"Conchie"

[Penny Gallo]

Henry "Harry" HARSTON/ HASTON died 25th Oct 1918 in Dartmoor Prison where he had been taken as a Conscientious Objector. He was a coal miner from Stonebroom in Derbyshire, but was also a Sunday School teacher, and objected to killing. There are two stones in Shirland Churchyard, one put up by fellow teachers ("faithful unto death"). I heard the story from my great aunt how when his wife and my greatgrandmother went to collect his body the Quakers helped carry the coffin to the railway station, whilst local people threw stones (strength of feeling against conchies!). The family were strictly forbidden to open the coffin - and something was peculiar as it rattled, and he did NOT have false teeth. His wife was called Lily Elsie, and he had a daughter, possibly Anne, but they moved away and I have no idea what happened to them. I do have a photo of Harry.
I know that all prison records of the Conchies were destroyed by the Government in c 1922, allegedly to put the past behind them - but I suspect because the mistreatment they received - it was said in the family that Harry was not given clothing in prison because of his refusal to wear the King's uniform as a soldier - and I have heard of beatings and hosing down with freezing water.
I'm actually very proud of him, because he stood up for what he believed in, and must have suffered as much as the soldiers at the front. It seems crazy not to keep miners at work anyway!

I joined the site today because I discovered someone else already searching for a common ancester, John Harston of Flintham.

:) Penny, Nottinghamshire

[JohnN]

Thanks for that history lesson, Penny.
It just goes to show how people can be brainwashed into the 'right attitude'.
Woe betide the free thinker!

Good luck with your research.

John
.._

[Penny Gallo]

Since posting this I have been having a good surf, and have dug up the following info: There were 16,000 conscientious objectors in WW1. There was a 3-tier grading, with some prepared to join up but not handle weapons, to the "absolutists" who unconditionally refused to join. The procedure following the tribunal (where a military representative would be aggressively persuasive) was that the CO would be arrested at home by a policeman, taken to the Magistrates Court on a charge of being a Deserter from the Army. They would then be taken under military escort to the barracks and ordered to put on a uniform (this ties in with family hearsay that HH refused to do this). If the CO did refuse, they would be court-martialled for disobedience, then imprisoned, sometimes repeatedly.
Because of the high numbers, the government started to offer release providing COs entered work camps. One of these was in Dartmoor Prison (aha!) - the "Princetown Work Centre".
I have just sent a query off to the Dartmoor Prison Museum who apparently hold the logbook of the Princetown Workcentre Medical Officer, to whom some 200 COs reported sick.
www.scran also hold a photo of COs at the prison in 1917.
I've also emailed Devon Archives to see if they hold any records, as suggested.

[Penny Gallo]

Dartmoor Prison Museum have got back to me. The logbook is too fragile to let people look at it, but they hope to transcribe it at some stage. They are very interested in learning names and details about COs who were held there, and are trying to compile a list. Of course a lot of the prison museum's information is confidential, and I have been asked to give more info on how I am related to the former prisoner.

[Penny Gallo]

The 1921 Ministry of Health ordered all papers should be destroyed together with the minute book of every tribunal across the country. Middlesex and Lothian & Peebles were kept as examples, together with some central Tribunal documentation.

In 1916 and 1917 police raids were carried out on the offices of such places as The National Council Against Conscription, and The Independent Labour Party, when they confiscated all leaflets, newspapers and documents. This shows how seriously the Government took the threat of men escaping the war machine! Apparently men also fled to Ireland at escape call up ("shirkers"), and there is a document (NATS 1/975) on the 'problem' of men who had enrolled as war volunteer workers in order to avoid call-up. There were various "comb-outs", eg of the hunting and racing establishments to winkle out "shirkers". It was also planned that Conchies were to lose their voting rights for 5 years after the end of the war.

Of the 6,000 Conchies who were imprisoned, the National Archives state that 73 men died as a result of maltreatment they received in prison - although I haven't yet found out how they calculate this and whether my greatgreat uncle's name is included.

It's really only as a result of this site that I've suddenly got so interested in getting to the bottom of this. We're accustomed to thinking that all young men went off eagerly to fight the fight in a fervent of jolly comradeship (vide diaries such as Vera Brittain's), but little is mentioned about the Conscientious Objectors, or what happened to the men who did fight but who were maimed.

