The Crucified Soldier - the story of Sgt. Harry Band

G'day ATS,

I remember reading about this story as a child and I thought I'd do a thread on it because it fascinates me, hope you find it interesting as well!

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The picture above is of a bronze sculpture called Canada's Golgotha.

This story stems from a piece in The Times, that is dated 9th of May but appeared in the 10th of May edition, 1915.

I managed to buy a membership to the Time's Archive and can bring you the actual article (it's very short!)

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Canadian soldiers wounded at Ypres had told how one of their officers had been crucified to a wall "by bayonets thrust through his hands and feet" before having another bayonet driven through his throat and, finally, "riddled with bullets". The soldiers said that it had been seen by the Dublin Fusiliers and that they had heard the Fusiliers' officers talking about it.

Obviously there was public outrage to this story, the subject was raised in the British Parliament.

The then Under-Secretary for War, Harold Tennant was asked by Sir Robert Houston;

whether he has any information regarding the crucifixion of three Canadian soldiers recently captured by the Germans, who nailed them with bayonets to the side of a wooden structure?

He replied that there was no such information regarding such an attack and that enquiries would be made by the War Office.

On the 15th of may, a further report was posted that I have also managed to track down:

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It's possible that the poor man was already dead at the time of his crucifixion and that this was an act of pure war-driven fury towards the enemy.

Or, and this would be even more disgusting, the Sergeant was captured and impaled on the barn door still alive.

On the 19th of that same month in 1915,

Sir Robert Houston returned to the subject in the House of Commons, asking Harold Tennant:

"whether he has any official information showing that during the recent fighting, when the Canadians were temporarily driven back, they were compelled to leave about forty of their wounded comrades in a barn and that on recapturing the position they found the Germans had bayoneted all the wounded with the exception of a sergeant, and that the Germans had removed the figure of Christ from the large village crucifix and fastened the sergeant while alive to the cross; and whether he is aware that the crucifixion of our soldiers is becoming a practice of the Germans?"
—Sir Robert Houston, 19 May 1915

Tennant replied that the military authorities in France had standing instructions to send details of any authenticated atrocities committed against British troops, and that no official information had been received. He added that inquiries were being made, and were not yet complete.

These allegations were investigated and the testimonies cast some doubt over the events.

One private swore under affidavit that he had seen THREE Canadian soldiers crucified to a barn door three miles from St. Julien. However the evidence from two British soldiers turned out to be false due to the Germans never actually occupying the area in which they said the crucifixion had taken place.

The supposed events of that day were seized upon by the allies, never slow to capitalise on a chance to paint the Germans in a bad light:

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The blatant exploitation of this forced many to conclude that this was just an exercise in propaganda, that nothing of the sort ever occurred.

This was until April 2001 when documentary maker Iain Overton uncovered startling evidence that possibly points to the story being far from false, and actually provided a name. That name was Sergeant Harry Band.

TimesOnline: December 1, 2002
Germans crucified Great war soldier with bayonets

Like the Angel of Mons appearing over the battlefield slaughter and the Christmas Day ceasefire, it has persisted in the popular imagination.

Even at the height of the war the German government lodged a protest over the allegation, demanding its withdrawal. In the wake of the 1919 peace treaty an inquiry concluded that it was a case of wartime hysteria and black propaganda.

Now a historian has unearthed eyewitness evidence and letters proving the crucified allied soldier did exist and was British by birth.

Sergeant Harry Band had emigrated to Canada in search of a better future only to die at the hands of German soldiers carrying out one of the first atrocities in a total war.

Iain Overton, a historian who uncovered the story, said: “This was a murder which stood out even among the horrors of the first world war. The image of a crucifixion caught people’s imaginations.

Central to his theory was a typewritten note from a nurse that referred to a soldier crucified to a barn door.

