Was he a deserter?

[Greenvale]

I am looking to find out whether an ancestor was court martialled for desertion. His name was William Groves bn. 1901 in Birmingham. He was posted as a deserter on 11/5/1921 whilst serving with the Worcester Regiment. His service number was 5241748. He was arrested at his home address for desertion alongside his wife who was arrested for theft of money from a grocery shop. He subsequently escaped from the lock up and was re-arrested after a chase. He and his wife appeared in court where she pleaded guilty. He was given 2 years imprisonment but the newspaper article doesn't make it clear if this was for theft or desertion. Fold 3 says he was dismissed from the service after civil court proceedings. Is there any way I can check if he ever did stand trial for the desertion. Any help would be gratefully appreciated

[ShaunJ]

The only newspaper report I could find was in the Birmingham Daily Gazette of 25 February 1921 which clearly states that they were both sentenced to two months imprisonment for theft of £80 and were both placed on probation for two years.

Apparently there was no mention of his desertion  on that Fold 3 document - just that he was dismissed for misconduct. The answer having been supplied on another forum:

https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/was-he-a-deserter.54990/#post-759087

[Crumblie]

His dismissal was probably under the section of Kings Regulations which dealt with conduct prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the Army.