On 10 December, 15 soldiers from 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment were sentenced to jail at Bulford Military Court for a concerted act of disobedience. (A 16th is yet to be sentenced.)
This courageous action was carried out during a parade in front of 1,000 other soldiers at Archers Post British army barracks in Kenya. The 16 soldiers were ordered to stand to attention, but instead their corporal, Anthony Brown, shouted ‘sit down’ and the dissenters dropped to the ground in unison. The sergeant major yelled at the disobedient troops but they refused to stand.
It has been reported that the soldiers were fed up with their immediate commanders following incidents in Wales and Kenya. The incident in Wales is said to have arisen when the men finished a 16-mile march to find their commanders sleeping off a hangover.
Corporal Anthony Brown was sentenced to 60 days and dismissed from the army; lance-corporals Steven Tidesley and Miles Smith were sentenced to 60 days and demoted to privates and the rest, all privates, were sentenced to 40 days each.