I collect Costume and Textiles. One of my most unusual items is an embroidered linen bag. The tiny label inside reveals that it was made by the "Soldiers Embroidery Industry, 42 Ebury Street" (ie London), and it was "MADE BY THE TOTALLY DISABLED".

I'm going to keep digging on the Dartmoor 'front'...

[Penny Gallo]

Received my copy of Harry Haston's death certificate this afternoon. It states that he died at "The Works Centre, Princetown". His occupation is noted as "Conscientious Objector in H M Works Centre Princetown, formerly a Coal Miner Stonebroom... Derbys" . This confirms what we had already discovered.

However the cause of death is stated as "Pneumonia and acute Influenza arising in a natural way", this info having been supplied by a Certificate received from the Coroner for Devon after an Inquest. My questions are:

(1) Was it usual for the words "arising in a natural way" to be appended to what was then a very common cause cause of death? Does this imply some controversy might have been raised about the way in which this 'arose'? :confused: Everything I have read about this pandemic suggests that took effect very quickly and people could even die within 24 hours-3 days. I have information that Harry may have fallen sick a week before his death.

(2) I presume inquests would have been reported in the local paper (anyone know which this might have been?) but were the "certificates" kept and if so are they accessible to us in 2008? |help|

Very many thanks, Penny

[Astoria]

I have found this thread quite interesting because a couple of years ago I was involved in a musical called Pack up your troubles. It tells the story of George and Felix Powell who wrote the song in 1915 - one brother went to war and the other was a 'conchie.' I think it was Felix who stayed home and when George returned they set up a dance hall in Peace Haven Brighton where Felix eventually committed suicide.
The musical was written by Snoo Wilson and performed at the National Theater, he collaborated with the grandson of one of the brothers who wanted the story to be told, quite incredible that one of the biggest war time marching songs was written by a 'conchie.'
If you would like my copy of the script please pm your address, I think I will be able to find it.

I found this info which explains things a little better than I did,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Powell

[Geoffers]

Received my copy of Harry Haston's death certificate this afternoon. It states that he died at "The Works Centre, Princetown". ....However the cause of death is stated as "Pneumonia and acute Influenza arising in a natural way", this info having been supplied by a Certificate received from the Coroner for Devon after an Inquest. My questions are:

(1) Was it usual for the words "arising in a natural way" to be appended

The inquest would have been held to establish the cause of death, and would have looked at possible neglect or ill-treatment. The cause of death recorded is a way of showing that no blame was then attributed to anyone.

(2) I presume inquests would have been reported in the local paper

They normally are and usually provide a better source of information than the actual inquest report. But if a death was not newsworthy, it might only provide a couple of lines.

The Coroner's inquest papers/reports could be in a number of places, first place to try would be the County Record Office.

[Penny Gallo]

It looks as though his brother wrote the lyrics and he the music. I can sing the chorus, but have just looked up the verses - which are certainly gung-ho enthusiastically "bosche"-killing, so very ironic that Felix ended up as a CO. The gun he used to kill himself was his Home Guard rifle in WW2.

Your mention of Peacehaven interested me, and I have found that it does indeed date from WW1. A Charles Neville bought the land in 1916 and had a newspaper competition to name the new settlement. "New Anzac on Sea" won - but after the Gallipoli fiasco, Neville renamed it Peacehaven. As with many new communities serving the acute housing shortage following WW1, there were apparently many former railway carriages and 'self-build' homes. I have recently visited another of these - the Humberstone Fitties in North Lincolnshire, as a friend is researching pre-fabs.

Thank you for your kind offer!

[Penny Gallo]

Your opinion upon the wording of the Inquest's finding is most useful (although a smiley seems inappropriate with this subject matter). I have read of other deaths being helped along by hosing down the COs with cold water, so I was expecting that there might have been some skullduggery. At least there was some degree of enquiry into whether or not Harry's death did involve mistreatment.
I hope that at some stage I shall be able to have a look at local newspapers. I suspect that the death of a "conchie" would have been reported, due to the intensity of feeling against them exhibited by local people.

Thank you for your assistance.|bowdown|

[Terry Reeves]

Penny

As has been mentioned, local newspapers are likely to be the best source of information. It is quite possible that his original objections to military service would have been published in his home town paper under "Military Service Tribunal". Contemporary accounts are often published verbatim.

