Government seeks pardon for executed World War I soldiers

The government is seeking Parliamentary approval to pardon more than 300 soldiers executed for military offences, including cowardice and desertion during World War I, it has been announced.

The statutory pardon would cover what may considered as "battlefield" offences, such as cowardice and desertion, where men's actions may have been influenced by the stress of battle.

If the pardon is approved by Parliament, it would include Private Harry Farr, who was shot for cowardice in 1916 at the age of 25. His family have campaigned for years for a review of his case, arguing that he was suffering from shell-shock and should never have been sent back to the trenches.

Shell-shock, a little understood psychological condition, was intially believed to have been caused by exposure to exploding shells. The symptoms, included paralysis, blindness, mutism, limping, nightmares, insomnia, dizziness, depression and disorientation. Many soldiers who suffered from the condition eventually refused to obey orders and return to the battlefield and were executed for cowardice or desertion.

Announcing the decision to seek a posthumous pardon for those soldiers executed, Defence Minister Des Browne said: "Although this is a historical matter, I am conscious of how the families of these men feel today. They have had to endure a stigma for decades. That makes this a moral issue too, and having reviewed it, I believe it is appropriate to seek a statutory pardon. I hope we can take the earliest opportunity to achieve this by introducing a suitable amendment to the current Armed Forces Bill.

"I believe a group pardon, approved by Parliament, is the best way to deal with this. After 90 years, the evidence just doesn't exist to assess all the cases individually. I do not want to second guess the decisions made by commanders in the field, who were doing their best to apply the rules and standards of the time. But the circumstances were terrible, and I believe it is better to acknowledge that injustices were clearly done in some cases, even if we cannot say which - and to acknowledge that all these men were victims of war."

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that Private Farr's family, including his 93-year-old daughter Gertrude Harris, had been informed of the proposed change. The family are reported to be "overwhelmed" and "over the moon".

(KMcA)