BS Historian Blog and Blank Rounds

By -
Tower of London - East Walk - display commemorating wartime spy executions
Tower of London - East Walk - display
commemorating wartime spy executions
I came across a WordPress blog yesterday entitled the BS Historian - Sceptical Commentary on Pseudohistory and the Paranormal. I'll leave it to everyone's imagination as to what "BS" stands for. The anonymous author of the blog wrote a post on: Conscience Bullets – Firing Squads and the use of blank cartridges.

The blog author mentions Josef's execution and states that "There is no evidence to suggest that a blank cartridge was used in Jakobs’ case."

I don't agree with that statement as I do think there is a fair bit of commentary that indicates that was indeed the case. One of my blog posts looked at the British Procedure for Military Executions by Firing Squad, a document which states that two blank rounds were to be used.

The reasoning behind some rounds being blank was thought to be that it afforded each member of the firing squad a bit of doubt - "did I really fire the lethal round?". This worked well in the days of muskets when the wad that was placed in the muzzle along with the ball of shot also generated recoil. It was hard to tell the difference between a musket loaded with wad and ball and one just loaded with the wad. With modern rifles and bullets, any skilled marksman would notice the difference between the recoil of a live round versus that of a blank round (recoil was less due to absence of a bullet). But apparently, over time, the mind could convince itself that the recoil was softer. Another possible explanation was that should the firing squad ever be brought before a tribunal (e.g. by the enemy), each could plausibly deny that they had fired the lethal round. While the reason behind the modern-day usage of blank rounds might be a mystery, it was clear from the Military Police Manual, that blank rounds were issued.

Comments

Jonathan said…
I have only just come across this - many thanks for the link to the 1950 MP manual. This does make it more likely that there was a blank involved with Jakobs, but without the equivalent procedure from 1940, I'm afraid I still can't agree that one was definitely used. However, it's still evidence, so I will certainly amend my article accordingly. Hopefully I will have time to research this in depth in future (perhaps even in my day job with the Royal Armouries, should all the office work stop getting in the way!).

Thank you, and congratulations on your site!

Jonathan Ferguson (BS Historian)
October 15, 2020 at 2:38 AM
Jonathan said…
Sorry, I checked and Jakobs was executed by the Scots Guards, not the Corps of Military Police/RMP, so it's by no means certain that the RMP procedure of the day (if it did include blanks in 1941) would have been followed. From my colleague at the Tower:

Scots Guards – Occurrence Book AR 37/1 notes – 15 August German spy Corpl Jakob shot at 7.15am – handwritten note attached with stamp of constable’s Office
”Dear Mr Nash
Ref: your enquiry:-
7.15am, Friday 15 August
Yours
??
17/10/41”
Nash was the Armouries Foreman.
29 August – received from Q.M.I Quinn the chair upon which Corpl. Jakob (German spy) was shot”

We also have the written notes from RSM Nunc Wilford, and of course the copy prescription.
October 15, 2020 at 4:04 AM
Giselle Jakobs said…
Thanks for the comments Jonathan and the email chat.
October 22, 2020 at 6:45 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Clara Bauerle is Finally Laid to Rest

By -
Image
Clara Bauerle It has taken me a few years, pursuing many leads, but I can finally say that Clara Bauerle has been laid to rest. Clara did not die stuffed into a Wych Elm in England. She was not Bella in the Wych Elm. She was a German actress and singer who passed away in a Berlin hospital on December 16, 1942. A while ago, I ordered the birth registration for Clara, from the Standesamt in Ulm. That record gave her death registration number in Berlin. With that in hand, I wrote to the relevant Standesamt in Berlin and, after a lengthy wait, received her death registration in the mail last week. Translation follows below... Death Registration of Clara Bauerle The actress Hedwig Klara Bauerle, Protestant, living in Berlin, Bleibtreustrasse 32, did, on 16 December 1942 at 12:15 in Berlin-Oberschoneweide, Konigin-Elisabeth-Hospital, die. The deceased was born on 27 August 1905 in Ulm (Standesamt Ulm/Donau Nr.../...). Father - Fruitseller Adolf Bauerle, deceased, last
Read more

Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?

By -
Image
N.B. 2020 10 15 - I should note that the picture of the wych elm featured below is NOT the actual wych elm. And, the "police sketch" was first published in Donald McCormick's book, Murder by Witchcraft. That sketch does NOT occur in the police files.   Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? On 18 April 1943, near the town of Stourbridge, four young boys in search of bird nests in Hagley Wood found a hollow elm tree (a Wych Elm or Scots Elm). One boy climbed up and peered into the hollow trunk and found a human skull staring back at him. Despite a pact of silence, one boy, Tommy Willetts, told his father about their grisly discovery and the police were quickly called. The Wych Elm wherein the body of "Bella" was found. (From Brian Haughton's website ).   The Worcestershire County Police recovered a skeleton from the trunk, along with some fragments of clothing and finger bones scattered around the trunk. A pathologist concluded that the remains bel
Read more

The Truth about Clara Bauerle

By -
Image
Who was Clara Bauerle? What really happened to her? To begin with, we have to recognize that Clara Bauerle's name could be spelled in a variety of ways:      Claire/Cläre/Clära/Clara      Kläre/Klära/Klara      Bauerle/Bäuerle If one searches long and hard on the internet, one can find the following information on the singer/actress known as Clara Bauerle. Early Life & Movie Career Clara was born 27 August 1905 in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In 1932-1933, Clara had a small part in the movie Die Blume von Hawaii (The Flower of Hawaii) which was released on 21 March 1933. Poster for the movie "Die Blume von Hawaii" . In 1939-1940, she played a young lady at the ball in the movie Bal Paré which was released 22 May 1940. Poster for the mov ie " Bal Paré ". Singing Career Clara also had a music career and by piecing together her recordings, the following timeline emerges: 1940 September - Wenn die kleinen Veil
Read more