strange one, sir.

Attend to that, will you?

I wouldn't be in Hamp's shoes.

If I'd done it, I wouldn't have got caught.

Right, get yer picks and shovels!

I've got a job for yer.

They still hanging around here, sir?

Thanks for the smoke, sir.

Did you expect to get away with it?

Well, I wasn't really thinking about it, sir, one way or the other.

I just couldn't stand it anymore.

- It wasn't the first time, sir. - What?

Well, I nearly did it once before. I mean, I thought of it.

Time of Warlencourt.

I got sent back on a water party.

I was thinking about getting away

but an MP got his eye on me, so I didn't.

- And that was all? - Yes, sir.

Supposing the others had

cleared off and left you on your own at Loos or Trônes Wood?

I don't think it could have been much worse, sir.

All right then, we'll forget about that.

Tell me about the last time,

the time you said you couldn't stand it anymore. What about that?

Well, the time this really started going in my head,

I got blown into a shell hole.

Two of the lads pulled me out with their rifles.

Well, I'd seen it happen to a bloke a couple of days before.

He slips off the duck boards into the hole,

you see, and he's bobbing up and down in the mud,

you know, like an egg boiling in water, with his pack on and everything.

I didn't help him, nobody did. It's laid down.

So of course, when I gets in the mud,

I thought that was my lot, see.

I was going to drown in it, like he did.

Sucked into it, fighting it, drowning in it.

Oh, after that, I couldn't stand it anymore.

But the battalion was relieved.

You came back here for a rest.

Yes, sir.

And you waited ten days until you went?

Yes, sir.

Why?

Like I said, sir, I can't say it any different.

I couldn't stand it anymore.

What, even out of battle?

It didn't matter where I was, sir. Any place I could hear guns.

There's never anywhere where you can't hear them.

Yes, sir.

Mr. Webb, he knew, he knew.

He gave me extra rum.

Did you say anything to him about it?

Not much, there wasn't nothing I could expect

a gentleman in his position to do, sir.

What he did, giving me extra rum,

wouldn't have made any difference to what I did,

I knew I wasn't going to go back.

You mean, you planned it?

No, sir, no. I didn't have a plan. I haven't got the sense, have I?

Maybe one time, I would have had the sense but...

not...

No, it was like being dead, sir.

Then why did you wait ten days?

I don't know, sir. I didn't have a plan.

I went to the M.O. that time, yeah.

And what did Dr. O'Sullivan say to you?

He gave me a number nine, sir, for me bowels.

I spit it out when he wasn't looking.

Maybe there was some sort of medicine that would have helped me

but one thing I didn't have any need of was a number nine.

And did he give you any other advice?

Well, he said I'd got cold feet, sir.

He said I was a soldier and I should be a bloody soldier.

Mind you, I...

I didn't expect any different.

I didn't expect him to say anything except what he did.

Then why did you go?

Well, I thought he might give me some sort of tonic, something to...

stop me diarrhoea,

stop me shaking, help me sleep.

It wouldn't have made any difference to what I did.

I knew I wasn't going to go back up the line.

Did you know the battalion was going back into the line before you went?

Yes, sir.

Is that what finally decided you?

- No, sir. - Then what did decide you?

I don't know. I just started walking...

walking away from the guns.

Did you know where you were walking to?

No... no.

After I got a few miles away from the guns,

I got it into my head that I was making for home,

Islington, you know.

Didn't make any sense but that's what I got in my head.

I must have walked a long way because I remember

I took me boots off and me big toe was bleeding.

Then I was in a cart sitting on some potatoes.

Then I was in a train

and some fellows was...

was playing cards.

Then I was walking again.

Then I was talking to this priest but he was foreign.

I didn't know what he was talking about.

It was like a dream, sir. I... I didn't know

what was really happening and what wasn't.

Weren't you ever challenged?

Only when they picked me up.

- Not till then? - Oh no, no.

Didn't you...

hide in ditches and things to avoid them?

Oh, no, sir. No, no.

Did they say anything to you when they arrested you?

Well... just about me being a deserter and I heard one of them

saying to the other about it being a shooting job.

Nothing else?

Well, you see, there's nobody left in 'A' company

that's been out here as long as me, sir, so they can't shoot me.

It's likely that you will be found guilty of desertion.

