John Ronald Skirth | |
|---|---|
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| Birth name | John Ronald Skirth |
| Born | 11 December 1897 |
| Died | 1977 (aged 79–80) |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/ |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1916–1919 |
| Rank | Bombardier |
| Service number | 120331 |
| Unit | 293 Siege Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery[1] |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
John Ronald Skirth (11 December 1897[citation needed] – 1977) was a British soldier who served in the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War.
His experiences during the Battle of Messines and the Battle of Passchendaele, both in 1917, led him to resolve not to take human life, and for the rest of his army service he made deliberate errors in targeting calculations to try to ensure the guns of his battery missed their aiming point on the first attempt, giving the enemy a chance to evacuate.
Many years later, after retiring from a career as a teacher, he wrote a memoir of his years in the army, describing his disillusionment with the conduct of the war and his conversion to pacifism. In 2010 the memoir was published as The Reluctant Tommy, edited by Duncan Barrett.[2]
- ^ Ward, Ruth (2017). The Satirical Tommy. Canadian Army Journal 17.3. p. 147.
- ^ Skirth, Ronald (2010). Barrett, Duncan (ed.). The Reluctant Tommy: An Extraordinary Memoir of the First World War. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-74673-2.