Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 139 continued ... At Poole's trial, held in the town of Poperinge on 24 November 1916, the court called six witnesses. Those witnesses noted that Poole's 'nerves seemed rather shaken' and that he had confessed to feeling 'damned bad' on the morning of 5 October. Two men spoke in Poole's defence, including a Royal Army Medical Corps doctor who argued that the 'mental condition' of the accused had precluded him from intentionally deserting his company. In his own testimony, Poole outlined his recent medical problems and confessed that he had been unaware of 'the seriousness of not going to the front line on Oct 5th'. Despite defence pleas, however, the five-man court found Poole guilty of desertion and sentenced him to 'death by being shot'. This verdict was confirmed by Sir Douglas Haig on 6 December 1916, three days after a medical board sent to examine Poole concluded that 'he was of sound mind and capable of appreciating the nature and quality of his actions'. Poole was executed by firing squad in Poperinge town hall on 10 December 1916. He was buried in the town's military cemetery. Eric Poole was the first British army officer to be sentenced to death and executed during the First World War. Despite the abundant evidence that he was medically unfit to command a platoon, as a result of the shell shock, Poole seems to have been at least partially a victim of a political decision. General Herbert Plumer, commander of the Second British Army BEF, confirmed the sentence noting: “I have considered the case very carefully. Despite the evidence as to the accused's mental condition I should, if he had been a Private, have recommended the sentence should be carried out ... in view of the inherent seriousness of the offence when committed by an officer I recommend that it be inflicted.” Field Marshall Haig, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, noted : “After careful consideration I confirmed the proceedings. This is the first sentence of death on an officer to have been put into execution since I became C-in-C. Such a crime is more serious in the case of an officer than of a man, and also it is highly important that all ranks should realize that the law is the same for an officer as for a private.” Poole's fate aroused little fuss back in Britain, where his family were anxious to avoid publicity - particularly because his father was seriously ill at the time. Eric Poole's sister wrote to the War Office, beseeching them to conceal the shame of her brother's death. Eric’s elder brother Major Henry Reynold Poole of the Royal Artillery was a regular army officer and had been awarded a DSO earlier in the year. The War Office, equally wary of adverse publicity, agreed that Poole's name would not appear in the casualty lists published in British newspapers, and that no information about the circumstances of his death would be made public. Lest We Forget General Herbert Plumer
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