Harold William Medlicott 11th Feb 1893 – 21st May 1918
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Harold William Medlicott 11th Feb 1893 – 21st May 1918
Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of my cousin Harold Medlicottat the hands of his captors, near Bad Colberg in Germany whilsta prisoner of war.I did not want to let this day pass without doing something to remember him and Captain Joseph Walter who died with him. I hope the mods do not mind that I have posted it in this forum.
Harold William Medlicott enlisted with the Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of war in August 1914, and soon rose to the rank of Corporal. In September 1914 he transferred to the Royal Field Artillery and was commission as a Second Lieutenant. Soon after he moved to the Royal Flying Corps and obtained his aviators certificate (No 1042) at Brooklands on 18th January 1915 and was posted to No.2 Squadron, British Expeditionary Force.
I am not sure when he moved to France, but between 19th September and 7th November 1915, he was credited with shooting down five enemy aircraft.
On the 10th November 1915, Lt. Harold Medlicott, together with his observer, Second Lt. A. Whitten Brown, left on a reconnaissance flight to Valenciennes, within German held territory. Two other aircraft from No.2 Squadron escorted them but ran into rain and snow and had to turn back. However, Harold and his observer went on alone but then suffered engine trouble that compelled them to make a forced landing behind German lines. Some reports suggest they were hit by ground fire and that Brown was already wounded before the crash. The two men were immediately captured and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp at Claustal.
Arthur Whitten Brown was severely injured and underwent a number of operations in Germany before being repatriated through Switzerland in January 1917. He went on to become the navigator on the first flight to cross the Atlantic with Captain Sir John Alcock in June 1919.
Harold made numerous escape attempts undeterred by the harsh and brutal punishment he received upon recapture. He was sent to a number of camps including, Fort 9, a Colditz like establishment, Holzminden and finally Bad Colberg, After serving a term of imprisonment at Bad Colberg, Medlicott and Walter were warned that if they escaped again they would never return alive. From here in May 1918 Harold made his tenth and final escape, again with Capt. Walter, his regular escaping partner. They were recaptured some 19 miles away at Römhild and brought back to a railway station near Bad Colberg. Two days later their bodies were returned to the camp and according to the Germans, they were shot whilst attempting to escape from the railway station.
Outraged at what had happened, the senior British Officer at the camp demanded to see the bodies but was refused. However, a British soldier working as an orderly in the mortuary later testified that the men’s bodies had had received numerous bayonet wounds.
Lieutenant Harold Medlicott and Captain Joseph Walter, least we forget.
I am grateful to Mike Lawson for information that has gone into this post. He undertook research for Ealing Council when a request was made to have Harold’s name and that of his brother Sydney (KIA 6th October 1915), added to the Ealing War memorial in 2009. He subsequently wrote an article for Ealing Council’s magazine for residents and the article can be found by Googling - First World War: Harold ‘Houdini’ Medlicott (I can't post URL's) or use www ealingnewsextra.co.uk/history/first-world-war-harold-houdini-medlicott
Harold William Medlicott enlisted with the Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of war in August 1914, and soon rose to the rank of Corporal. In September 1914 he transferred to the Royal Field Artillery and was commission as a Second Lieutenant. Soon after he moved to the Royal Flying Corps and obtained his aviators certificate (No 1042) at Brooklands on 18th January 1915 and was posted to No.2 Squadron, British Expeditionary Force.
I am not sure when he moved to France, but between 19th September and 7th November 1915, he was credited with shooting down five enemy aircraft.
On the 10th November 1915, Lt. Harold Medlicott, together with his observer, Second Lt. A. Whitten Brown, left on a reconnaissance flight to Valenciennes, within German held territory. Two other aircraft from No.2 Squadron escorted them but ran into rain and snow and had to turn back. However, Harold and his observer went on alone but then suffered engine trouble that compelled them to make a forced landing behind German lines. Some reports suggest they were hit by ground fire and that Brown was already wounded before the crash. The two men were immediately captured and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp at Claustal.
Arthur Whitten Brown was severely injured and underwent a number of operations in Germany before being repatriated through Switzerland in January 1917. He went on to become the navigator on the first flight to cross the Atlantic with Captain Sir John Alcock in June 1919.
