Sir, Ben Macintyre is wrong to use Admiral Byng (who was executed in 1757, not 1857) to illustrate his desire for a pardon of soldiers executed in the First World War (Comment, Aug 18). Byng failed to relieve a garrison which bravely held out for another month, or at least to stand off and await reinforcements. This was important to the overall naval situation in the Mediterranean, and there was political fallout from the loss of Minorca that also affected Byng’s fate. The needs of the individual must rank below those of the greatest number. Other admirals, such as Hawke at Quiberon in 1759, were daring and brave during the Seven Years’ War, enabling Britain to win a great victory.
JAMES GLEADOW
London N19
Sir, In proposing to grant a blanket pardon to the 306 men executed for military offences during the First World War, the Defence Secretary has opened a can of worms.
Not all his cases are as deserving as Harry Farr. One of those is a lieutenant who deserted his battalion and then shot dead a military policeman when he was arrested three months later while living with a prostitute. Another is an officer who abandoned a group of badly wounded men in a shell hole well behind the lines, leaving them to freeze and bleed. The 306 executions represent 10 per cent of those sentenced to death, as Haig refused to confirm 90 per cent of sentences. Many of those shot were serial deserters, including one soldier with 16 convictions.
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The real issue is not about guilt or innocence, but about the severity of about 30 cases where the sentence could have been reduced by mitigating circumstances. A blanket pardon will make a mockery of justice and historical fact. Des Browne’s initiative comes at a time when he is desperate to divert attention away from Treasury cuts in an army fighting real wars today. Where do you stop? And when will the first demand for “compensation” emerge?
COLONEL JOHN HUGHES-WILSON
Co-author of Blindfold and Alone: British Military Executions in the Great War
Deal, Kent
Sir, Where has Mr Crumly been (letter, Aug 18) that he can be so judgmental about men, many little more than boys, who cracked under unimaginable conditions? My experience as a soldier in the Second World War pales by comparison and I would not dare to say that my courage would have held on the Western Front.
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V. J. BRAYLEY
Bromley, Kent