Talk:Percy Toplis
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[edit] Terminology
Excuse me, but what does 'birched' mean? I am afraid that term is not familiar outside (apparently) the UK. Arcayne 15:14, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
"Birched" means he was beaten with a fresh cut Branch from a Birch Tree. In the USA this is generally referred to as a "Switch".
[edit] Roaming deserters
"Toplis had made a habit of not being present with his regiment and his comings and goings cannot be accurately detailed. This is true of thousands of soldiers throughout WWI as testament from conscripted soldiers of the time upholds. Thousands of British, French, Belgian and indeed German deserters lived in makeshift camps that were constantly on the move to avoid the patrols seeking to bring them to justice at courts martial, usually resulting in a sentence of execution by firing squad." Is there any substantiation for this? I have doubts on 3 points; (1) the implication that Toplis casually joined or left his regiment as he felt fit and there are no accurate regimental records, (2) that there existed roaming camps of deserters. This seems most unlikely, certainly in northern France/Belgium and (3) that most deserters were executed by firing squad. The third suggestion undermines the idea that Toplis joined or left his regiment at will.Crantock (talk) 22:59, 4 December 2007 (UTC)
