Desertion/AWOL

[Stuart]

I was puzzled by what looks like"run" in that navy service sheet (Newsletter – 14th September 2023). I found this in one of those ex-service forums:

The difference between AWOL and Run is a technical one, after 30 days some one who is AWOL is marked as Run and will be charged with desertion. (at least that was the way it was done in my day).

The closest I've found to 1920 is the Kings Regulations & Admiralty Instructions - 1913. This is a short quote (there's a lot more):

801. Definition of Desertion.-By Section 19 of the Naval Discipline Act the offence of desertion is defined as the doing of any act by a person subject to the Act, which shows an intention on the part of such person not to return to his ship or place of duty.

2. Absentees.-Petty officers, seamen, marines, or boys, who may have quitted their ships without leave, or have overstayed their leave, or have improperly absented themselves when detached on duty, and who may be apprehended before the expiration of seven days, beyond the precincts of a dockyard or other government establishment in which they may have been employed, are to be treated either as absentees or as deserters, according to circumstances, which are to be judged by their respective Captains.

3. Arrest by Civil Power.-If an absentee without leave is arrested by the civil power on another charge and is subsequently handed over to the naval authorities, his absence without leave is to be regarded as ceasing from the time of his arrest by the civil power.

802. When Absentees to be marked " Run."-If any person belonging to a ship should absent himself from his duty without leave, and if he should in the judgment of his Captain fail to give a good and sufficient reason for his absence, he is to be checked accordingly on the ship's books, on the day of his absence, if his absence began before noon, and on the day following his absence, if his absence began after noon ; and should he not have returned at the expiration of seven days, he is to be discharged " Run " on the actual day on which his absence began, irrespective of the 12 0' clock rule for checking, and the letter R is to be placed against his name on the ship's books, and while it remains there he shall not be entitled to receive the pay which has accrued to the date of his discharge.

So that "run" was administrative: to do with being discharged off the books of his ship (but not I think from the Navy). The maximum summary penalty for desertion was only 3 months detention. That seems low, but more serious cases were dealt with by court-martial, and that's covered by different regulations.

Currently: "Desertion carries a maximum sentence of imprisonment for life where the intention was to
avoid active service. Otherwise the maximum sentence is 2 years imprisonment."

 

[peter]

Thanks, Stuart - that's very helpful.

Whatever the penalty was, George Carr was prepared to impersonate his cousin in order to avoid being caught, and maintained the pretence for over a quarter of a century - indeed, when I knew him the NHS still had him recorded under his cousin's identity, so that's over half a century

 

[Stuart]

The current definition of desertion is:

3. Definition of Desertion. By Section 8 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 a person subject to Service law commits the offence of desertion if he/she is absent without leave and intends either to remain permanately absent without leave or to avoid a period of active service. “Active service” means service in -
a. an action or operation against an enemy;
b. an operation outside the British Islands for the protection of life or property;
c. the military occupation of a foreign country or territory.

In 1920, that distinction may not have been the same; I can't find that defined. But I'm sure that avoiding active service was an important factor in the seriousness of the offence. I think HMS King George V was a real floating ship, unlike Victory II (which was at Crystal Palace). But it doesn't seem likely he was on active service at the time, nor that he knew that was imminent.

 

[peter]

You will have noticed that in the newsletter I didn't accuse my neighbour of desertion. But whatever the consequences of his actions, George Carr was clearly prepared to go to great lengths to avoid them.