WHEN Private William Hunter's death warrant was signed, he was singled out for attention - with orders that he be bound and closely watched.

Having managed to escape custody twice, his officers were determined he would not evade the firing squad.

Shot At Dawn campaigner John Hipkin said: "Pte Hunter was quite a character.

"He had escaped custody not once, but twice, which takes some doing and shows a lot of resourcefulness.

"His guards had strict instructions from senior officers that he had to have someone dedicated to watching him all the time before he was shot."

Mr Hipkin said the manner in which Pte Hunter's case was dealt with demonstrated the injustice of the system, which permeated from the top.

Pte Hunter, of North Shields, North Tyneside, had served on the Western Front with the 1st Loyal North Lancs since February 4, 1915.

His desertion a year later had been followed by two escapes from custody. He was not represented at his court martial on February 5, 1916.

Mr Hipkin said: "With his antecedents, the outlook for Pte Hunter was very bleak indeed. This was not helped by the fact that the court was also told he was of 'little value as a fighting soldier'.

"You were dealing with Old Etonians among the officer class.

"A reflection of their attitudes is contained in records of the execution of a 19-year-old Scottish solider.

"When sentenced to death, officers up the chain of command are invited to comment on the condemned soldier. Of the Scottish soldier, one officer remarked that he was a 'typical slum product of low intellect'. The attitudes were despicable."

Nevertheless, Mr Hipkin said that during the review procedure, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Wilson, the Commanding Officer of the Fourth Corps, saw fit to recommend that the sentence of death of Pte Hunter be commuted.

Officers right up the chain of command concurred, but the Commander-in-Chief did not, and insisted the sentence be carried out.

On February 21, 1916, Pte Hunter was shot.

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