http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/787148506

King & country

"During World War I, Private Hamp, a young Englishman, is arrested near Calais for desertion after serving 3 years in the frontline trenches. Before his court-martial in Passchendaele, Belgium, he is questioned by the unsympathetic attorney assigned to defend him, Captain Hargreaves, who readily agrees to follow suggestions from the upper echelon that he ignore the fact that Hamp was suffering from shellshock when he deserted. Having had an unhappy youth, Hamp had enlisted in the Army on a dare and had grimly accepted the deaths of his army buddies and the news of his wife's unfaithfulness until he had simply walked away from his post. After hearing all the facts, Hargreaves becomes so impressed with the private's sincerity that he delivers an impassioned plea for justice, saying that Hamp was not responsible for his actions. Nonetheless, the court finds him guilty; and Hargreaves' recommendation for leniency is denied because the battalion is moving out and military discipline must be maintained. On the eve of his execution, Hamp's fellow soldiers gather in his cell and drink stolen rum. Drunk, and dizzy from playing blindman's buff, Hamp falls into the arms of a priest and finds himself the astonished participant in last communion. At dawn Hamp faces the firing squad, but the shots fail to kill him outright, and Hargreaves uses his revolver to put a bullet in his head. The conventional letter for soldiers killed in action is mailed to his family"--AFI catalog, 1961-1970.

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