And I'd be failing in my duty if I left the least shadow of doubt

in your mind as to the consequences.

Well, I don't reckon I'll get off, sir, but... they can't shoot me.

Unless I can convince the court

that you were acting under extraordinary strain

at the time that you committed this crime,

you will almost certainly be sentenced to death.

This was the first time, sir.

Mr. Webb, sir, he said I hadn't been a bad soldier.

He might say the same to them if he was asked.

Yes, he might.

Yes, I thought that was worth mentioning, sir.

Can you think of anything else that was worth mentioning?

No, sir, no.

Did I tell you about Willie?

Bryson, yes, you told me about that.

Well, about when Willie was killed?

You told me that he had been killed.

Well, I don't know if you can...

if you can tell them about something like that.

Well, it's important for you to tell me.

Well, you see, I was alongside of him when it happened.

Same as many a time before, five, six yards away.

It wasn't the first time I'd seen a man blown to bits, of course.

It wasn't even as if Willie was anything special to me.

Well, just a bit, you know, because he came from up our street.

But that's all, I mean, nothing special.

One thing about Willie, it was quick.

I never saw it, sir, I was five or six yards away,

I turns around

and old Willie's nowhere, except over me.

I tell you, they had to get me a new uniform.

This is a...

this is a question that I may have to ask you in court, so...

I may as well ask you now.

If they were lenient enough

to send you to prison,

could you be relied upon to do your duty when you came out?

- Well, I'd try my best, sir. - I don't mean that.

Could you be relied on to go up the line and stay up the line?

I mean that exactly, nothing less.

Do you understand me?

Yes, sir.

Well...

Do I have to tell you the truth, sir?

Could you?

Can you tell me, sir?

Can you tell me any way of being sure?

Prisoner's ready, sir.

Shouldn't take long, sir. It's a bad business.

Who's in charge of the later formalities?

One thing at a time, Sergeant Major.

Yes, sir.

Give us a hand with this.

What is it? Horse or mule?

Pig.

If we was left to ourselves, we'd all be home in bed having it,

wouldn't we?

- I didn't say anything about... - Wouldn't we?

You can't win a war lying in bed, can you?

- No, but... - So you do what you're told.

Doesn't make sense.

That's not our fault, is it?

Keep an eye open, cock.

Pity to waste it on that lot.

- Where's the best bit? - This bit.

Chopper.

Knife.

Dixie.

Right, well, now we'll see what we can do for our officers.

The brass have gathered.

How's Hamp?

Oh, they've got him all spruced up like for his wedding.

Cut himself shaving, of course.

Well, if they shoot him, we won't have to bury him,

we just push him over and watch him sink.

They won't do it.

- Do you reckon he'll get off then? - No. I think he's had it.

I'm afraid he's had his lot.

Are you going to get the silly bastard off, do you think?

He thinks so.

I hope he's right.

I'll shall certainly do my best.

Don't misunderstand me, my interest is purely personal.

I don't want my men used as a firing squad.

And I certainly don't want to be the Joseph Bloody Soap

who has to shout "fire".

Why you?

I'm number one on the Colonel's sweat list at the moment.

I see.

When it comes to my turn, I'll perjure myself for the man if you like.

The truth will do.

Good luck, my learned friend.

Prisoner and escort, quick march!

Prisoner and escort, left, right!

Mark time!

Prisoner and escort...

halt!

By the right turn!

Private Hamp, cap off.

Corporal.

Prisoner and escort, left turn.

Quick march! Left.

Left, right, left, right, left.

Mark time!

Prisoner and escort, halt!

Left turn!

873426 Private Hamp, sir.

- Is that your name and number? - Yes, sir.

Mr. Prescott, would you pass me that?

The accused, number 873426 Private Hamp Arthur James,

soldier of the regular forces,

you are charged with, when on active service

attempting to desert His Majesty's Service.

And that you absented yourself from duty

without orders from your superior officer,

from approximately 07:00 hours on October 10th this year

at a place called Jackdaw Tunnel

until October 11th of this year,

when you were arrested by the military police near Calais.

Guilty or not guilty?

Not guilty, sir.

Speak up.

Not guilty, sir.

Very well.

I have to ask you if you object to any members of the court?

Myself or either of these two officers?

I am surprised, sir, that as convening officer,

you are also president of the court martial.