I found the documentary:

Google Video Link

This is well worth a watch as it illustrates all the political posturing by the Germans and British during this outrage which is very interesting. The Germans demanded proof of the crucifixion, and as the reports were sketchy at best, the situation soon became an embarrassment and official investigations were halted.

However the programme makers managed to unearth a note from a British Red Cross Nurse regarding the crucifixion of a Canadian soldier:

Crucified Highlander

A typewritten note by a British nurse during the First World War adds weight to the story that a Canadian soldier was indeed crucified with bayonets on a barn door in France by German soldiers in 1915.

The note relates comments by Lance Corporal C.M. Brown to his nurse, Miss Ursula Violet Chaloner, daughter of the first Baron Gisborough. Cpl. Brown, apparently recovering from shell wounds, told Miss Chaloner about a Sergeant Harry Band, who "was crucified after a battle of Ypres on one of the doors of a barn with five bayonets in him."

The note, found in the Liddle Collection of war correspondence in Leeds University, is yet another piece in the puzzle surrounding one of the most famous, mysterious and vicious incidents of the First World War.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission:

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Letters received by the family of Harry Band from his comrades seem to confirm that he was indeed crucified.

Harry‘s nieces and nephews still live in B.C. They have letters sent to his sister after his death, letters written by his comrades-in-arms, testifying he was killed on April 24 and revealing the terrible truth to the grieving relatives. "Harry was crucified," says one writer, "but whether he was alive at the time, I don‘t think anyone can say for sure."

The family is still convinced their uncle was murdered on that fateful April day. Jean Walsh, Harry‘s niece, is 79 and lives in Kelowna, B.C. "I knew about the crucifixion since when I was a child. My mother told me that Harry was crucified. I am horrified still. But it happened so many years ago that I can‘t keep being angry under those circumstances of war, even Canadians and English did things that were horrible under the stress."

I just pray that this poor lad was dead at the time, I feel so sad for him and the millions like him who have paid the ultimate sacrifice over the years.

Whether or not all the circumstances regarding this are true, I believe something did happen. There are too many independent accounts for this to be pure fantasy.

RIP Harry Band




Sources:

freedominion.com

Wikipedia

The Parade Square > Military History

Timesonline/Archive



[edit on 29-12-2009 by kiwifoot]

sir I must congratulate you on one of the best examples of the Nazi Occult Empire and continued dynasty of Bavaria, and the constant ritualistic abuse of magick preceded, and proceeded after WW1 and WW2 in Germany.

To me, this clearly was an occult ritual, in order to provoke spirits and to, actually, the thought is, provide a sacrafice.

3 is a significant number in occult traditions. Infact, without it they couldn't exist at all. So is 5, the pentagram.

Although the case I'm about to put isn't any more rock solid than yours, I do agree, and encourage you to continue searching because I think you're right, there is certainly something to it.. and below is how you can start to prove it. By proving it was a ritual killing perhaps?

Ritual killing has always been a part of human society. Two thousand years ago, the Celts of ancient Ireland performed ritual killings every spring, and archeologist Ned Kelly believes the perfectly preserved bog bodies he's found were, in fact, kings. Ritual killing is, sadly, not a thing of the past. Arn Chorn Pond tells his harrowing story of surviving Pol Pot's Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. He was forced to play the flute in the Killing Fields to distract the attention of people the Khmer Rouge was about to execute. Some ritual deaths are voluntary: Rio Di Angelo tells an insider's story of the Heaven's Gate Cult, who committed mass suicide in 1997.

Source: www.history.com...

It's clear to me as a semi-experienced occultist. This rings extremely true with many of the occult SS operations. Infact, if i recall there is a building in Berlin, with even MORE harrowing stories than this. Of events that proceeded WW2, officers occupying the base would wake up to find their bed lifted in the air, vibrating.. you see where i'm going with this??

Yes, what a wonderful post. You may not see the mystical and occult similarities. And i do not try and make out whether it works or not. It is however no secret that the 3rd reich was a highly mystical and occult government. Even the Nazi Bell project was constructed by.. yup you guessed it, mediums, channelers, apparently.

