A SOLDIER who was shot at dawn for cowardice during the First World War is to be granted a pardon 90 years after he was condemned to death.
Private Harry Farr will be the first British soldier to have his name cleared after being found guilty of “misbehaving before the enemy in such a manner as to show cowardice”.
Hours after the family of Private Farr were told that their 14-year battle to clear his name had been victorious, it was announced that the Government would seek parliamentary approval to pardon all 306 soldiers executed during the First World War. Des Browne, Secretary of State for Defence, said: “Although this is an historical matter, I am conscious of how the families of these men feel today. They have had to endure a stigma for decades.
“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 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.”
Advertisement
A court martial took just 20 minutes to decide to send Private Farr to the firing squad. The young soldier had witnessed some of the worst carnage of the war, and spent two years fighting for his country.
He was admitted to hospital for five months suffering from severe shell-shock. He was so traumatised that nurses said he could no longer hold a pen in his trembling hand.
Despite this, the 25-year-old from north Kensington was condemned to face the firing squad in October 1916. He was said to have refused a blindfold so that he could look his compatriots in the eye as they shot him.
Campaigners have claimed that most of the soldiers found guilty of cowardice were either unrepresented at trial or represented by those with no legal training, while relevant medical history, including mental health, was ignored.
Private Farr represented himself. A sergeant-major is quoted in his court-martial papers as saying: “If you don’t go up to the f***ing front I’m going to blow your f***ing brains out.” Private Farr replied: “I just can’t go on.” Declassified army documents described him as a diligent soldier.
Advertisement
Yesterday, his 93-year-old daughter, Gertrude Harris, said: “I am so relieved that this ordeal is now over and I can be content knowing that my father’s memory is intact.
“I have always argued that my father’s refusal to rejoin the front line was in fact the result of shell-shock, and I believe that many other soldiers suffered from this. I hope that others will now get the pardons they equally deserve.”
Mrs Harris, who was seven days old when her father was sent to war, was never told by her family about her father’s death until she was 40. She said it had been a stigma for three generations. Mr Farr’s father disowned him while his mother never told anyone because of her shame.
“I feel like I am in a dream. In my heart of hearts I did not think I would live to see this day. But I have and I am so happy. We have been at court three times and finally seen justice being done. Harry is looking down on us now saying, ‘It’s a fight well fought’.”
Mrs Harris said the whole family was celebrating. “We have had many calls already, particularly from my nephew Matthew, who has just received top marks for a school project about his grandfather.”
Advertisement
A succession of government ministers turned down requests to grant pardons. John Major rejected an appeal in 1993, while John Reid, as Armed Forces Minister in July 1998, refused a request for all soldiers to be pardoned.
Having enrolled in the 2nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, Private Farr found himself serving on the first day of the Battle of Somme, when the Army lost 20,000 soldiers and 60,000 were injured. During the four-month battle, there were 420,000 British casualties. In September 1916 Private Farr broke down when ordered to rejoin the troops.
An army chaplain who witnessed his dawn execution said: “A finer soldier never lived.”
His grave lies unmarked, its whereabouts unknown.
OTHERS WHO FACED THE FIRING SQUAD