There are no other field officers available, Captain Hargreaves,

I must appoint myself.

Are you making a formal objection?

No, sir.

You may stand at ease, Private Hamp.

I've spoken to Captain Midgley

and we've agreed that I won't dispute the facts of the case.

So all the witnesses will be called by the defence.

Good. That will save the court's time.

I submit that the prisoner

absented himself at a time when, because of his mental health,

he was not fully responsible for his actions.

Mental health, Captain Hargreaves.

Do you mean that the prisoner is a lunatic?

- No, sir. - Or mentally deficient?

No, sir.

There must be hundreds of thousands of men

who are in an unhappy mental state

but who have not absented themselves from their duty.

I realise that, sir, fully, I assure you.

Are you ready for your first witness?

Yes, sir.

Call Corporal Hamilton.

- Corporal Hamilton! - Sir.

Halt!

Hold the book in your right hand.

I swear by Almighty God

that the evidence I shall give before this court

shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

I swear by Almighty God

that the evidence I shall give before this court

shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Corporal Hamilton, I believe that you apprehended the prisoner?

- Yes, sir. - What did he say to you?

Not much, sir. Only...

Well, he tried to tell us he was going on leave, of course.

Yes.

A soldier going on leave is required to carry with him a full pack

and equipment, is he not?

Yes, sir.

And the prisoner was carrying?

Gas helmet, rifle and bandolier, sir.

Wouldn't have stood much chance of getting on board a leave ship

in that gear, would he?

No, sir.

Rather a silly story, wasn't it?

Yes, sir.

Then how do you account for it?

Well, sir, he could have, for all I know,

he could have been just stupid.

Gives us the day off though, doesn't it?

Oh, God!

I'm not going up to the front and leave that bloody bastard behind me alive!

Bloody, bloody rats!

Come on, let's go!

Corporal Hamilton, I presume that during the course of your duty

you have arrested other deserters,

other men who have absented themselves from service?

Yes, sir. Quite a few, sir.

Did any of them behave in the same way as this prisoner?

Much the same, sir.

In particular, did some of them, to use your own words,

did some of them appear to you to be stupid

or behaving as if in a daze?

Yes, sir, I suppose so.

In short, was there anything remarkable or extraordinary

about this prisoner compared with others?

Well, if there had have been something extraordinary,

you would have thought about it, wouldn't you?

The thing that surprised me, sir, was how he got as far as us.

By rights, he shouldn't have had a hope.

He must've been through places thick with patrols

like Poperinge and that.

Perhaps he wasn't quite as simple as he seemed.

No, sir...

After all, he did get very close to an embarkation point, didn't he?

That's all, Corporal, no more questions. Thank you, sir.

Look at that!

There must be dozens of them in there,

and too full to be nippy.

- Shall I jump on it? - No!

Right.

When I say, "Now,"

thump the belly.

Now!

Captain O'Sullivan, do you remember the prisoner reporting sick to you

on or about October 8th of this year?

On the 7th, yes. I looked it up.

Of what did he complain?

I remember quite clearly.

He complained of nerves.

Nerves.

He didn't tell you that he was finding it impossible to sleep?

He may have. Yes, I believe he did.

But you didn't take this very seriously?

No, it's not uncommon.

It certainly isn't uncommon for me to be told such things.

You mean, you didn't believe him?

No, I didn't say that.

Every medical officer hears this kind of thing five or six times a day.

Did you believe this man?

No.

Why not?

It seems a permissible question.

Why not?

Why didn't you believe him when he said he couldn't sleep?

I didn't say I didn't believe that.

Very well.

Of what other symptoms did he complain?

Well, he said he was off his food. Said he was feeling a bit shaky.

Shaky.

Uncontrollable bouts of trembling?

I don't know about "uncontrollable".

You don't know about it but did you bother to find out?

Are you challenging my competence?

I don't want to interfere with your defence, Captain Hargreaves,

but must you attack the witness?

It's not Captain O'Sullivan's competence which is at stake, sir,

it's this man's life.

You said you didn't believe him. What didn't you believe?

Oh, damn it, Charlie, I knew what he was after.

Did this man lie to you, and if so, what did he say?

I knew what he wanted, to be sent down the line.

Did he say so?

Did he what?

