BRAY MILITARY CEMETERY
Corporal Jesse Wilton
15th Battalion Notts and Derby Regiment (Sherwood Foresters) executed for quitting his post 17/08/1916 23972 Corporal Jesse Wilton, husband of Annie Elizabeth Wilton, of 17, Brooking Dunsaille, Doncaster, Yorks.
He joined up in Feb 1915, arriving in France a year later. By 19 July, his Battalion was serving on the Somme, and Wilton was ordered to take 10 men to garrison an isolated forward post in No Man’s Land, to be held at all costs, for 48 hours. 43 hours later, the Corporal arrived back with his men in the front line trench. There had been heavy machine-gun fire and shelling (but it seems no casualties) and Wilton had discussed with one of his Privates what to do, and had then himself decided to bring his men out, saying at the time that he thought the Germans were coming. At trial, Wilton was unrepresented, and did not dispute any of the evidence, stating that his nerves and those of his men had been very much shaken. His CO reported that although Wilton had performed well in action on several occasions, he was a failure as a NCO, since he came from the same class of men as those in the ranks and further opined that it would have been comparatively easy for the Corporal to have sent a message to his Company Commander seeking fresh orders. |
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