Keep researching this because it's huger than maybe even you realise.

Amazing!

Thankyou so much!!! I loved this post..


I almost could guarantee Britain was involved in a cover up somehow. Did Mi5 even exist then? I wonder if this story bares the same similarities as the WW2 ritual killings

Abductee

five bayonets in him.

how many points in a pentegram?

How many major points on a body are there, 5! Head arms 2 legs. right? Bet you that's how all these crucifixion ritualistic killings in Germany are. And I bet men were instructed to do it by the SS. It is also believed by recreating an event, you can summon that spirit.. I don't believe that necessarily personally though. It could be relevant to the clear occult indicators though. Purely documented Historical indicators this poster has so kindly gone to the trouble of putting together.

I know this stuff works, and is actually quite dangerous, although I don't expect people to "know" or "believe" - I do expect them to realise there are a lot of co-incidences at work. given that the NAZI obsession with occult and ritualistic traditions is documented in history. I hope, for naysayers it isn't too bigger leap. This sort of stuff merits, study of the most extreme kind..

Many wondered how the Germans actually managed to resist for so long, when fighting a battle on 2 fronts.. I wonder..... less

I will say again, this is truly most marvelous and excellent, well done!

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

Dont forget that the Germans were reputed to eat babies.

Nor forget the allied soldiers that would brutalize German Pioneer forces just for having a sawback bayonette that was for, well, a saw to make positions. The Lancers got to the point they said "screw the saw" and many nowadays are found with the blades ground off.

The occult stuff? Dude. You give the Germans WAY too much credit.

The SS didnt happen until well after ww1. Read your history.

Also, the allies set up ww1 against Germany in the first place. The world became scared of the powerhouse they were becoming. Britain and the US couldnt have that. The seeds of ww2 were laid here also. In my opinion, with full knowledge and forethought.

France (the candy #ss's they've always been) freaked out because German had a large military and still had a large civilian population. France had neither. Go figure, since Charles Martel's victory, they havent had a war they couldnt run away from.

Maginot line (german translation)-slight detour

You can believe what you want. I cant change your mind any better than you can mine.

But.

Stories of horror (real and created) were rampant on both sides. You think the Tommy's didnt do some dastardly things? REALLY?

Back to the metaphysics thing. yeah. I know a little. Enough to be dangerous to myself and anyone else.

The strength of the Wehrmacht came from conviction and strength of technology. If you can have 400 years of watch making prowess (and other machinery) and just be bloody good at engineering, you will be unstoppable. Thats why they had to be "dogpiled" to be stopped. That and they were tired of loosing there kids (and the bolsheviks were bringing down moral).

I think this story is a good one but smell propaganda.

reply to post by kiwifoot


Wow dude ,

that was a Excellent thread , well researched and presented

The topic was a sad one, life is like that I guess.

Unlike a lot of FLUFF with STUFF threads (my words) , I read this in its

entireity

With how much i skimmed over your summary i choose to be brief and simple, yet complex with my words:



Whats in the past is the past... Why re hash it?

The only thing that matters to me is what i can do about myself.







"Be the Change you want to see."

reply to post by survival



Because learning History is not about names and dates, it is about how people react in situations. It is about fully understanding it can all be repeated at any time, because time moves on but WE do not change.

To pretend it did not happen is the same as pretending it could not happen.

someone died during a war? outrageous!! but he died in a horrible way? people suffer terrible fates during time of peace. of the millions of soldiers that died, why mention this? because he was crucified? people get decapiated, hung and burned alive. but but it was how jesus died. so?

Originally posted by survival
With how much i skimmed over your summary i choose to be brief and simple, yet complex with my words:



Whats in the past is the past... Why re hash it?

The only thing that matters to me is what i can do about myself.

"Be the Change you want to see."

cliche?