Did he ask to be relieved from duty?

Not in so many words, of course he didn't.

And... how long did this interview last with him?

Five minutes, ten minutes.

And after that, you lost interest in the man?

What do you expect me to do?

I haven't got time for everyone's emotional problems.

But you were sure that an interview

for five or ten minutes was sufficient for this case?

Yes.

Why were you so sure?

Experience.

My own judgment, of course, experience.

And you usually prescribe the same treatment?

More or less. More or less.

Laxative pills.

A good clean up never hurt anybody.

Is that the only relief you can offer a man, laxative pills?

I'll prescribe one for you in a minute.

Captain O'Sullivan,

were laxative pills in the slightest degree relevant

to what was wrong with this man?

There was nothing wrong with him and I told him so.

Did you? What did you say?

I talked to him man to man.

I told him he wasn't the first soldier to feel a bit jumpy.

I told him he'd be all right, back to normal.

I told him to try to eat, to try to get some sleep.

Well, what else could I say?

I told him to pull himself together.

Has the incidence of medical reports of this sort been growing recently?

I haven't got time for statistics.

Or diagnoses, it seems.

No, no, no.

What are the symptoms of shell shock?

Shell shock is a different matter altogether.

Is there an exact moment in the life of a soldier

before which he is not suffering from shell shock

and after which he is?

An exact boundary about which no two doctors will ever disagree?

An exact boundary on the one side of which a man is required by army law

to "pull himself together".

Or on the other if he cannot,

is liable to be shot as a criminal, is there?

This has nothing whatever to do with what we're all here for.

I must say, Captain Hargreaves, I agree with that.

Do you, sir?

Then what are we here for?

A mock trial?

That remark's entirely improper, Captain Hargreaves.

I apologise, sir.

Proceed.

Does the term "shell shock"

have an exact medical meaning?

Yes, of course it has.

And a "five or ten minute" examination

is quite sufficient time, in your estimation,

to judge whether a man is or is not suffering from shell shock?

It is not my job to maintain a bedlam.

God knows, you of all people should realise I've got no time for such rubbish.

Do you expect me to leave wounded soldiers to die

while I cross question cowards?

What I am asking is, is there not a borderline?

This was not a borderline case of anything,

how many times have I got to tell you?

This was a case of cold feet,

funk, miserable funk, nothing more or less.

- Are you sure? - Yes.

I ask you most earnestly,

are you absolutely sure?

How could a man responsible for his actions

do such a hopeless,

desperately stupid thing as this man?

When they found him,

he was trying to walk home to England.

He might just as well have tried to clear a German trench single-handed.

Is it not obvious to you...

that this man had lost possession of himself?

You've made your point, Captain Hargreaves.

Have you any more questions for Captain O'Sullivan?

No, sir.

Captain Midgley.

Yes, sir, if you please.

Captain O'Sullivan, have any of the defending officer's questions

altered the conclusion you came to about the prisoner

when he reported to you on October 7th?

No, not in the slightest.

In view of the speculation we have heard,

will you now tell the court in your own words

- what that conclusion was? - Yes.

I found the prisoner fit for duty,

provided he was kept under discipline and discouraged from malingering.

And there's nothing you wish to add to your judgment now

by way of qualification?

Nothing whatever.

He's proved me right, hasn't he? And that's all there is to say about it.

He did turn and run, didn't he?

Thank you, Captain O'Sullivan.

Were you in the area between our billet and the cook house at 15:00 hours today?

Yes, he admits he was in the area between our billet and the cook house

at 15:00 hours today.

Right.

Did you or did you not crawl up to Private Sparrow

and take a bite out of his ear hole?

No, he did not crawl up to Private Sparrow

and take a bite out of his ear hole.

Right. Now one last question,

if you had been in our billet today,

would you have done a thing like that?

No, he's not that sort of a rat.

Captain Midgley, would you like to cross-examine the accused?

You've been telling a lot of bloody lies, haven't you?

No! No, I haven't been telling a lot of bloody lies.

You're just an ordinary rat who only eats dead flesh.

Mm, I'm just a normal rat.

Well, then,

if you're just a normal rat who only eats dead flesh,

why, when all the other rats were coming out of the front end,

what were you doing coming out of the back end?

Hmm?

He's crying.

Ah!