As far as the history of COs in WW1 is concerned, I would urge you to get hold of a copy of Dr John Rae's "Conscience and Politics", Oxford University Press, 1970. This is a meticulously researched book which mentions the Princetown work camp and the conditions there. It can be found for just a few pounds on the internet and deals with the whole subject in a balanced manner.

Terry Reeves

[Penny Gallo]

I hadn't thought about local newspapers, and it will certainly be much easier for me to travel to Derbyshire than down to Devon. It would be fascinating to read an account of the initial magistrates court proceedings.

I have not heard of this book and shall most definitely get a copy. |hug|
Thank you so much for drawing my attention to this. My mother remembers a book in the local library years ago but she did not make a note of it even though it contained Harry's name.

[Terry Reeves]

Penny

The book your mother referred to is David Boulton's 1967 publication "Objection Overuled". It is a book written from the heart rather than the head, and is completely biased towards the COs point of view. Nevertheless, it does contain some very poignant accounts. COs who died are listed in the back of the book.

Could I point out that you need to look for Military Service Tribunals in the local paper and not Magistrates Courts as per your post.

Terry Reeves

[Marie C..]

Why is this under "Black Sheep"?
I do not think those who stand up for their beliefs are black sheep(as we take the meaning to be). Each individual is entitled to his own belief. This man was not an enlisted soldier and therefore he had a right to refuse to be drawn into what was not his war. In his eyes any killing was murder. Soldiers are different. They are trained to kill.
In that same war my husband's grandfather was called up. He died on the battlefied at Cambrai.
Both these men died needlessly. What use are medals to a widow and young children?
What was the point of the wicked cruelty inflicted on a man incarcerated in a Dartmoor prison when he would have been of value mining much needed coal ?
M

[Penny Gallo]

As soon as I saw "Objection Overrruled" I remembered that this was the book my Mum had referred to (bear in mind we haven't discussed this for about 20 years and my Mum is nearly 80!). Yes, I had presumed that there would be two sides, poles apart, to the story of Conscientious Objectors. I have looked up the cost of Dr Rae's book and found it to be a bit prohibitive at the moment. However my local library have two more, so they informed me, including, "We Will Not Fight" by Ellsworth Jones.
Thank for rounding me up and heading me back in the direction of the reports of Military Service Tribunals. However, I know that I shall graze when I get there, anyway, as I find old newspapers to be a fascinating insight onto the Zeitgeist of their period.

Marie - thank you so much for your public posting. I have had one or two private messages along these lines. I concur with your thoughts, but I felt that as a Newbie, and finding myself within a forum with so many people fascinated by all things military, that I was the first one swimming against the tide. I think too that "Black Sheep" very much reflects the way these men were thought of at the time. My great aunt, who had mental clarity to within a couple of days of her death at the age of 91, told me that my greatgrandmother went down to Dartmoor to support her widow, Lily (I am going to get a copy of their marriage certificate next). They were helped by the Quakers to carry the coffin down to the station, but had stones and abuse from local people. His widow I suspect felt very much that he was a Black Sheep, and left sharpish, never to be heard of again.

Yes, I do think the "War to end all wars" was largely futile (memories of the 1970s "S Level" History question, "Is any war a just war?"). Whilst I worked at the museum, I had many people tell me family stories (recorded in my own diaries, by the way). There were not a few that involved personal tragedies, not only to the soldiers but to their wives and children - the extent and magnitude of this seems to be about the "greatest" thing about this war. I do enjoy the Blackadder IV series where General Melchett has had his cocktail cabinet moved 6 inches nearer to Berlin.... Sincere thanks for your stand on this one Marie! xxxx Penny |hug|

[Procat]

Hi Penny,

Abebooks.com has "Conscience and Politics" available for U.S. $15.99 plus shipping.

[Penny Gallo]

Thank you very much, Procat. Unfortunately I don't have a credit card, and I have to confess I've never bought anything online - I'm afraid I'm still very much a 20th Century person!!! I am calling in to the library today to look at the two books they have, and experience has taught me that there may be more squirrelled away in the reserve stock, along with the spiders, in the basement.

[Lesley Robertson]

Why is this under "Black Sheep"?
I do not think those who stand up for their beliefs are black sheep(as we take the meaning to be). Each individual is entitled to his own belief. This man was not an enlisted soldier and therefore he had a right to refuse to be drawn into what was not his war. In his eyes any killing was murder. Soldiers are different. They are trained to kill.
In that same war my husband's grandfather was called up. He died on the battlefied at Cambrai.
Both these men died needlessly. What use are medals to a widow and young children?
What was the point of the wicked cruelty inflicted on a man incarcerated in a Dartmoor prison when he would have been of value mining much needed coal ?
M

Why is the post here? Possibly because court cases etc were involved and this is where people who know about sourcing such things are likely to be.