Harold made numerous escape attempts undeterred by the harsh and brutal punishment he received upon recapture. He was sent to a number of camps including, Fort 9, a Colditz like establishment, Holzminden and finally Bad Colberg, After serving a term of imprisonment at Bad Colberg, Medlicott and Walter were warned that if they escaped again they would never return alive. From here in May 1918 Harold made his tenth and final escape, again with Capt. Walter, his regular escaping partner. They were recaptured some 19 miles away at Römhild and brought back to a railway station near Bad Colberg. Two days later their bodies were returned to the camp and according to the Germans, they were shot whilst attempting to escape from the railway station.
Outraged at what had happened, the senior British Officer at the camp demanded to see the bodies but was refused. However, a British soldier working as an orderly in the mortuary later testified that the men’s bodies had had received numerous bayonet wounds.
Lieutenant Harold Medlicott and Captain Joseph Walter, least we forget.
I am grateful to Mike Lawson for information that has gone into this post. He undertook research for Ealing Council when a request was made to have Harold’s name and that of his brother Sydney (KIA 6th October 1915), added to the Ealing War memorial in 2009. He subsequently wrote an article for Ealing Council’s magazine for residents and the article can be found by Googling - First World War: Harold ‘Houdini’ Medlicott (I can't post URL's) or use www ealingnewsextra.co.uk/history/first-world-war-harold-houdini-medlicott
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I echo Wander00's sentiments and a hearty congratualtions to you both for researching their past and ensuring their memory does not die.
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Harold William Medlicott
Thank you both for your kind replies.
I am 61 and it was my Grandmother who told me of his exploits as a young child, so I knew much of what is written in this post, even the manner of their deaths. I have been handed down a number of documents, books and photos that were in possession of our side of the family. I have two books written after the War on POW escapes with details of his attempts and one a Penguin paperback, written just before the WW2. With the advent of the internet, I have been surprised as to how much information there is out there on him. He was mentioned in reports for valuable services whilst in captivity.
I will try and post some photos of him.
I am 61 and it was my Grandmother who told me of his exploits as a young child, so I knew much of what is written in this post, even the manner of their deaths. I have been handed down a number of documents, books and photos that were in possession of our side of the family. I have two books written after the War on POW escapes with details of his attempts and one a Penguin paperback, written just before the WW2. With the advent of the internet, I have been surprised as to how much information there is out there on him. He was mentioned in reports for valuable services whilst in captivity.
I will try and post some photos of him.
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OK so there was I, photos resized, album created and I find myself defeated by the 10 post rule on URL's!
Only 6 more posts to go, I'll be back!
Only 6 more posts to go, I'll be back!
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Harold William Medlicott
Photos of Harold Medlicott at Weilberg 1916 and MIA Letter
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Harold William Medlicott
After the War the British authorities wanted those responsible for the deaths of the two officers brought to trial for war crimes, but this never happened. The story in the family was that as time went on the British Government wished to improve relations with Germany and the war crimes trial was quietly dropped. I always wondered about this and eventually I found an article in Wikipedia that explained what happened,
Of those 12, only 7 were found guilty; they were sentenced to terms of imprisonment of between 6 months for mistreating POW’s and 4 years for sinking a hospital ship and machine gunning survivors in the lifeboats
Leipzig War Crimes Trials
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Background
During the First World War the Allied leaders came up with a new concept, that once victory was achieved, defeated enemy leaders should face criminal charges for international law violations made during the war. On 25 January 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, the Allied governments established the Commission of Responsibilities to make recommendations to that effect. As a result, articles 227–230 of the Treaty of Versailles stipulated the arrest and trial of German officials defined as war criminals by the Allied governments. Article 227 made provision for the establishment of a special tribunal, presided over by a judge from each one of the major Allied powers – Britain, France, Italy, United States and Japan. It identified the former Kaiser Wilhelm II as a war criminal, and demanded that an extradition request be addressed to the Dutch government, which had given him asylum in the Netherlands since his abdication in November 1918. Article 228 allowed the Allied governments to try German war criminals in their military tribunals, nothwithstanding any proceedings taken against the same persons in German courts. The German government was required to comply with any extradition order issued by the Allied powers to that effect.
