Pardons Bill NZ


The Irish Shot at Dawn Campaign to secure pardons for Irish born British soldiers executed for military offences 1914 -18
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Pardons Bill NZ

Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act 2000

Public Act : 2000 No 29

Date of Assent : 14 September 2000

Commencement : See Section 2

Contents

Preamble

Title
Commencement
Act to bind the crown
Purpose
Pardon of Private Braithwaite
Pardon of Private Hughes
Pardon of Private King
Pardon of Private Spencer
Pardon of Private Sweeney
Effect of Pardons
Restoration of memory
Act not to create right to compensation
Scope of Act

Preamble

(1) In the Great War, 5 soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary force were executed, after trial by court martial, for certain offences:

(2) They were all volunteers;

(3) One was executed for the offence of mutiny;

(4) The other 4 were executed for the offence of desertion;

(5) Their execution was not a fate that they deserved but was one that resulted from - (a) the harsh discipline that was believed at the time to required; and (b) the application of the death penalty for military offences, being seen at that time as an essential part of maintaining military discipline;

(6) The execution of those 5 soldiers brought dishonour to both the soldiers themselves and New Zealand;

(7) It is now desired to remove, so far as practicable, the dishonour that the execution of those 5 soldiers brought to those soldiers and their families;

The Parliament of New Zealand therefore enacts as follows:

1. Title

This Act is the Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act 2000.

2. Commmencement

This Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

3. Act to bind the Crown

This Act binds the Crown.

4. Purpose

(a) The purpose of this Act is to pardon 5 soldiers of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force who served as volunteers in the Great War and who were executed in 1 case for mutiny and in the other 4 cases for desertion; and

(b) to remove, so far as practicable, the dishonour that the execution of those 5 soldiers brought to those soldiers and their families.

5. Pardon of Private Braithwaite

(1) Private John Braithwaite, regimental number 24/1521, a member of the 2nd Battalion, Otago Regiment,‑

(a) who was charged with having committed on 28 August 1916 the offence of mutiny; and

(b) who, by a General Court Martial held on 11 October 1916. was convicted of that offence and sentenced to death; and

(c) who was, after the sentence of death had been confirmed, executed by firing squad in accordance with that sentence on 29 October 1916,‑

is, by this Act, granted a pardon for that offence of mutiny.

(2) The soldier to whom subsection (1) relates (who originally, enlisted as a volunteer under the name of Jack Braithwaite on 29 May 1915 and was then given the regimental number of 24/58) was re-attested under the name of John Braithwaite on 10 November 1915 and was then given the regimental number 24/1521).

6. Pardon of Private Hughes

Private Frank Hughes, regimental number 24/2008, a member of the 2nd Battalion, Canterbury Regiment,-

(a) who was charged with having committed on 29 July 1916 the offence of desertion; and

(b) who was by a Field General Court Martial held on 12 August 1916, convicted of that offence and sentenced to death; and

(c) who was, after the sentence of death had been confirmed executed by firing squad in accordance with that sentence on 25 August 1916,- is, by this Act, granted a pardon for that offence of desertion.

7. Pardon of Private King

Private John King, regimental number 6/1598, a member of the 1st Battalion, Canterbury Regiment,-

(a) who was charged with having committed on 30 May 1917 the offence of desertion; and

(b) who was by a Field General Court Martial held on 5 August 1917, convicted of that offence and sentenced to death; and

(c) who was,after the sentence of death had been confirmed executed by firing squad in accordance with that sentence on 19 August 1916,-

is, by this Act, granted a pardon for that offence of desertion.

8.Pardon of Private Spencer

Private Victor Manson Spencer, regimental number 8/2733, a member of the 1st Battalion, Otago Regiment,-

(a) who was charged with having committed on 13 August 1917 the offence of desertion; and

(b) who was by a Field General Court Martial held on 17 January 1918, convicted of that offence and sentenced to death; and

(c) who was again sentenced to death after thev Field General Court Martial had revised its finding and had convicted him of having committed the offence of desertion not on 13 August 1917 but on the 25 August 1917; and

(d) who was,after the sentence of death imposed on him on 29 January 1918 had been confirmed, executed by firing squad in accordance with that sentence on 24 February 1918,- is, by this Act, granted a pardon for that offence of desertion.