And after that, his nerve had gone?

Absolutely.

I imagine that there were others of your men

in a similar condition at that time, were there not?

He must have been in a worse way than any of the others, sir.

But we don't know that he was in any worse condition than his comrades.

We only know what he decided to do about it.

With respect, sir, he did not "decide" to do it.

- If you'll let me carry on... - Continue.

Was the prisoner popular in his platoon?

Oh yes.

He always shared anything he had,

and he's the nearest we've got left to a founder member, of course.

And he...

Yes?

Well, I was just going to say...

I don't suppose it matters, but...

he brewed a damn good cup of tea.

Was he a good soldier before this happened?

First-class.

Near enough. Not a born soldier, but first-class.

And you were surprised when you heard that he'd absconded?

Oh yes, I was.

From what you know of him,

you believe he'd have to be a little unhinged to do what he did?

Yes, I do.

Thank you.

- No more questions sir. - Captain Midgley?

- First-class soldier? - Yes.

His record is singularly blank. Neither good nor bad.

His principal talent as a soldier seems to be in staying alive.

Well, surely we're not trying a man for staying alive, are we?

- The war hasn't got to that stage, has it? - Mr. Webb.

Hargreaves here is the sole survivor of an assault on the Somme.

They didn't try him for that.

You'll confine yourself to answering questions, Mr. Webb.

I beg your pardon, sir.

Mr. Webb, about this mental unhinging,

did you see any actual sign of it yourself?

- Well, it depends. - I mean, if you had it surely

would have been your duty to see that something was done about it,

wouldn't it?

Did the idea occur to you before he went absent?

No, but he could have been ill

in his mind even if I didn't see it beforehand.

Can you offer any evidence that he was?

He'd had a bad time.

Well, I don't blame him. We all get the wind-up sometimes.

I much prefer a man to bolt beforehand

rather than crack up under fire and endanger the whole platoon.

Mr. Webb.

Isn't it true to say, however much we may regret it,

however much we may sympathise,

isn't it true to say that this man

simply allowed his fear to become his master?

There's more in it than that.

I ask you again.

Can you recall any evidence to support what you say?

I've said what I believe.

Thank you, Mr. Webb. No more questions, thank you, sir.

Very well.

Sir.

Got it.

Got it!

Broke its bloody back!

It's as though a devil's got hold of me legs, see?

He's pulling me down.

I'm not even wounded.

I'm going to be drowned in the mud.

Oh, something had it in for me, I knew that.

Did this idea that the devil was after you,

did it stay in your mind after you'd been rescued from the mud?

Not in the same way, sir. No.

So it wasn't the devil. Then why did you run away?

I didn't run sir. I walked.

I just started walking.

I don't know why.

It's not true to say, is it,

that you deliberately decided to desert,

that you deliberately decided and hoped to get away with it?

I wasn't really thinking about it, sir.

I know you weren't thinking about it.

No, but I was hoping they wouldn't get me, of course.

But you really weren't...

you weren't clearly thinking of anything at the time, were you?

I just wanted to getaway from the guns, sir.

Had you any idea where you were going?

No, sir, not really.

I just wanted to get left alone for a bit, that's all.

Private Hamp, you say you wanted to be left alone for a bit.

Does that mean you intended to return to the battalion?

I don't know, sir.

That's because you don't remember anything very clearly, isn't it?

That's right, sir. Yeah.

You had no clear plan or reason in your mind, did you?

I just started going, sir.

You know, I couldn't help myself.

Well...

like you told me to say, sir, I was acting under extraordinary strain.

I can't think of anything else, sir.

Is it all right if I ask you a question, sir?

Yes, carry on.

Well, I'd sooner you tell them, sir.

You know more about it than me.

All right.

Any more questions, Captain Hargreaves?

No, thank you, sir.

- Captain Midgley. - Private Hamp.

Did you know you were doing wrong when you deserted?

If anyone'd tried to stop me, I'd have stayed, sir.

Didn't you wait until you'd made sure that there was nobody there to stop you?

No, well, I think I was just lucky, sir.

That's very much a matter of opinion.

Look, what I really want to know is this.

You did know, didn't you, that it was your duty

to stay with your battalion?

Yes, sir.

And you must have been very well aware of that

all the time you were absent

from the first moment you decided to...

decided to leave.

