I saw about two minutes of Terence Ratttigan’s “The Winslow Boy” based on a celebrated case where a naval cadet was expelled for the theft of a five shilling postal order and finally had his name cleared, costing the Admiralty a fortune.
I had seen the film donkey’s decades ago and bridled at the English accents of the
actors playing the parts of the contending lawyers’ roles.
For the hero responsible for the restoration of the boy’s reputation was the Dublin-accented Edward Carson.
Opposing him was Sir Rufus Isaacs, who together with David Lloyd George profited from knowledge on Marconi shares.
As Lord Chief Justice of England Isaacs sentenced the Irishman Roger Casementto death for High Treason. He had been found guilty by an English jury.
The Prosecution had been led by F.E. Smith, who but two years earlier was, together
with Edward Carson, leading a sectarian Paramilitary group threatening war on the King’s Forces should Parliament implement the Home Rule Act. Indeed they had prevailed on Officers of the King’s Forces to mutiny in 1912. Rank and file soldiers were not consulted by the First Fascist Movement in Europe!
The Officer-Cadet whose reputation was vindicated by Edward Carson was George
Archer-Shee, son of a prominent Banker and Devout Catholic.
His family and Carson’s were to be briefly and tragically entwined
Archer-Shee, serving as a Lieutenant in the First Staffordshire Regiment, was killed,
aged 19 at the First Battle of Ypres on October 31st 1914.
A nephew of Edward Carson, of the same Regiment and rank was killed later in that
war.
Comments are closed.