It's a good idea not to let our 21st century beliefs influence the way we do our research. As it so happens, I agree with everything you say, but attitudes and beliefs were different then and it's not a good idea to judge historic figures for behaving according to the standards of their time. At the start of the 20th century, people didn't have the rights we have now, or even some of the beliefs. Whether we're admiring the bravery of a CO (or indeed the many who went over the top), or being horrified by Henry VIII executing another wife, we're just observers and should try to remain (as far as the research is concerned) objective.

Lesley

[Lesley Robertson]

Thank you very much, Procat. Unfortunately I don't have a credit card, and I have to confess I've never bought anything online - I'm afraid I'm still very much a 20th Century person!!! I am calling in to the library today to look at the two books they have, and experience has taught me that there may be more squirrelled away in the reserve stock, along with the spiders, in the basement.


Don't forget the possibilities of inter-library loan!
Lesley

[Marie C..]

Thanks Lesley,
I see why now.
M

[Penny Gallo]

Indeed the Library basement came up trumps, and I have not only "Objection Overruled", but also fresh off the shelves a 2008 publication, "We Will Not Fight" by W. Ellsworth-Jones. "Objection Overruled" was most definitely written from the CO's point of view, as I was warned above, although it is interesting to see "H. Haston" listed amongst the dead. I am now immersed in this new book, and it is horrifying to read of how young men were tortured - sorry, no other word in my opinion for use of straight-jackets, manacles, attempts to thrown them down iron staircases, suffragette-like force-feeding and being dragged through sewage pits tied to ropes - I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

It seems that the COs were divided in their motives. I know that my gt gt uncle comes into the religious "Thou Shalt Not Kill" category rather than, for example, the extreme Socialist one. I wonder if he was included in the COs who had stones thrown at them when attempting to attend Princetown church. More particularly I wonder if he was the unnamed man referred to by Joseph Hoare, a CO who had been in the school corps at Repton Public School before deciding not to fight. Hoare decided to skedaddle from Dartmoor after "the death of a fellow CO forced to work in the quarry when he should have been in hospital" (pp 225-227, Ellsworth-Jones).

The book focuses on the well-documented experiences of one CO. Neatly aiding us with solving our current argument as to which heading this present topic should be under, the family of the main subject of this book considered him the "black sheep".

Of course I feel pity for Harry, and the sufferings of these other young men. However I am also objectively interested in the motives that made COs and those so against them act as they did. I can see that if COs made not been made an example of in front of others potentially wavering, there would have been a heck of a lot more young men not willing to go off and join the slaughter.

Ellsworth-Jones' book has an excellent Bibliography.

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

[Penny Gallo]

Dartmoor Prison Museum have passed my details onto a writer, Simon Dell, (who I believe is a policeman based in the Tavistock area,) who might include Harry in a proposed book about the COs. Although I am glued to Ellsworth-Jones' book, there is not much about the Princetown Centre as it follows three brothers, the Brocklesbys, from South Yorkshire, two of whom fought and Bert the CO whose Richmond Castle cell wall graffiti is now carefully preserved and treasured by English Heritage.

[Penny Gallo]

.... "Widow Welch's Women's Pills". Yes, I've been searching through two years of the "Alfreton and Belper Journal" on microfilm, in search of Harry.

The paper was plastered, every edition, with "Military Service Tribunal" cases! Total exemptions were given to some butchers, scavengers and a drayman. Then later a butcher was told there were "too many" butchers (historical question - or too little meat?). A Mr C S Stockdale rendered himself unfit by chopping off his trigger finger. A coal miner who in the evenings operated the local cinematographic machine got exempted. For some reason, lace trade workers seemed keen to stay at home - and although the tribunal's "Lace is a luxury" verdict seems correct, they also decreed to an undertaker that "coffins are a luxury"! Most men were appealing because they considered that without them family or their business would suffer.