I don't know, sir.

But you could walk, talk,

think like anybody else.

And you managed to get quite a long way, didn't you?

Like I just said, sir, I was lucky.

Well, let me put this to you quite simply,

did you know what you were doing?

I knew what I was doing, sir.

And you realised that you were leaving your comrades

at their posts, who were prepared to do their duty

while you deserted them?

Didn't you? Didn't you?

I've never done this before, sir. This was the first time.

No more questions, sir.

That'll do, Private Hamp.

Captain Hargreaves, will you address the court now on the prisoner's behalf?

No, sir.

I will address the court on its behalf.

The prisoner, when he did the thing for which he's being tried,

was no longer responsible for his actions.

This court is responsible for its actions.

It has not lost possession of itself.

This court knows clearly what it's doing.

This court has the power to choose.

Private Hamp is not a liar.

He's not glib, he has no ready answers.

He has an embarrassing honesty

which made him a bad witness in his own case.

He could have put a bullet through his leg

and suffered nothing more serious than a term of imprisonment.

He even told me he thought of doing so.

But he didn't.

He stayed.

A deserter in full consciousness of what he is doing,

runs away to save his own skin

and leaves his fellows to do the fighting and the dying for him.

This man is not a deserter.

He volunteered.

He volunteered because his wife and her mother

dared him to.

Never mind. He volunteered.

He's been out here for three years.

Longer, if I may say so, than some of us have been.

He's seen it all.

A man can only take so much.

So much blood.

So much filth. So much dying.

In the shell hole,

he thought he was drowning in the mud,

he thought his time had come and it had.

After that, he was no longer responsible for his actions.

He hadn't got the power to decide whether to stay or to go.

He had one instinct only left,

the instinct to walk.

To walk home.

To walk away from the guns.

They've become a fact of our daily lives.

So much so that we no longer ask each other why they're being fired.

Is this war so old

and are we so old in it

that we've forgotten?

Are we not fighting

to preserve some notion of decency?

Some notion of justice?

To preserve for this court

the right to choose?

I beg to remind the court that if justice is not done to one man,

then other men are dying for nothing.

Matter of opinion.

Prescott.

You as our legal member advise the court on the law

as it applies to this case.

The court will remember

that the soldier takes the law of England with him wherever he goes,

and he's protected by it.

The accused does not have to prove himself innocent.

The prosecution must prove him guilty.

If the members of the court have any reasonable doubt,

but it must not be a fanciful doubt,

they must give him the benefit of it.

You have before you the opinion of the battalion medical officer

which is that at the time the prisoner left the battalion,

he was fit for duty and was not shell shocked

but only suffering from what the doctor described as "cold feet".

You must not be unduly swayed

by the eloquence of the defending officer,

who has quite properly made out the best case he can.

If you doubt that the prisoner really meant to desert,

and you believe that he merely went absent without leave

and intended to return after a few days,

you will give a verdict accordingly.

On the other hand, if you are satisfied

that the prisoner really deserted,

it is your duty to find him guilty.

As to the stress the defending officer laid upon the prisoner being a volunteer,

neither must you be unduly swayed by that.

The army is now composed of regulars, of volunteers

and of conscripts,

and one law applies to them all.

And it is the court's duty to administer the law as it stands.

We will proceed immediately to our discussion of the case.

- Private Hamp, 'shun. - Thank you, Captain Midgley.

Captain Hargreaves.

Escort fall in on the right of the prisoner.

Prisoner and escort, left turn!

Quick march. Left wheel!

Left, right, left, right, left...

Thanks for cutting my throat, old boy.

Well, you were overdoing it a bit, I couldn't help it.

I thought there was a great deal in what you said if I may say so.

Thank you.

You did very well, Hargreaves, I hope you got him off.

I hope so too.

But you know, a proper court is concerned with law.

It's a bit amateur to plead for justice.

What do you want now, then?

Have you seen my rifle, Corp?

Why would you be wanting that?

Well, I just thought I might give it a clean.

You know, something to do.

The way they do the court martial, it could be anybody, you know.

I kept forgetting they was talking about me.

Mr. Hargreaves, he gave them a lovely speech.

"This man is not a deserter."

You've been twice since you got back already.

It's not my fault, is it?

Right. Guard.

- Corporal. - Latrine!

