#cfb kingston

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“Discharged Man At Court-Martial,” Toronto Globe. July 17, 1919. Page 03. --- Has to Face Trial for Offense Said Committed in Belgium --- (Canadian Press Despatch.) Kingston, July 16. - This morning a court-martial convened at the Barriefield Huts for the purpose of placing on trial ex-Gunner James Mossman, No. 40,460, 1st Battery, C.E.F., but the case was paraded until tomorrow morning. Gunner Mossman is charged with striking a superior officer in Belgium on the 28th day of November, 1918.

The case against Mossman was allowed to drift until the accused went into German territory, then back to England in March, 1919, and from England to Canada. On the 29th of March, last, Mossman was discharged and returned to his home in Belleville, going back to his usual civilian occupation. On the 9th of May, last, Mossman was arrested by the Military Police and brought to Kingston, being detained under arrest at the huts after the usual summary of evidence was taken.

Short Notice Objected To. Mossman was on Monday afternoon ordered to be ready for trial on Wednesday morning. His friends objected to the brevity of the notice to prepare for trial, claiming that the Government held Mossman from the 9th of last May for the purpose of securing evidence against him, and the least it could do was to give the man a reasonable time to have his defence prepare after furnishing a copy of the summary of evidence. Ottawa persisted in its refusal, and at last Mr. W. F. Nickle, M.P., wired a vigorous protest to Ottawa, and the Minister of Militia wired back that the court should be asked for sufficient time to prepare a defence.

Says He is Subject to Court-Martial It has been contended that the man is a civilian and cannot be tried by court-martial, but the Department of the Judge Advocate General has decided to the contrary. It is also claimed that the Department has not the right to try a man here for an offence alleged to have been committed overseas. [AL: Mossman was acquitted. Read more here.]

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"Camp School Being Held At Barriefield," Kingston Whig-Standard. June 21, 1933. Page 3. ---- Major R. G. Whitelaw Is In Charge Expect 250 Will Attend ---- The District Camp School, which will be continued for the next four weeks, opened on Monday afternoon at Barriefield Camp under the command of Major R. G. Whitelaw of Headquarters. There are forty-five in camp at present and this number will be augmented until over 250 are in camp. The District Camp School is primarily for the purpose of qualifying for officers and N.C.O.'s of the non-permanent active militia.

Candidates are in camp from all over the district at present taking the complete qualifying course. For those who have already qualified in Part One at Provisional Schools there is a course starting in July which will last for two weeks. In all throughout the camp period there will be twenty-five courses given, which will include the course for signallers, qualifying and visional telegraphy and also a course in riding for senior officers. Over 250 applications for the camp school course have been accepted, but It is expected that this number will be exceeded.

Yesterday afternoon examinations were held at the Camp School for French interpreters. Those comprising the school attend as individuals and at the conclusion of the course examinations in the works covered are held.

The Second Signal Troop under the command of Captain Rees, with Lieut. Stroud as second in command, will carry out ten days unit training at Barriefield Camp while the Camp School is being held, in order to take advantage of the messing facilities. and the administrative arrangements so that all can devote themselves to actual training for the full ten days.

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“Fourteen People Arrested Over Pay Day Week-end On Intoxication Charges,” Kingston Whig-Standard. March 2, 1942. Page 2. ---- Military pay day on Saturday, coinciding with the pay period of several large factories, had its aftermath in city police court this morning when four soldiers were among 14 persons charged with being intoxicated in a public place. 

All pleaded guilty and fines ranging from $10 to $50 with costs were fixed by Magistrate J. B. Garvin on 12 of those charged, while two were remanded until called upon. 

Stanley Barnard, Bagot Street, who was given a remand, told the court he had signed up with the Merchant Marine and was to join his ship on the coast shortly.

“I was sick a week before drinking,” he said. “I only had three glasses of beer and it went to my head.” 

“Have you been in the army?” queried the Magistrate. 

“I served two years in the army as a sergeant and also in the last war,” replied Barnard, stating he had been working in Kingston for the past two months and had tried to rejoin the army but had been turned down. 

The other remand was given to Vincent Hammond, who faced a third offence intoxication charge, and was released Saturday after serving a previous sentence. 

Hammond replied in the negative when Magistrate Garvin asked him if he wanted another three months in Jail. “There was a room waiting for you when you got out,” said His Worship. “If you come back again we’ll have to find some other place for you. You can be sentenced on this and any other charge and the odds are you'll be sentenced on this. It’s entirely up to yourself." 

Fines Imposed Others who pleaded guilty to the charge were as follows: Edith Dee, alias Brennan, second offence, $25 and costs, or one month; Patricia DesRosiers, second offence, $25 and costs; John Bowman, Montreal Street, second offence, $50 and costs, or one month; Alice Dano, no address; Irwin Benn, Princess Street; Thomas Connor, no fixed address; William Silliman, Kensington Avenue; R. Hefferon, R.C.O.C.T.C., Barriefield; R. C. Martin, R.C.O.C.T.C, Barriefield; Hector Dupont, R.C.A.S.C., RMC; William Aubin, King Street; Walter Hutchings, Barriefield; all $10 and costs.

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“4 Soldiers Implicated In Purse Theft,” Kingston Whig-Standard. March 30, 1942. Page 2. ---- The number of soldiers implicated in the theft of a lady's purse which reportedly contained $500 in cash and cheques, mounted to four today, when two soldiers appeared in city police court before Magistrate J. B. Garvin. 

Patrick Clement, and Joseph Lamonte, both of Vimy Barracks. pleaded guilty to being in possession of about $7 in stolen goods, the property of Mrs. Martha Burns, 312 King Street, owner of the handbag. 

