For some U.K. families, haunted for decade upon decade, a justice of sort may be pending.
Dozens of Scottish soldiers who were shot for cowardice or desertion during the First World War are finally set to win pardons, it emerged last night. Defence Secretary Des Browne announced that the government is to seek parliamentary approval to pardon more than 300 British soldiers who were executed during the First World War for alleged “military offences”.
The announcement came hours after the family of Private Harry Farr, who was shot for cowardice during the conflict aged just 25, revealed they had been told he was to be pardoned.
Mr 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.”
More than 300 Commonwealth troops – including 39 Scots – were shot by their fellow soldiers during the Great War. Their alleged crimes included desertion, cowardice, and sleeping at their posts.
But campaigners who have fought for years to have the men’s names cleared believe the majority were young and suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome after months in the trenches and enduring endless artillery bombardment.
Many of them, including some as young as 17, were sentenced to execution after courts martial lasting less than 30 minutes.
Pte Farr’s granddaughter, Janet Booth, said the family’s solicitor had been informed last night that their wish had been granted. “We are over the moon,” she added.
The move will require an amendment to the Armed Forces Bill currently going through Parliament.
John Dickinson, of Irwin Mitchell, said: “This is complete common sense and rightly acknowledges that Pte Farr was not a coward, but an extremely brave man.
“Having fought for two years practically without respite in the trenches, he was very obviously suffering from a condition we now would have no problem in diagnosing as post-traumatic stress disorder or shellshock as it was known in 1916.”
Pte Farr’s daughter Gertrude Harris, 93, added: “I am so relieved that this ordeal is now over. I have always argued that my father’s refusal to rejoin the front line, described in the court martial as resulting from cowardice, was in fact the result of shellshock, and I believe that many other soldiers suffered from this, not just my father. I hope that others who had brave relatives who were shot by their own side will now get the pardons they equally deserve.”
Some of these men may well have been deserters and cowards. That said, I truly believe this would not be the case for a great many who were courageous but worn individuals, burdened by a long, grinding war that gnawed at the soul while many cases of inept leadership cost needless gallon upon gallon of precious blood. For a good look at the years of poor Allied command decisions that almost certainly contributed to many of the involved cases, I again recommend John Mosier’s The Myth of the Great War.
Here’s wishing the pardons come that are deserved, as soldiers today would be granted greater understanding after years in the meatgrinder — if any ever again faced such enduring exposure. Here’s also wishing peace for their families.