A true story of the brutality of war

IN the aftermath of the battle of Ypres in 1915, the story of a Canadian soldier, crucified to a barn door by bayonets, caused outrage around the world. It became a symbol of German brutality, used by the Allies as propaganda in a war of words that continued after the First World War had ended.

This documentary, the first in a fresh series of Secret History films about the First World War, attempted to get to the truth about the rumour. Was it a myth or did it actually happen? The film-makers got as far as identifying the until-now unknown soldier - not 100 per cent proof but pretty close - but that's only part of a fascinating story shedding new light on what, today, we call spin.

Jack Davis, now 107, was in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and recalled hearing the story of the soldier. Some said he was crucified on a barn door, others on a tree. Some identified him as a Canadian sergeant. The rumours were so widespread that they gave substance to the story, which became headline news around the world.

The image of the crucified solider was used on posters advertising war bonds. A now-lost Hollywood film, The Prussian Cur, recreated the incident. And a 1919 Canadian War Memorials exhibition at London's Royal Academy featured a bronze sculpture, Colgotta, depicting the crucifiction scene.

German officials protested, claiming there was no evidence such a thing had happened. The Canadian prime minister ordered an investigation, which only served to highlight alarming inconsistencies in the testimony of alleged witnesses. The case deemed not proven, although Colgotta was withdrawn from public display and, until recently, was locked in a vault in a war museum.

The programme contended that, even if this particular story was untrue, there was evidence of other real atrocities committed by the Germans. Their army killed 6,500 French and Belgian civilians during the first month of the war. People needed something to symbolise the enemy's cruelty and the crucified soldier fitted the bill.

The matter wasn't left there. The programme presented fresh evidence identifying the victim, using newly-released papers of a Red Cross nurse. Her job was to find what had happened to missing men, and one injured man passed on the tale of the crucified solider.

He even named him as Sergeant Harry Band, of the 48th Highlanders of Canada. It emerged that Band's sister had received confirmation of the story from a fellow solider, who wrote after Band's death. For years, the family kept it secret.

His niece, Lettie Band, movingly read out this letter describing the circumstances of his death and told the makers that she now believes he was the crucified solider. A mystery, it seems, has been solved.