Deserters on the Home Front
This talk by Andrea Hetherington was delivered 'live' to an online audience. In this presentation Andrea will tell the story of deserters who disappeared from camps and barracks within Great Britain - something which happened at an alarming rate. She will explore their motivations and survival strategies and looking at the punishments incurred both by the soldiers themselves and by those who sheltered them from arrest.
Whilst the story of the deserters who were shot at dawn then pardoned nearly a century later has often been told, these 300 or so soldiers represent a tiny proportion of deserters from the British and Dominion forces, so this is a useful reminder of the 'untold story' of those who deserted even before they arrived in France.
Becoming a member of The Western Front Association (WFA) offers a wealth of resources and opportunities for those passionate about the history of the First World War. Here's just three of the benefits we offer:
Identify key words or phrases within back issues of our magazines, including Stand To!, Bulletin, Gun Fire, Fire Step and lots of others.
The WFA's YouTube channel features hundreds of videos of lectures given by experts on particular aspects of WW1.
Read post-WW1 era magazines, such as 'Twenty Years After', 'WW1 A Pictured History' and 'I Was There!' plus others.
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