Right wheel!

Help yourself, Mr. Morris.

Stand easy, Mr. Prescott.

Mr. Morris wishes to know whether we can find the prisoner guilty

and recommend mercy.

Yes, sir, you may.

And you may either confirm the sentence yourself

or send it to a higher authority for confirmation.

I see.

Mr. Prescott... Never mind.

Thank you.

Would you help Captain Cartwright prepare a finding?

Guilty of desertion but...

emphasise good conduct, length of service, that kind of thing.

But don't put in anything about mental health.

They're not interested in that sort of thing at headquarters.

When you've finished, have it read to the prisoner

and then send it off for confirmation.

Right, gentlemen.

Won't know anything for a bit yet.

It's got to go to the generals and that lot.

It'll be a week then. They're all pinned down in Paris, you know.

What's Hamp thinking, I wonder?

If he's got any sense, he's not thinking.

Whatever happens, he's not going up the line again.

Do you know what he said when he got back?

"They're taking a lot of trouble over me."

Feels bloody honoured, he does.

He is! They're taking 24 hours to kill him. Jerry wouldn't take that long.

He'll get the glasshouse.

- Captain Hargreaves, sir. - Yes.

I don't know if it's allowed, sir, but he says he'd like to see you.

- Who? - Private Hamp, sir.

Would that be legal, Mr. Prescott?

Well, I'm afraid it would be highly irregular, sir.

It would be kind.

All right, I'm coming.

- Yes. - Messages for the Colonel, sir.

I see. Come with me.

Excuse me, sir. Message, sir.

Ah, thank you, Mr. Webb.

Go and get yourself something to eat, Corporal.

Thank you, sir.

Gentlemen, your attention, please.

The battalion will be moving into the line tomorrow morning at 06:00 hours.

We will be reinforcing a battalion of the Münster Fusiliers.

Captain Cartwright, would you ask all company commanders

to come to my billet after dinner at... 20:00 hours?

- Right, sir. - Thank you, gentlemen.

Well, Hamp?

Stand easy.

It's just that I'd like to thank you, sir.

In case, er...

Well, you know, I expect I'll get put in military prison, you know, and...

in case I don't see you for a while.

We don't know where you'll be put,

if you're put anywhere.

Well, anyway, sir, I wouldn't like to miss thanking you.

You've taught me a lot of things, sir,

and I'm very grateful.

Have I?

Rather too late, I fear.

All right, thank you.

You...

you haven't heard anything, have you, sir?

No.

I mean, after what you said, they couldn't help but...

Well, it was the truth.

That's what I'm trying to say.

Nearly everything you said I could never have said it.

You know what I mean, sir?

It was my duty to say it.

I don't know about that, sir.

It was my duty.

If you'd remembered your duty,

none of this idiotic rigmarole would have been necessary.

Can't you get that into your head?

Don't thank me for doing my duty.

I had to.

Just as you should have done yours.

Yes, sir.

It's not as if I haven't thought about it, sir. I have.

I know what they could do to me.

It's just that...

I wouldn't be thinking I stood a chance if it hadn't been for you.

Prisoner, 'shun.

With your permission, sir.

Yes.

Private Hamp, A.J.,

number 873426,

it is my duty to inform you that the General Officer Commanding in Chief

has confirmed the sentence passed on you by the Field General Court Martial.

You will suffer death by shooting

on Thursday, October 22nd, at 05:30 hours.

When's that, sir?

Tomorrow.

More wine, Midgley?

No, thank you, sir.

Would you excuse me now, sir?

- Yes, of course. - Thank you, sir.

Some Haig over there.

Pure chlorine.

Oh, beg your pardon, sir.

Rather short on ceremony, aren't we?

Yes, sir.

I had too much of that today.

You know the verdict?

Just now.

You lost.

We all lost.

We're bloody murderers.

Don't be idiotic, Charles. Pull yourself together.

Pull yourself together, pull yourself together.

That's what they said to him today.

Pull yourself together, you're talking like a bloody doctor.

Aren't we rather overstepping?

All right.

I'm sorry.

But why?

Hmm?

Actually why?

Why?

Was it O'Sullivan's evidence?

You know he's an idiot.

Was it my defence?

I did my best.

Very eloquent, Charles.

But nothing to do with the facts.

