William The Rebel: April 2009

Some years ago my brother, his wife and myself visited the The Shot at Dawn Memorial in Staffordshire. It is a remarkably poignant and tragic place. The Memorial is in memory of the 306 British and Commonwealth soldiers executed for cowardice and desertion during the Great War (World War I). It portrays a British soldier blindfolded and tied to a stake in anticipation of his imminent execution by firing squad.

From Memorial Park

It was modelled on the likeness of 17-year-old Private Herbert Burden, who lied about his age in order to enlist in the forces and was later shot for desertion. It is surrounded by a semi-circle of stakes on which are listed the names of every soldier executed under similar circumstances. All were teenagers or in their early twenties. Most were privates.

From Memorial Park

Few, if any, were guilty of any crime. Most of those executed were suffering from shell shock and/or total exhaustion after months in the trenches. Their names were subsequently omitted from war memorials and their relatives never received military pensions. The circumstances surrounding these shameful British military executions were kept secret for 75 years.

From Memorial Park

Britain was not alone in executing its own soldiers. The French are thought to have killed about 600, the Germans shot 48 of their own men, and the Belgians 13. In 2001, 23 executed Canadians were posthumously honoured by their government, and five troops killed by New Zealand's military command also recently won a pardon. No American or Australian soldiers were executed.

From Memorial Park

In 1997, Tony Blair's government announced a plan for granting posthumous pardons after individual cases had been reviewed by the Ministry of Defence but it was not until 2006 that the Labour government announced its intention to pardon all piteous 306 men who were executed for quasi-military offences.