9. Pardon of Private Sweeney

Private John Joseph Sweeney, regimental number 5/1384, a member of the 1st Battalion, Otago Regiment,-

(a) who was charged with having committed on 25 July 1916 the offence of desertion; and

(b) who was by a Field General Court Martial held on 13 September 1916, convicted of that offence and sentenced to death; and

(c) who was, after the sentence of death had been confirmed executed by firing squad in accordance with that sentence on 2 October 1916,- is, by this Act, granted a pardon for that offence of desertion.

10. Effect of pardons

The pardons effected by sections 5 to 9 recognise that the execution of the soldiers to whom those pardons are granted was not a fate that they deserved but was one that resulted from-

(a) the harsh discipline that was believed at the time to be required; and

(b) the application of the death penalty for military offences being seen at that time as an essential part of maintaining military discipline

11. Restoration of Memory

The Government of New Zealand must, in relation to each soldier granted a pardon by this Act.‑

(a) note in its official records and, in particular, on the personal file of the soldier, the pardon granted to him and its effect; and

(b) notify the Commonwealth War Graves Commission the pardon granted to the soldier by this Act; and

(c) take such other steps as, in its opinion, are reasonable or desirable to restore the memory of the soldiers granted pardons by this Act.

12. Act not to create right to compensation

Nothing in this Act ‑

(a) confers any right to compensation; or

(b) is to be relied on in any proceedings as a basis for any claim to compensation, ‑

(i) for harm caused by; or

(ii) losses claimed to have flowed from the consequences of any of the convictions specified in sections 5 to 9.

13. Scope of Act

This Act

(a) has effect only in relation to the offences and convictions specified in sections 5 to 9; and

(b) is not to be regarded as having effect in relation to any other offence or any other conviction.

Pardon for Soldiers of the Great War Act No 29 of 2000

The New Zealand Government Review

The rationale for considering the New Zealand Pardons bill was largely the result of the re-evaluation of circumstances surrounding each case in light of current knowledge.

It is now understood that shell shock is a seriously debilitating condition causing serious behaviour disorders; for which veterans of recent conflicts have been paid disability benefits.

It is now historically recognised that the conditions in WW1 were inhuman in the extreme, with military campaigns embarked upon which it is now known were fraught with incompetence on the part of the command.

Low morale and disease were rife among soldiers engaged in such combat.

The standard of military judicial process prevailing was such that in retrospect there cannot be faith in the justness of the verdicts.

Note: Founded on the 27^th June 2002 The Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl co-ordinated by the Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46) is an independent Irish based group who successfully campaigned to persuade the British Government to grant pardons to 26 Irish born British soldiers in particular and 275 other ranks in the British Army who were executed during world war one for various military offences which ceased in 1929 to be punishable by death:

Since 2005, one individual from Northern Ireland located in the UK, has continually represented himself to the general media et al, as a relative of Private Bernard McGeehan, thereby adroitly attaching himself on the back of the British Shot at Dawn Pardons Campaign and by default attaching himself via the back door with the independent Shot at Dawn Campaign Ireland effort, to the detriment of our Irish based support. Despite conveying our concerns, todate, this person has not proved to our satisfaction his relationship to any of the 26 Irish Shot at Dawn. Consequently, we must advise caution in dealing with this source.

We wish to state that the Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl is not linked with any UK grouping styling itself as the Shot at Dawn Campaign, Shot at Dawn Pardons Campaign, Shot at Dawn Wales or Wales Shot at Dawn.

A book entitled Forgotten Soldiers: The Irishmen Shot at Dawn was launched in Belfast on Thursday the 25th October 2007. The Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl is not involved or linked in anyway with this publication. An extract from Walker's book reproduced in the Belfast Telegraph states inter alia that Peter Mulvany had recently established the Irish branch of the Shot at Dawn group. The Shot at Dawn Campaign Irl co-ordinated by the Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46) is an independent Irish based group and not part or an adjunct of the British Campaign. To link the Irish SAD group with the UK end in this way is perverse and untrue.

Webpage updated: Sunday 11^th May, 2008: Forgotten Soldiers/ Book Review

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