Jun 01 2010
King’s Bad Bargain!
Every regiment had its bad bargains, incorrigibles for whom every form of punishment failed to correct their determination to offend, and the 30th was no exception in this respect.
Private Richard Key was a labourer from Billingborough, in Lincolnshire, who enlisted into the 30th Foot in April 1806. He was immediately sent to join the first battalion, who were about to sail for India, possibly the worst thing that could have happened to him, as we shall see. Initially, however, there was nothing to suggest that he would not become a good soldier. Indeed, in March 1807 he was promoted to drummer, a position he held until 1812.
The first signs of trouble came in January 1811, when according to the muster roll he was a prisoner in the guardroom.
There is no record of his offence and punishment on this occasion, or even if he was found guilty. By December 1816, however, when he stood a general regimental court martial, he had already appeared at least another eight times before regimental courts martial. The first of these, in August 1812, for rioting in barracks and making away with part of his necessaries (probably to buy alcohol), had led to his demotion from drummer plus 200 lashes and stoppages. During the next four years he received a further 800 lashes, two periods of solitary confinement and two months of extra drill. His offences were varied: maltreating a sepoy, unsoldierlike conduct (twice), striking a corporal (twice), avoiding a march on pretence of a lame ankle (the only time he was pardoned), and quitting the fort (St George, Madras) while in the surgeon’s report.
Exactly what part drink played in these offences is not clear because regimental court martial papers have not survived. In December 1816, though, drink was definitely the root cause of his arrest. He was charged with:
“…quitting the fort without leave, being drunk and rioting in Blacktown [a native area of Madras], and greatly abusing and striking Sgt Bibby a violent blow on the head which occasioned the loss of one of his teeth in the execution of his duty.”
The court consisted of a president and nine other members, all officers of the 30th, who undoubtedly knew Key only too well.
Key pleaded not guilty, which may seem surprising under the circumstances, but all prisoners were encouraged to offer this plea so that the facts of the case could be thoroughly examined. Indeed, one of the features of military justice which emerges clearly from a perusal of court martial papers, is a determination on the part of the court to act honestly and fairly by the prisoner. Nevertheless, Key must have known that his situation was hopeless.
The first prosecution witness was Sergeant Bibby, who explained that on the 8th December he was in Blacktown and was asked by Sergeant Robinson to accompany him in order to see something that would astonish him. This proved to be the sight of Key stripped and drunk. Bibby suggested to Robertson that the police should be called to take Key to the main guard, whereupon Key ran at him and struck him a blow in the face which knocked out one of his teeth. He also used very abusive language.
Robertson supported Bibby’s evidence while the adjutant, Lieutenant Stephenson, confirmed that Key had no pass to be out of the fort.
At this point Key was requried to present his defence. There was little he could say, other than the weak excuse, commonly used by soldiers on charges of drunkenness, that he could remember nothing of what had happened in Blacktown. He admitted he had been out of the fort without permission, though, perhaps hoping this would conciliate the court. He then called Sergeant Bibby back into court, but only to establish the time when he was meant to have struck him.
Not surprisingly, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 600 lashes, hoping perhaps that such an extreme punishment would lead him to amend his behaviour.
Unfortunately, it had no noticeable effect. Six months later he was tried on another three charges, drunkenness, resisting arrest and wilful destruction of property. This time he was spared the lash (which seemed to have no effect on his conduct) and was sentenced instead to three weeks in solitary confinement and stoppages until he had paid for the damage.
Just a month later he made another appearance before a court martial, this time for quitting the fort without leave on the 3rd July, and not returning until brought back prisoner on the 5th. His punishment this time was six weeks in solitary confinement, Yet almost as soon as he was released he was again in trouble, for refusing to go on guard and refusing to get ready for muster. He was sentenced to 200 lashes.
There followed a period of reformed behaviour but it did not last. Two appearances in 1819 for similar offences, drunkenness, disobedience, going awol and resisting arrest, were followed by his final court martial in 1821, when the charges were refusing the command of an officer to come out to evening parade, striking the corporal who had been sent to give him the order, and showing insolence and disrespect to the officer, Lieutenant Andrews. This time he received the worst of both worlds, 300 lashes and six weeks in solitary confinement.
The sorry story of Richard Key came to an end on June 18th 1822, when he died in the regimental hospital. But although he was undoubtedly one of the worst of the King’s bad bargains the thought remains, might he have turned out differently if he had been sent to the second battalion, with its very much lower record of offending, rather than to India, where heat, drink and boredom seems to have been the undoing of a good many men in the ranks? A Waterloo medal and even the General Service Medal (if he had lived until 1848) might have been his reward, to say nothing of a pension.
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