Following the conclusion of the treaty, the Allied government began their legal and diplomatic efforts to arrest the former Kaiser. On 28 June 1919, the day the treaty was signed, the President of the Paris Peace Conference addressed a diplomatic note to the Dutch government requesting the extradition of the ex-Kaiser. On 7 July the Dutch replied that any extradition of the Kaiser would be a violation of Dutch neutrality. Eventually the issue of bringing the ex-Kaiser to trial was dropped, and he remained in the Netherlands until his death on 4 June 1941.
On 3 February 1920, the Allies submitted a further list of 900 names of individuals accused of committing alleged war crimes to the German government. However, the Germans refused to extradite any German citizens to Allied governments, and suggested instead trying them within the German justice system, i.e. at the Reichsgericht in Leipzig. This proposal was accepted by the Allied leaders, and in May 1920 they handed the German government a reduced list of 45 accused persons. Not all these people could be traced, and in other cases there was difficulty in finding credible evidence. In the end only twelve individuals were brought to trial.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
Background
During the First World War the Allied leaders came up with a new concept, that once victory was achieved, defeated enemy leaders should face criminal charges for international law violations made during the war. On 25 January 1919, during the Paris Peace Conference, the Allied governments established the Commission of Responsibilities to make recommendations to that effect. As a result, articles 227–230 of the Treaty of Versailles stipulated the arrest and trial of German officials defined as war criminals by the Allied governments. Article 227 made provision for the establishment of a special tribunal, presided over by a judge from each one of the major Allied powers – Britain, France, Italy, United States and Japan. It identified the former Kaiser Wilhelm II as a war criminal, and demanded that an extradition request be addressed to the Dutch government, which had given him asylum in the Netherlands since his abdication in November 1918. Article 228 allowed the Allied governments to try German war criminals in their military tribunals, nothwithstanding any proceedings taken against the same persons in German courts. The German government was required to comply with any extradition order issued by the Allied powers to that effect.
Following the conclusion of the treaty, the Allied government began their legal and diplomatic efforts to arrest the former Kaiser. On 28 June 1919, the day the treaty was signed, the President of the Paris Peace Conference addressed a diplomatic note to the Dutch government requesting the extradition of the ex-Kaiser. On 7 July the Dutch replied that any extradition of the Kaiser would be a violation of Dutch neutrality. Eventually the issue of bringing the ex-Kaiser to trial was dropped, and he remained in the Netherlands until his death on 4 June 1941.
On 3 February 1920, the Allies submitted a further list of 900 names of individuals accused of committing alleged war crimes to the German government. However, the Germans refused to extradite any German citizens to Allied governments, and suggested instead trying them within the German justice system, i.e. at the Reichsgericht in Leipzig. This proposal was accepted by the Allied leaders, and in May 1920 they handed the German government a reduced list of 45 accused persons. Not all these people could be traced, and in other cases there was difficulty in finding credible evidence. In the end only twelve individuals were brought to trial.
Of those 12, only 7 were found guilty; they were sentenced to terms of imprisonment of between 6 months for mistreating POW’s and 4 years for sinking a hospital ship and machine gunning survivors in the lifeboats
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Thanks for filling in the blanks and adding the photos, very poignant
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I believe the failure to effectively prosecute war crimes after WW1 led to the Germans to believe they had carte blanch to behave how they liked in WW2, with impunity, even after it became obvious they were going to loose. Some of the 12 indicted and tried at the Leipzig War Crimes Trials, successfully used the "I was only following orders" (Superior Orders) defence, even one who was responsible for the sinking of a hospital ship. This later became known as the "Nuremberg Defence"
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That sounds about right.
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Hi,
I have just purchased a house and found an item I believe belonged to Lt Harold William Medlicott. I came across this post whilst doing some research and wondered if anyone has any contact details for Mike Lawson who I believe did a lot of research regarding Lt Medlicott?
Kind regards
I have just purchased a house and found an item I believe belonged to Lt Harold William Medlicott. I came across this post whilst doing some research and wondered if anyone has any contact details for Mike Lawson who I believe did a lot of research regarding Lt Medlicott?
Kind regards