Previously Robert Tessier and Albert Ferrault, also of Vimy Barracks, appeared in court on a charge of stealing the purse. Perrault pleaded guilty while Tessier this morning changed his plea to guilty. Remanded All four were remanded to Tuesday, April 7, for sentence. 

It was reported to city police by Mrs. Bums that two soldiers had snatched the purse from her hand on March 21 at 9 p. m. Mrs. Burns told police the purse contained about $500. It is understood the money represented rents collected by Mrs. Bums, who conducts a boarding house. 

Case Laid Over A further remand was granted by Magistrate J. B. Garvin this morning to Ernest Wiskin, taxi-driver of 213 Nelson Street, who faces three charges of drunken driving, speeding, and intoxication respectively. The case will be heard on Tuesday, April 7.

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“Soldiers had ‘Dope’,” The Ontario (Belleville). July 17, 1919. Page 05. ---- KINGSTON, July 12. - Military authorities are investigating the discovery of drugs found on soldiers here. One soldier suspected was searched and a needle and some dope were found on him. This led to a whole batch of men being lined up for search and the doctors were shocked at discovering about five thousand morphine tablets.

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“Red Tape For Mossman’s Case,” The Ontarian (Belleville). July 24, 1919. Page 01. --- Ex-Gunner James Mossman, who was on Thursday acquitted by a general court-martial of assaulting an officer in Belgium, on November 28th, 1918, is to be immediately discharged. His friends expected this to take place after the court’s finding was announced, but it is pointed out that there are certain formalities to be attended to in connection with the discharge and it is the intention of the authorities to expedite the proceedings as much as possible so that Gunner Mossman can rejoin his family as soon as possible.

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“Toronto Paper On the Mossman Case,” The Ontarian (Belleville), July 31, 1919. Page 15. --- How Spirit of Tyranny and Injustice was Frustrated in Case of Belleville Soldier --- The following editorial appeared in Friday’s issue of the Toronto Telegram: Every returned soldier suffering from a well-founded grievance has a powerful friend in W.F. Nickle, M.P. for Kingston. Mr. Nickle has a keen and true sense of the rights and dignity of his fellow-countrymen of the rank and file of the Canadian army.

That sort and every other sort of sense seems to be largely absent from the equipment of the red tape soldiers who run the Militia Department at Ottawa.

A lack of head or a lack of heart, or lack of both head and heart, is revealed in the treatment of Gunner James Mossman of Belleville 1st Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, as illustrated in the following sequence of dates: Nov. 8, 1918 – Charged with striking a superior officer in Belgium. Feb. 1919 – Returned from Germany to England.

March 29, 1919 – Honorably discharged from 1st Battery at Kingston, Canada. May 9, 1919 – Arrested at his home in Belleville and brought to Kingston for trial by court-martial for an alleged crime committed in Belgium, Nov. 8, 1918.

Monday, July 14, 1919 – After nine weeks’ military imprisonment at Kingston, Gunner Mossman ordered to be ready for trial on Wednesday, July 16. An honorably discharged soldier is allowed to remain in civil life for nearly six weeks. Then that soldier is jerked out of civil life and dragged to a military prison in Kingston. The soldier is kept in prison from May 9th until July 14th. After nearly ten weeks’ imprisonment Gunner Mossman is given forty hours’ notice to prepare for trial by court martial. If Gunner Mossman were guilty of the crime committed in Belgium eight months before the date fixed for the trial in Kingston. The prosecution chose its own date for the trial and left Gunner Mossman a short two days to assemble his witnesses and prepare his defence.

A spirit of tyranny and injustice must lurk behind the proceedings against Gunner Mossman. A soldier who was not tried before his restoration to civil life was entitled to remain in civil life without trial. The whole outrage was aggravated by the tactics that kept Gunner Mosssman in captivity for nearly ten weeks and then gave him from Monday to Wednesday to prepare for trial on an eight months’ old charge.

A gross abuse of military law will fall short of its climax by the activity of the Kingston branch of the Army and Navy Veterans and by the protest of W. F. Nickle, M. P., addressed to the Minister of Militia at Ottawa. If Toronto was the scene of such an outrage the G.W.V.A. could have appealed to Brig. Gen. John A. Gunn and the G.W.V.A. could have depended on help from Mayor Church or Brig. Gen. John A. Gunn, D.S.O.

Toronto members of Parliament lack either the inclination or power to speak to the red tape specialists at Ottawa as W. F. Nickle, M.P., has often spoken for wronged and oppressed soldiers and their dependents. The Dominion Executive of the G.W.V.A. should rouse itself to the duty of tracking down the origin of the Mossman outrage. Gunner Mossman was acquitted. How many Canadian private soldiers have suffered or are still suffering from the results of such abuses of military law as the abuses that were employed in the pursuit of Gunner Mossman?

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“Mossman Acquitted, No Proof of Identity,” Toronto Star. July 18, 1919. Page 05. --- Assault Charge Preferred Against Former Canadian Gunner Collapses in Court. --- Kingston, July 18. - The case of ex-Gunner James Mossman, collapsed at the court martial yesterday, as there was no evidence to convict the soldier of having assaulted Lieut. Leckie. The episode occurred in the dark and while the officer said Mossman did the act, the soldier denied the allegation. The court dismissed the case on grounds of insufficient evidence.

Mossman was charged with striking Lieut. Leckie, while in Belgium. The accused stated that as the offence was alleged to have taken place in Belgium eight months ago, and as he has now been discharged into civil life no action lay against him.