Originally posted by survival
With how much i skimmed over your summary i choose to be brief and simple, yet complex with my words:



Whats in the past is the past... Why re hash it?

The only thing that matters to me is what i can do about myself.

"Be the Change you want to see."

I think the poor chap who had this done to him deserves to have his story told.

The past is MORE important for the future than you realise.

By looking at the past, we can see how we have grown, what mistakes we have made, and therefore determine what we want the future to be.

I personally think your view is a little naive friend.

Although as you said :

what matters to me

I suppose it's valid.

But to the majority of people, the past is extremely important!

Cheers for your input though, I appreciate it.

[edit on 29-12-2009 by kiwifoot]

Originally posted by UFOabducteebe
sir I must congratulate you on one of the best examples of the Nazi Occult Empire and continued dynasty of Bavaria, and the constant ritualistic abuse of magick preceded, and proceeded after WW1 and WW2 in Germany.

To me, this clearly was an occult ritual, in order to provoke spirits and to, actually, the thought is, provide a sacrafice.

3 is a significant number in occult traditions. Infact, without it they couldn't exist at all. So is 5, the pentagram.

Although the case I'm about to put isn't any more rock solid than yours, I do agree, and encourage you to continue searching because I think you're right, there is certainly something to it.. and below is how you can start to prove it. By proving it was a ritual killing perhaps?

Ritual killing has always been a part of human society. Two thousand years ago, the Celts of ancient Ireland performed ritual killings every spring, and archeologist Ned Kelly believes the perfectly preserved bog bodies he's found were, in fact, kings. Ritual killing is, sadly, not a thing of the past. Arn Chorn Pond tells his harrowing story of surviving Pol Pot's Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. He was forced to play the flute in the Killing Fields to distract the attention of people the Khmer Rouge was about to execute. Some ritual deaths are voluntary: Rio Di Angelo tells an insider's story of the Heaven's Gate Cult, who committed mass suicide in 1997.

Source: www.history.com...

It's clear to me as a semi-experienced occultist. This rings extremely true with many of the occult SS operations. Infact, if i recall there is a building in Berlin, with even MORE harrowing stories than this. Of events that proceeded WW2, officers occupying the base would wake up to find their bed lifted in the air, vibrating.. you see where i'm going with this??

Yes, what a wonderful post. You may not see the mystical and occult similarities. And i do not try and make out whether it works or not. It is however no secret that the 3rd reich was a highly mystical and occult government. Even the Nazi Bell project was constructed by.. yup you guessed it, mediums, channelers, apparently.

Keep researching this because it's huger than maybe even you realise.

Amazing!

Thankyou so much!!! I loved this post..


I almost could guarantee Britain was involved in a cover up somehow. Did Mi5 even exist then? I wonder if this story bares the same similarities as the WW2 ritual killings

Abductee

five bayonets in him.

how many points in a pentegram?

How many major points on a body are there, 5! Head arms 2 legs. right? Bet you that's how all these crucifixion ritualistic killings in Germany are. And I bet men were instructed to do it by the SS. It is also believed by recreating an event, you can summon that spirit.. I don't believe that necessarily personally though. It could be relevant to the clear occult indicators though. Purely documented Historical indicators this poster has so kindly gone to the trouble of putting together.

I know this stuff works, and is actually quite dangerous, although I don't expect people to "know" or "believe" - I do expect them to realise there are a lot of co-incidences at work. given that the NAZI obsession with occult and ritualistic traditions is documented in history. I hope, for naysayers it isn't too bigger leap. This sort of stuff merits, study of the most extreme kind..

Many wondered how the Germans actually managed to resist for so long, when fighting a battle on 2 fronts.. I wonder..... less

I will say again, this is truly most marvelous and excellent, well done!

Cheers, that's what I love about ATS, there's always someone with an "out there" theory.

And who am I to say that your isn't right?

