Charles Paul Quaethem

Born 8 February 1887, in Armentières (Nord)
Died 10 November1921, in Lille (Nord)

A reserve soldier of the recruitment class of 1907, Charles Paul Quaethem was a farm labourer in Bois-Grenier, near Armentières. 
Called up on the second day of the mobilisation and assigned to the 41^st Artillery Regiment in Douai, he failed to depart as instructed in his mobilisation papers. Reported to the local police by his farmer employer, Mrs Jourdain, he was declared as evading military service on 6 August 1914 and arrested by the Armentières gendarmerie on 11 August. When questioned, he initially claimed that he had handed his military service papers to the Town Hall of Nieppe to be passed on to the gendarmerie of Bailleul, which had also apparently asked for him. His statements were contradicted by the Town Hall of Nieppe and he then admitted that he had mislaid his papers and did not know on which day he was supposed to present himself for mobilisation, claiming that he was anxious that he would not be able to travel by rail.
On 15 August 1914, Charles Quaethem was taken before the War Council. Upon questioning, he stuck to his statements and was accused of non-compliance with the law on army recruitment in times of war, a punishable offence under Article 85 of the Law of 21 March 1908 and Article 230 of the Code of Military Justice. He was convicted on 21 September and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. He immediately requested a review by the Review Board, but his appeal was denied. The execution of his judgement was suspended, however, on 17 October 1914 in view of his deep repentance.  Having requested to be sent into action with the first reinforcements, Private Quaethem was sent to the depot of the 15^th Artillery Regiment. Arriving to join the corps on 19 October 1914, he spent the War serving with the 227^th Field Artillery Regiment and the 175^th Trench Artillery Regiment.