I also picked up information on the Conscientious Objection facet. COs tended to be told "Don't talk such rubbish!". One man was kicked hard and shouted at, "You worm! I will make you fight for your country!" In general those expressing religious principals were treated worse than those trying to avoid military service for their business interests. Poor Sidney Porter got a headline, "Conscientious Objector and Vegetarian" - Captain Mosley: "Are you prepared to say that there is no life in vegetables?" to which the witness replied, "I have never studied the subject, but I don't think it entails any suffering." His father was harangued, "Have you ever tried to cure him by starvation?" |jedi| His eating habits seemed more inflammatory to the tribunal members than his CO views. Mr Porter was sent off to work on a farm - there being some snide remarks about it being a pig farm.

A woman teacher, Nora Hague, was accused of having made a "strong and extraordinary" speech in Ilkeston Market Place, and of spreading Pacifist literature. She lost her job.

All the way through, there are long lists of casualties, so it's obvious that the military are desperate for men to feed the war machine. Feb 1917, all Class A men under 30 were to be called up, then a few weeks later, all A and B1. At the end of March 1917, the local Council raised the question of 2,000 miners from local collieries having to enlist - 27 men per 1,000 from each pit. In the end, because few came forward, ballots were held. "The Comb-Out had Started." This started a rash of miners asking for exemption. Some are named - but my gt gt uncle is not, just lumped under general headings: I suspect by then the Government didn't want to give any more publicity to COs' beliefs. By then, the newest defence of the Realm Act had stipulated that all Pacifist leaflets and pamphlets must first be submitted to the Press Bureau before distribution.

Although I didn't find my man, I did learn a lot today. A few months after Harry was taken out of the pits (where men were working 100 hour weeks), there were cries for more coal. Meanwhile, Major Gretton had been out 62 days with the local Hunt that season (this was presented as A Good Thing).

What does the Chinese curse say? "May you live in Interesting Times."

[Astoria]

This thread is a book in the making, here is a link to another thread which may be of interest to you.

http://www.british-genealogy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30888&highlight=bevin+boys

[Penny Gallo]

I remember seeing a propaganda film clip of WW2 vintage with a public school boy who'd been chosen as a Bevin Boy talking - in very clipped tones - about coming to terms with going down the mine when he'd expected to be an officer. I have actually been down myself once (there were still plenty around in 1976) as our Geog teacher thought it was a good educational trip - although he didn't look so pleased when one of the blackened miners shook hands with him. It seemed terrifying to me, especially when I think that Harry's father started as a "Door Trapper" at the age of 12, worked as a colliery fireman (1901 census) and retired age 67 after entire working life underground.
http://www.cmhrc.co.uk/site/database/cmhrc?action=fetch_by_id&record_id=180977 is just one incident at one of the collieries my family - and hundreds of others' - worked at.

[Astoria]

I have been looking at the miners in the Durham area and the ages of some of the casualties just beggers belief. Imagine working a whole lifetime down a pit.

[Jan1954]

I have just heard a trailer on television for a programme next Monday (10th November) at 08:00pm on Channel 4 called, "Not Forgotten: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight" about conscientious objectors.

Ian Hislop recounts the stories of World War One conscientious objectors whose beliefs or battlefield experiences led to their refusal to join the military campaign. Refusing to serve was an act of bravery in itself as `conchies' faced imprisonment and abuse. The broadcaster hears of the social stigma for the families of COs and learns about the alternative jobs they could be forced to take on.

Sounds as though it will be very interesting.

[Penny Gallo]

I shall definitely be watching that one. I saw the last series with Ian Hislop on WW1 soldiers. I think increasingly history is about a fully-rounded picture. Thanks for the notification! |hug|

[Maximilian]

A few comments on various points raised in the thread:

A distinction needs to be drawn between mistreatment of COs in army custody and mistreatment in prisons and work camps. There are a number of well-documented cases of overt brutality within the army, ranging from forcible dressing in uniform to holding a man in a waterlogged pit and throwing another in a pond after beating him up. There is no known case of hosing COs down with cold water. So far as prisons and work camps are concerned, there was little overt brutality; the problem was that prisons were often damp and cold, weakening the constitution against any bug going around; men used to sedentary occupations such as office work or teaching were particularly susceptible. Outdoor work camps in wet and windy weather were notorious in the same way. An additional problem was that medical attention was sparse and niggardly. Men were accused of malingering, only to die a few days later; after much pressure, one man was ordered eggs to build him up - by the time they arrived, he was dead.

