Oxford eagle., 1918-07-18
A0T1lURG(N
| OIs7 cY |
tAafrtR san MY
1AdHNE GUNNER, ,jfRNSdN FRANCE

]
! And we left the scene OF execution be-
hind US.
1t was now daylight After march
ing about five minutes, we were dis
missed with the following instructions
from the officer In command:
Return. alone. TO your respective
companies. and remember. no talking
about this affair. or else II VIII go hard
with the guilty ones"
We needed no urging to get away. l
did not recognize any Of the men on
the firing squad even the officer was
stranger to me.
The victims relations and friends in
Bllghty will never know that he was
executed: they will be under the I'M
preston that he died doing his bit for
king and country.
In the public casualty lists his name
will appear under the caption "Acci-
6entally Killed" or Died"
The DAY after the execution / re-
ceived orders 70 report back TO the
line. and 10 keep a srill tongue In my
head
Executions are q part of the days
work. but the part we hated most Of
all. 1 thluk-certainly the saddest. The
British var department Is thought by
+ nanF Ieap.e - be aupoSef OF rigid
regulations ull v=pur ? around with red
/ tape H. Il has s,-srS and one Of
4 The evidences - ctfs - fl.e conSiderate
way n which sa execution Is concealed
and reported 60 the relative Of the un-
fortunate man. They never know the
truth lie u listed In the bulletins as
among the accidentally killed"
In the last ten years / have several
. lines read stories IN magazines OF
towards changing IN q charge. - he
roeS IuSed &c laugh al II. II seemed
easy for story-writers. but / said.
"Men aren't made that way But'sver
In France ! learned once that the
= ttreak uf yellow can turn Ell white
licked VI the story. bit by bit from
the captain OF the company, the SEN
tries who guarded the poor fellow. as
well as from my own observations. At
first / did not realize the whole Of his
story, but sbsr a week OF investiga-
ti0n Il stood out as clear In my mind
ls the mountains 0f my native West In
rke spring sunshine. II Impressed me
90 much that ! wrote II all down in
rest billets on scraps of odd paper.
The incidents are, as / say. every bit
true; the feelings OF the man are true
IL know from all underwent In the
Sighting over In France.
l. We win call him Albert Lloyd. That
4 wasn't his name, hut It win do:
Albert Lloyd was what the world
terms a coward.
~ In London they called him Stacker
His country had been at war nearly
eighteen months, and still he was not
IN khaki.
He had no good reason for not en-,
listing, being alone In the world, hav.
Ing been educated in an orphan asy.
ium, and there being no one dependent
upon him for support. He had no good
position 10 lose, and there was nc
sweetheart TO tell him with her lips
to 60, while her eyes pleaded for hin
b. stay. -
Every time he saw a recruiting ser
seant he'd sink around the corner out
i, OF sight. with terrible fear gnawin.
" ffs heurt. When passiny the bic re
eruitfng posters, and on hts WY Z,
business and back he passed many, h,
would pun down his cap and look. thi
! other way from that awful fingei
pointing at him. under the caption
Your King and Country Need You: :
Or the boring eyes of Kitchener. whici
burned into his very soul, causing hin
b shudder.
Then the Zeppelin raids -durinl
Them. he used 10 crouch In a corner o
bis clearinghouse cellar, whimperinI
hke whipped puppy and calling upol
rhe Lord to protect him.
Even his landlady despised him, nj
though she had TO admit that he wa
-good pay"
He very seldom read the papers, bu
enc mOmentous morning the landlad
put the morning paper at his place bs
. gore he came down to breakfast. Tai
mg bis seat he read the faring heac
: line. "ConscriptiOn Bill Passed" an
nearly tainted. ExcusIng himself, h
!. stumbled upstairs TO his bedroom
with the horror Of 1t gnawing into hi
yitals.
/ Having saved up a few pounds, b
I decided not to leave the house, and I
I sham sickness. so he stayed In his rool
E and had the landlady serve his meal
a there.
8 Every time there was a knock at III
Z ooor he trembled all over. imagining
: was policeman who had come to tai
Il him away TO the army.
al One morning his fears were realize
d Sure enough. there stood a polIcema
I with the fatal pHper. Taking II IN N
a trembling hand he read that he, Albe
Lloyd, was ordered 10 report hfrnxe
a TO me neurest recruiting station n
. physical examination. He reported IL