Facts, facts, facts.

You're going to shoot that poor little bastard

simply because he went for a walk.

That's what it was, you know.

It was a technical desertion, but just a...

a bloody little walk, really.

And you know it.

Don't you?

These facts,

"Your battalion moving up tomorrow

important to maintain morale.

Sentence of death to be carried out immediately."

Oh, my God.

Pour encourager les autres, eh?

Has it ever encouraged anyone? Or discouraged anyone?

Of course it has.

Are you sure?

No, not quite.

Who's in charge tomorrow?

Jack Webb.

His man, his platoon, his mistake. Teach him a lesson.

By the way, I've written the next of kin letter,

would you mind giving it to Webb as you go out?

"There's a porpoise close behind me...

and it's treading on my tail."

Facts.

"When I am buried and all my thoughts and acts

will be reduced to lists of dates and facts,

and long before this wondering flesh is rotten,

the dates which made me will be all forgotten."

Hamp!

Hamp!

- Is that you, Corp? - Aye.

Now listen up.

Wilson and your lot, they've been nicking some rum.

Oh.

Aye.

We've got some of the good stuff and all, mate.

Thinking about a booze up tonight, you know.

- Well, I thought you were bringing it. - No.

- Well, where's rest of them? - Coming.

You'll get into trouble.

Nah. To hell with that, man.

How are you? All right?

Shut the door!

- Here you are. Have a drop of this then. - Come on, give it here.

What's this for, then? Somebody's birthday?

Shh!

Is he very religious?

I don't think so. Official C. of E, but...

You'll be staying with him right through the night?

Of course, if he's willing.

Yes, well, I've laid on...

something which might prove just as useful.

How does the idea strike you?

It's not for me to say.

Well, I've spoken to the CO.

It's left to his discretion and he's left it to me.

So he said...

he said, that man in bed with my wife

was me.

Was me.

There is no disgrace,

no disgrace at all.

Here today, gone tomorrow.

It doesn't matter who kills you, does it?

Well, you know, you...

you've lived a long life, Hamp, and you're due.

You'll rot in the mud, and that's that.

It doesn't matter what anyone bloody well thinks about it, does it?

Hey, we're all moving up soon.

We'll be in the same boat as you are.

We'll all be rat food before long.

Last drink in bottle.

Who's going to get it?

You'd think I was entitled to it.

- Aim for the heart! - Aim for the bowels!

- Aim for the vitals! - Aim for the heart!

Fire!

- Come on, Corp. Come on. - Right, come on!

Come on.

Hey!

Look out! The padre!

Come on!

- Give it here. - Come on.

Here, open up.

Where are you, you bastards?!

Oh...

Will you let me try to help you?

Do you want to talk to me?

God decides when it is our turn to be taken to him.

Will you be absolved of your sins?

My sins?

My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord,

nor faint when thou art rebuked of him.

For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,

and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has left power to his Church

to absolve all sinners who truly repent

and believe in him of his great mercy

forgives thee thine offences

and by his authority committed to me

I absolve thee from all thy sins

in the name of the Father,

and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

We do not presume to come to this thy table, O merciful Lord,

trusting in our own righteousness,

but in thy manifold and great mercies.

We are not worthy so much

as to gather the crumbs from under thy table.

But thou art the same Lord

whose property is always to have mercy.

Grant us therefore, gracious Lord,

so to eat the flesh of thy dear son, Jesus Christ,

and to drink his blood,

that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body

and our souls washed through his most precious blood

and that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us.

Amen.

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ

which was given for thee.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ

which was shed for thee

preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life.

Well, where's the soul, Padre?

Here.

All that's left here is a few hours of bloody nothing.

This ground...

will grow...

...will grow, no more buttercups.

Quick march, 'shun.

Left, right, left, right, left, right, left.

Halt!

Left turn.

Make a gap, make a gap.

Escort dismissed!

Left, right, left, right, left, right, left.

Fill the gap!

Squad, squad 'shun.

Stand in line.

Front rank kneel.

Aim.

Fire!

No.

Isn't it finished yet?

No, sir.

I'm sorry.

Hamp, 10 Gifford Street, Islington, London:

Deeply regret to inform you Private A. J. Hamp

killed in action October 22nd

the Army Council express their sympathy.

Secretary, War Office.