I hadn't considered that there was a ritualistic element to this, I just figured on some German troops, tired, desperate, facing death taking their frustrations out on the body of the enemy.

Very interesting, thank you!

Originally posted by felonius

Stories of horror (real and created) were rampant on both sides. You think the Tommy's didnt do some dastardly things? REALLY?

I completely agree, war makes men do horrible things.

I didn't intend for this to be an anti-German thread.

I just wanted to tell this guy's story.

I hope it didn't come across that way?

Al the best, kiwifoot.

You did a great job telling Sgt. Harry Band's story.
It comes off as a story of "The Crucified Soldier", I would think this was your goal when writing.

Originally posted by nophun
You did a great job telling Sgt. Harry Band's story.
It comes off as a story of "The Crucified Soldier", I would think this was your goal when writing.

Thanks for that, I was going for just that.

When you read the comments by the family it really hits home that this was a young man, not just a story.

All the best, Kiwifoot!

interesting story but i cant say i buy it.
just for the simple fact what was happening at the time, every side was using propaganda as a weapon to rally support, like the storys of nazis tossing babys into the air and trying to spear them on the way down with their bayonets.
90% of those german soldiers were just boys and men, not monsters, they were only fighting for the same reason as my grandparents fought, because they were told to.

Originally posted by UFOabducteebe
sir I must congratulate you on one of the best examples of the Nazi Occult Empire and continued dynasty of Bavaria, and the constant ritualistic abuse of magick preceded, and proceeded after WW1 and WW2 in Germany.

To me, this clearly was an occult ritual, in order to provoke spirits and to, actually, the thought is, provide a sacrafice.

3 is a significant number in occult traditions. Infact, without it they couldn't exist at all. So is 5, the pentagram.

Although the case I'm about to put isn't any more rock solid than yours, I do agree, and encourage you to continue searching because I think you're right, there is certainly something to it.. and below is how you can start to prove it. By proving it was a ritual killing perhaps?

Ritual killing has always been a part of human society. Two thousand years ago, the Celts of ancient Ireland performed ritual killings every spring, and archeologist Ned Kelly believes the perfectly preserved bog bodies he's found were, in fact, kings. Ritual killing is, sadly, not a thing of the past. Arn Chorn Pond tells his harrowing story of surviving Pol Pot's Cambodian genocide of the 1970s. He was forced to play the flute in the Killing Fields to distract the attention of people the Khmer Rouge was about to execute. Some ritual deaths are voluntary: Rio Di Angelo tells an insider's story of the Heaven's Gate Cult, who committed mass suicide in 1997.

Source: www.history.com...

It's clear to me as a semi-experienced occultist. This rings extremely true with many of the occult SS operations. Infact, if i recall there is a building in Berlin, with even MORE harrowing stories than this. Of events that proceeded WW2, officers occupying the base would wake up to find their bed lifted in the air, vibrating.. you see where i'm going with this??

Yes, what a wonderful post. You may not see the mystical and occult similarities. And i do not try and make out whether it works or not. It is however no secret that the 3rd reich was a highly mystical and occult government. Even the Nazi Bell project was constructed by.. yup you guessed it, mediums, channelers, apparently.

Keep researching this because it's huger than maybe even you realise.

Amazing!

Thankyou so much!!! I loved this post..


I almost could guarantee Britain was involved in a cover up somehow. Did Mi5 even exist then? I wonder if this story bares the same similarities as the WW2 ritual killings

Abductee

five bayonets in him.

how many points in a pentegram?

How many major points on a body are there, 5! Head arms 2 legs. right? Bet you that's how all these crucifixion ritualistic killings in Germany are. And I bet men were instructed to do it by the SS. It is also believed by recreating an event, you can summon that spirit.. I don't believe that necessarily personally though. It could be relevant to the clear occult indicators though. Purely documented Historical indicators this poster has so kindly gone to the trouble of putting together.

