OMEN
08-16-2006, 02:32 PM
LONDON: A British soldier who was executed during World War 1 for cowardice is to be granted a pardon, media have quoted his family as saying.
Private Harry Farr was shot at dawn on Oct. 2, 1916, on the orders of his own officers for refusing to return to the front line, but relatives have argued he was suffering from severe shellshock.
A posthumous pardon for Farr could raise hopes for the families of scores of other soldiers, executed in similar circumstances, who are also seeking pardons for their long-dead relatives.
Farr's granddaughter Janet Booth said the family's lawyers had told them of the decision.
"We don't know if it's a full or a conditional pardon yet. We are over the moon," she told the BBC.
The Ministry of Defence could not confirm the move.
Farr, a soldier with the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, was in his mid-20s when he was killed and had already witnessed some of the horrors of the 1914-1918 conflict.
The British government said in March it would reconsider its initial refusal to pardon Farr after his family appealed. They contended his court martial was unfair because officers did not take shellshock into consideration.
The case may give heart to the relatives of another 305 British soldiers shot dead by their own side during World War 1. Of those, 17 were executed for cowardice. Others were killed for deserting the army or disobeying orders.
The government has always said it would consider each case on its own merits.
Reuters
Private Harry Farr was shot at dawn on Oct. 2, 1916, on the orders of his own officers for refusing to return to the front line, but relatives have argued he was suffering from severe shellshock.
A posthumous pardon for Farr could raise hopes for the families of scores of other soldiers, executed in similar circumstances, who are also seeking pardons for their long-dead relatives.
Farr's granddaughter Janet Booth said the family's lawyers had told them of the decision.
"We don't know if it's a full or a conditional pardon yet. We are over the moon," she told the BBC.
The Ministry of Defence could not confirm the move.
Farr, a soldier with the 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, was in his mid-20s when he was killed and had already witnessed some of the horrors of the 1914-1918 conflict.
The British government said in March it would reconsider its initial refusal to pardon Farr after his family appealed. They contended his court martial was unfair because officers did not take shellshock into consideration.
The case may give heart to the relatives of another 305 British soldiers shot dead by their own side during World War 1. Of those, 17 were executed for cowardice. Others were killed for deserting the army or disobeying orders.
The government has always said it would consider each case on its own merits.
Reuters