Evening Standard from London, Greater London, England • 97

JU ft EVENING STANDARD TUESDAY 14 MARCH 2000 9 raced soldier is Qa 'tf 9E t' iven tn rag I- Hftft i 'j 7' Vf- vy 1 'aRj-wSwampr Wtw Sjfl JwaiSv X14- 4 I The war memorial which is to include the name of a soldier shot for cowardice 4 86 yeans on A SOLDIER shot at dawn for cowardice has been forgiven 86 years after his disgrace The people of Shoreham in Kent have voted nearly four to one to indude the name of Private 10061 Highgate on the village war memorial Thomas Highgate was only 19 and had already survived the battle of Mons when he deserted Two days after being found hiding in a barn wearing dothes stolen from a scarecrow he was court martialled It was decided he should be made an example of and he was shot at dawn on 8 September 1914 the first of 300 First World War deserters to be executed by PATRICK McGOWAN Announcing the result of the village referendum the Rev Barry Simmons said today: have changed and attitudes have changed He was shot as a deterrent and you could well argue that he served his country in a very real sense by dying in this In Shoreham 170 people voted in favour and 46 against Pte name being added to the existing 51 on the roll of honour when the crumbling war memorial is restored Pte Highgate served with the Royal West Kent Regiment after joining up as a 17-year-old in 1913 He was one of 40000 British soldiers at the Battle of Mons in which 7800 British troops were killed In the confusion that followed the British retreat he was separated from his battal ion At his court martial he claimed he had fallen out of the line to but by the time he had finished the regiment had moved on out of sight Only two volunteers from Shoreham in 1914 returned the rest were all killed in action Two of Pte five brothers also died in the war President of Royal British Legion Mqjor Michael Green said: very sorry for this chap but I think we should rewrite history in this way Most of those who voted have no idea of what like to be in battle and to be let down by a colleague" War veteran Mike McDonnell 65 said: is a real danger the result could be an insult to the people killed fighting for their Redhill Purley Cross and Hooley A spokesman for AA Roadwatch predicted it would take police several hours to clear it up are so many vehicles involved and so much debris it is hard to tell what happened" he added In a separate incident a tanker carrying 22000 litres of toxic chemicals spilled on to the M5 at the start of the rush hour Thirty firefighters battled with the spill of liquid ammonia trying to divert it from the surrounding drainage systems near Tewkesbury Gloucestershire Forgiven and not forgotten: Pte Thomas Highgate One person killed in M23 pile-up Teachers strike over longer A SEVEN-vehicle accident on the M23 today left one person dead at least one seriously injured and caused extensive chaos on roads south of London writes David Williams It happened at 7am on the southbound carriageway between Gatwick and the M25 exit A vehicle is thought to have crossed the central reservation into oncoming traffic Police closed the M23 in both directions leav-ing thousands of motorists struggling for alternative routes The worst-hit areas were leaders today warned of strikes if the Government forces them to work longer hours to extend the school day Education Secretary David Blunkett wants schools to mirror more closely the traditional working day with afterschool lessons and activities extending education by at least three hours a week In a speech tomorrow to the Social Market Foundation think-tank he is expected to announce that the should be as long for children as the working day is for by JOEL WOLCHOVER Education Correspondent their parents lasting from 9am-5pm or even later Although the duties will be voluntary teachers are worried they will come under pressure to supervise extra activities There are also concerns that it will be school governors who decide if teachers should be paid extra and if so how much Initiatives to extend the school day include breakfast clubs before the start of lessons and homework clubs at the end of the day i.