I know this stuff works, and is actually quite dangerous, although I don't expect people to "know" or "believe" - I do expect them to realise there are a lot of co-incidences at work. given that the NAZI obsession with occult and ritualistic traditions is documented in history. I hope, for naysayers it isn't too bigger leap. This sort of stuff merits, study of the most extreme kind..

Many wondered how the Germans actually managed to resist for so long, when fighting a battle on 2 fronts.. I wonder..... less

I will say again, this is truly most marvelous and excellent, well done!

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

[edit on 29-12-2009 by UFOabducteebe]

'



You are one superstitious SOB lol.

Perhaps the German soldiers just wanted to torture the poor fellow?

It doesn't always have to be part of a great scheme you know.

I ask you please, use your time and detailed investigations to research and present something that is not worthless. Yes, it's sad.

An awful excess by limbs of the German Empire.

However, balance this with actions of the controlling mind of the Deutsch Reich some 40 years earlier during the Franco-Prussian War ...

For 9 months in 1871 the combined armies of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Kingdom of Württemberg, the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Grand Duchy of Baden, lay siege to Paris, the end-game in a disastrous war started by Napoleon Bonaparte's less-intelligent nephew, Napoleon III.

For the whole duration of this siege, the German military machine had Paris surrounded with hundreds of gigantic howitzers manufactured by Krupp and designed specifically to flatten cities. And while the Germans knew they could bring an almost immediate end to the war by shelling Paris, Count von Moltke and the other officers of the allied German armies were so concerned about French civilian casualties that they, instead, kept a quarter-million troops encircling Paris for nearly a year, draining their respective treasuries, in hope that the French would accept terms for surrender.

Finally, after nine months of patient waiting, two failed French assaults on German lines and the likelihood of a third, the German forces reluctantly brought the Krupp guns into action. Within 3 days the military dictatorship that, at the time, governed France surrendered. German officers kept a quarter-million troops in the field for 8 months and 27 days longer than they needed rather than risking one more French civilian casualty than was absolutely necessary.

(Immediately after the capitulation of Paris the Germans sent trainloads of army field rations into the city to feed the starving Parisian population, who had resorted to eating sewer rats.)



[edit on 30-12-2009 by zenser]

Originally posted by survival
With how much i skimmed over your summary i choose to be brief and simple, yet complex with my words:



Whats in the past is the past... Why re hash it?

You know, it's because we might learn something. Like perhaps, what actually happened.

If that's unworthy for your mind, then I am very jealous. I cannot ignore truth. Truth is truly time-less. It's good to live in the now - I lead a very spiritual life. Consider that all past events still resonate with us all, all of us, it is almost not by choice. Just some people are more ignorant to it than others (or as you put it, living in the now!)

Just my 2 cents, not criticizing, Says the man who is quite sure many occult usage and demonstrations by the 3rd Reich are still yet to be totally uncovered.

I put forward the notion, that ritual sacrifice killing, and mass murder on such a level, may have had an impact on the quantum statistical chance of how events unfold, and in which way. It really is the oldest of arts, sadly, it is often ignored, and I am often ridiculed.

All I ask is that some fair consideration is given, this is more worthwhile in understanding than we realise. We must first know how evil operates to challenge it, I'm an occultist and I'm not convinced I've achieved that in the now.

Peace,
Abductee

Originally posted by Paradox.
I ask you please, use your time and detailed investigations to research and present something that is not worthless. Yes, it's sad.

No life is worthless.

No lesson learned is worthless.

The family of Harry Band surely feel this isn't worthless.

Not every story can have UFOs, Orbs and the NWO in it.

You're entitled to your view, but please don't start you time on ATS by telling members what they should be researching and presenting, at least until you've made your own effort in contributing to this awesome site with you own threads!

Kiwifoot

reply to post by kiwifoot


I just think you could be using your skills in detailed research for a more important topic. Like SERCO. I Was not discrediting you, you are one of few that I have seen to provide evidence as such.