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The Air Commodore left the ship and addressed the men. He agreed that the ship was in a very dirty condition, and that he would file a report to that effect. However he commented that it would not benefit them but any troops who came after them. This however proved to be untrue, as on the 15 of August 1942, a 1,000 RAF personnel walked off the Empire Woodlark for identical reasons and in his report the Deputy Judge Advocate General Wing Commander Shurlock acknowledged that they knew of four troop ships operating in this area which were acknowledged to be unsuitable for the servicemen travelling on them.

Sgt Jackson asked for and was granted permission to address the men. He said to the Air Commodore “I don’t know what the consequences will be Sir, but I don’t think the boys will go back on board”. Sgt Jackson then addressed the assembled troops.
“You have had a clear and reasoned argument, as to why you should sail on this ship, put to you by the Air Commodore. We want to settle this matter with common sense. The two main points that arise are, one you are badly needed where you are going, and two, it is admitted that the ship is lousy.”
He then put three questions to them.
“We don’t want any trouble do we?”
Response “No”.
“We want to go on and fight, don’t we?”
Response “Yes”.
“Are we going to sail on this ship?”
Response “No”.

At the conclusion of this the Air Commodore commented “fair enough” and an Army Officer put his hand on Sgt Jackson’s shoulder and said “Thank you Sergeant”.

Sgt Jackson then contacted his OC, Major Peatty, and suggested that a working party be organised to clean up the ship, so that British troops wherever they were bound would not have to travel there in such squalid conditions. The OC said he would see what he would do; at this point Sgt Jackson felt he could do no more. He felt however that British troops should not have to travel in these appalling conditions, and fully convinced the protest was justified he left the ship and joined the rest of the troops on the quayside, firmly believing that they would be informed that the ship would be fumigated.

Back on the quayside Harry pondered his next move. He fully expected to be contacted by his OC and told that the ship was to be delayed, and that cleaning and fumigation would be organised. He honestly felt that he could do no more. He knew all his comrades in No 4 Company wanted to get on with the job they had been trained to do, but to travel in those conditions, was he felt unacceptable, and also bad for the morale of the men.

That afternoon at 14.51 the City of Canterbury sailed. Harry and the 27 other ranks from No 4 Company were devastated. Various thoughts flashed through Harry’s mind as he sat in “E” shed on the dock and pondered his next move. He realised the Army would take a serious view of this. Would they be charged with desertion, or just absent from their place of duty? No one had given them a direct order to board the ship, however commonsense told him that there would be repercussions. He still believed that what he had done in protest was correct but how would the army view it? Before he had time to think about it any more troops from a South African Regiment carrying rifles with fixed bayonets surrounded the quayside, and placed machine guns on the dock walls.

The RAF personnel were marched away by an officer of the South African Air Force. South African Military Police arrived “We’re looking for that mutinous Sergeant”. Harry was arrested and taken with 27 other ranks, escorted by the Deputy Provost Marshal Durban. They were all marched to Cato St Dock gate, where troop carriers were waiting to take them to the Imperial Forces Transhipment Camp Clairwood Durban. When they arrived at 17.15 hours they were paraded by RSM Burgess of the Royal Durban Light Infantry, and were then marched to the reception office to have their names recorded. They were then placed under close arrest and marched to the detention pen.

On Thursday the 15th Harry made a statement, under oath, which would be used at his court martial, the statement simple expressed his views on the condition of the ship, and how he had tried to get it cleaned up, and how he felt it was his moral duty to make some effective protest against the conditions, as he considered the ship not in a fit state for human habitation. He also added that in making his protest he hoped that British troops would never again be expected to sail under similar conditions.

By this time of course he had been told that the charge was one of mutiny, which if proven guilty rendered him liable to the death penalty, however he still believed that what he and his fellow “mutineers” had done was right. However he was now in detention, in a foreign land, thousands of miles from his loved ones, locked up in a military prison and facing the possibility of the death penalty. All for protesting against conditions which no one should be asked to endure.

During their spell in Clairwood Camp prior to the Court Martial the “mutineers” were placed in charge of Flight Lieutenant D Bradley, who according to Wing Commander Shurlock, in his report, was extremely sympathetic to the men and was not very cooperative or forthcoming, it would appear that he along with a lot of other people, civilians and military, felt that the men were justified in their protest. Lots of the South African military and civilian personnel at Clairwood Camp knew of the unsatisfactory conditions on several of the vessels being used for British troop movements in the Indian Ocean. In his final report on the “City of Canterbury” incident Wing Commander Shurlock to the Judge Advocate General, told him that it was well known that four of these ships, which visit Durban, have bad conditions and no action has been taken to improve them. For this and other reasons the Army High Command decided to move quickly to nip these protests in the bud.

The Judge Advocate General Sir Harry MacGeagh was not convinced of the legal position of courts martial in the Union of South Africa, and expressed his doubts about this in various letters. In one particular letter to Air Commodore Arthur Fiddament [Director of Personnel Services], on the 4th of May, after the various courts-martial had taken place he cast doubt on the conduct of the three trials and to the legal standing of the proceedings.

The military authorities decided for various legal reasons to try 30 of the RAF personnel first and separately from the members of Number 4 Company RAOC, and so starting on the 29th of January the first trial of the “mutineers” took place. The surprising result was that all 30 were found not guilty. This it would appear was due to the fact that the court were not convinced by the evidence given by the Embarkation Officer, Squadron Leader Erskine, who had claimed that the men were given a direct order to board the “City of Canterbury”. Due to conflicting evidence the court did not take his testimony seriously, and significantly, despite Air Force denials to the contrary, he was relieved of his duties as Embarkation Officer and quickly transferred to a holding and dispersal company at AHQ Middle East. Another advantage enjoyed by the first 30 RAF men was that an experienced barrister, Flight Lieutenant Biddle, defended them. It was rumoured at the time that he was a King’s Counsel, unfortunately for the remainder of the RAF prisoners he was injured on the 10th of February and the officer assigned to take over the offence was nowhere near as impressive.

Later in June, Philip Babbington [Air Member for Personnel], writing to the Secretary of State, pointed out that it was the responsibility of the Sea Transport Officer and the Embarkation Officer to inspect the ship and in failing to carry out their duties correctly, after they had discovered that the ship was not in a fit state to be used, had flouted King’s Regulations, Army Instructions and Air Council Instructions.

Harry’s court martial took place on the 5th of February, at which he was found guilty of mutiny and sentenced to 2 years hard labour. He had written to his wife and father back in the UK, telling her about the position in which he found himself. He also had the support of members of the South African Parliament who felt that injustice had been done, when they started to ask questions in Parliament Harry was whisked back to England and imprisoned in Walton Gaol Liverpool. His wife and father had already started a campaign in the UK, and had gained the support of their MP, “Manny” Shinwell. Six months later he was pardoned and returned to his unit, however he never regretted the stand he took, and was always convinced his actions were correct.

Howard Jackson
Woodstock Oxford.
June 2005.

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