WWI document reveals an Australian soldier’s cheeky response to a sergeant who ordered him to ‘get out of bed’ in the morning
- Private Humby C.R faced a Field General Court Marshall in February 1918
- The private was charged with disobedience after ignoring official commands
- The soldier refused to get out of bed and told his superior officer to ‘f*** himself’
A military document from 1918 has revealed how one spirited Australian soldier was brutally punished for refusing to leave his bed.
Private Humby C.R, from the 36th battalion of the Australian Imperial Force faced a field general court martial during World War One on February 16, 1918.
The unearthed court document showed how the private was charged with disobeying orders after giving attitude to his his superior officer.
A 1918 military document revealed how an Australian soldier, Private Humby, was tried and punished after he was charged with disobeying direct orders from his commanding officer
A week before being punished, Private Humby was ‘personally ordered’ by his Command Sergeant Major Coy to get out of bed and put on his fatigues for a parade.
‘I am not going to get up, you can go f*** yourself,’ Private Humby shot back.
Private Humby pleaded guilty to the charge and was found guilty of disobedience.
He was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment with hard labor.
A ‘remarks’ section at the bottom of the the document noted that the private’s sentence had been reduced to sixty days of Field Punishment Number One.
It’s understood the punishment he would be placed in handcuffs or similar constraints and then chained to a gun wheel or fence post for up to two hours every day.
The private from the 36th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force (pictured) refused orders to get out of bed and told his Command Sergeant Major to ‘go f*** yourself’
The document was posted on Reddit, where social media users were quick to praise the soldier for his ‘Aussie spirit.’
‘Presumably they created the ‘Australian of the year’ award shortly after this,’ said one.
‘Nothing captures my idea of Australian culture more than this,’ another commented.
The 36th Battalion disbanded in April of 1918 after suffering mass casualties to a German gas attack during the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, a commune in northern France.