By sleight of hand which need not be discussed here, the bulk of the 200 names (but not medical details) from the MO's log at Princetown Work Centre, Dartmoor, have been incorporated in the Peace Pledge Union's database (see below), including that of Harry Haston.

The list of 73 names of COs known to have died as aresult of their treatment is an expansion, by more recent research, of a list of 70 names originally compiled by the No-Conscription Fellowship, the main British WW1 CO organisation, from their contemporary records, and not simply published by them, but recorded on a Memorial Plaque, which hangs to this day in the offices of the Peace Pledge Union. And, yes, the Plaque includes Harry Haston.

Harry Haston was not the CO whose death was the catalyst for Joseph Hoare to abscond from Princetown.

"Bevin Boys" may well be an interesting topic, but, contrary to popular myth, there is absolutely no connection between them and COs. A number of WW2 COs did go down the mines, but not as Bevin Boys.

Vera Brittain may initially have accepted WW2 "heroically", but after the deaths of her fiance, her brother and their two mutual best friends she underwent a long reflection, leading her to be one of the principal campaigning pacifists in WW2. The story will be told on BBC1 at 5.45 pm on Sunday 9 November.

Ian Hislop's programme on Channel 4 on 10 November will include photos from the Peace Pledge Union's CO Archive, and an interview with at least one user of the Archive. Anyone researching CO ancestry would be be well advised to look at their website http://www.ppu.org.uk/coproject amd to contact the Archivist: archivesATppuDOTorgDOTuk . The National Archives info sheet on WW1 COs, though not formally credited, was drafted by the Archivist. The BBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?" prgramme mag describes the PPU's CO database as the "most comprehensive".

Enough said. Get to it.

[Maximilian]

I have found this thread quite interesting because a couple of years ago I was involved in a musical called Pack up your troubles. It tells the story of George and Felix Powell who wrote the song in 1915 - one brother went to war and the other was a 'conchie.' I think it was Felix who stayed home and when George returned they set up a dance hall in Peace Haven Brighton where Felix eventually committed suicide.
The musical was written by Snoo Wilson and performed at the National Theater, he collaborated with the grandson of one of the brothers who wanted the story to be told, quite incredible that one of the biggest war time marching songs was written by a 'conchie.'
If you would like my copy of the script please pm your address, I think I will be able to find it.

I found this info which explains things a little better than I did,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Powell

It was George Powell who wrote the words, and became a CO when conscription came in. Felix, who wrote the music, was a staff sergeant in the army.

One of the first rules in genealogy is, Don't confuse one person with another.

[Marie C..]

Maximillian,
One of the rules of genealogy is certainly ensuring one has the correct person but in Astoria's information re the Powell bros. she was quite correct. The brothers did write the music. One wrote the words and one the tune. She also prefixed her comment with"I think" which indicates that she is recalling something "off the cuff" and therefore the reader needs to check for himself/herself the exactness of the facts presented.
And whether one brother went to war and one stayed home is a tragedy either way.M

[Astoria]

It was George Powell who wrote the words, and became a CO when conscription came in. Felix, who wrote the music, was a staff sergeant in the army.

One of the first rules in genealogy is, Don't confuse one person with another.

As Marie said, my comments were 'off the cuff.'
However, although sites such as wiki lead us to believe it was George who committed suicide, the promotional material for the musical written by the grandson of ONE of the brothers, Aubrey Powell, says this,

'Felix and his brother George were stars of the music hall; their song PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES played countless British and Empire soldiers 'over the top' to their deaths - something which preyed on Felix's mind in later years. The musical documents the lives of the two brothers through the Second World War. Felix, haunted by writer's block, an unhappy love affair, embezzlement and an ill-fated new musical (condemned because it's London theatre was bombed on opening night), is found shot through the heart from his own rifle dressed in his Peacehaven Home Guard uniform.'

Created from an original idea by Aubrey Powell (Pack Up Your Troubles Ltd copyright 1998)

If someone had been actually researching the couple, my information would have course been more exact. If anyone by chance is researching the Powells I am sure my friend, who produced and directed the musical could find contact details for Aubrey, as I believe she met him on a couple of occasions, one time being in the music hall where the suicide took place; very moving and quite spooky I recall her saying.

[Maximilian]

There are many problems about Wikipedia, but confusion about which brother wrote the words, and which brother shot himself, is not one of them. Your own link to the Wikipedia entries enables this to become clear, and Felix's Wiki entry has a further link to Aubrey Powell's programme note.