They drew lots for firing squad duty - Shropshire link to war tragedy

We shall probably never know what was going through the mind of Shropshire's James Lawton as he drew his lot. It was his evidence which had effectively been the death warrant for young Private Isaac Reid.

Found guilty of desertion, Reid was sentenced to death and duly shot.

Of those four company sergeant majors, three would die in battle, all on the same day, just over a month later.

Now remarkable beyond-the-grave testimony has shed light on the whole terrible episode.

In a book written in 1919, author Stephen Graham describes an incident in which "Private X", dazed by shellfire, was reported as a deserter by "Sergeant Major Y"."Private X" was then shot at dawn by his own colleagues.

On Graham's account, "Sergeant Major Y" was a dour martinet, who after the execution was sent to Coventry and when mortally wounded at the Battle of Festubert in May 1915 "no one would give him a drink of water, though he kept asking for it".

Graham, who must have been recounting the tale second hand as he did not join the unit involved, the Scot Guards, until 1917, gave no names. However, modern research led by Shrewsbury Great War historian Phil Morris has identified the hitherto mysterious "Sergeant Major Y" as blacksmith's son James Lawton, of Newport, Shropshire, who was 35 at the time of his death.

Now a new first-hand account has emerged, providing fascinating detail on this dark tale from the Scots Guards' history.

It comes thanks to David James, who now lives in Fairfax, California. In 1982 he made a tape recording of his grandfather's recollections of the affair. His grandfather was Alfred James, who at the age of 19 or 20 had been acting company sergeant major in the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards and one of the four who had drawn lots.

Alfred had then been living in Brighton area and was to die two years later. He had retired from the Army as a major in 1948.

David has sent the Shropshire Star a copy of his tape recording.

Alfred recalls the sad tale but does not name Reid, saying: "They made an example of him and he was shot in front of his unit. That was the last one they ever shot in front of his unit so far as I gathered at the time.

"He wasn't a coward, there was something else wrong with him." Alfred adds: "He was about 21, 22 years of age. He might not have been 20. He had been through it all and had seen everything, rats digging underneath and getting rid of the flesh off the bones, and seen people being shot while they were doing their stint of sentry guard and people's limbs being blown away. Emotionally he couldn't put up with it. Next time he had to go through it he just walked into the little town and was found wandering about there when he should have been in the trenches.

"We had four company sergeant majors and I was the youngest. I had only just been promoted. There was myself, George Burrough, a chap named Lawson, a chap named Johnson."

They were summoned to battalion headquarters and told one of them would have to take charge of the firing squad for Reid.

The four drew lots and George Burrough found himself with the unenviable job.

Alfred continues: "He (Reid) should never have been shot. It shook the battalion up no end. If they had more of that they would have had a first class mutiny on their hands. I think it was the first time in history that there had ever been a Guard shot for being cowardly."

Reid was executed at Levantie on April 9, 1915. Just over a month later the battalion was in action at nearby Festubert.

Alfred continues: "During the battle Lawtonand Burrough met somewhere or other in the trenches. A shell came over and killed the two of them. Johnson was going forward with his company with his bayonets fixed.

"He charged into a German and stuck his bayonet through him. As he stuck his bayonet through him he was shot by a German."

Alfred modestly omits to mention he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. He concludes: "When they came out of the trenches we found there were four company sergeant majors who went in there and I was the only one that came out."

But he makes no mention of Lawton being denied water.