British Soldiers EXCUTED for Desertion 😱 Shot at Dawn

During the First World War, desertion could carry the ultimate punishment.

Thousands of British servicemen were tried for desertion during World War One, and military courts imposed thousands of death sentences for offences including desertion, cowardice, abandoning posts and disobedience. Most death sentences were commuted — but some were carried out.

266 British soldiers were executed specifically for desertion during the First World War. In total, 306 servicemen were executed for disciplinary offences associated with what later became known as the “Shot at Dawn” cases.

Many executions took place early in the morning by firing squad, sometimes involving soldiers from the condemned man's own unit.

The subject remains controversial because modern understanding of combat trauma has raised questions about whether some soldiers suffering from what was then called shell shock were adequately understood during their courts martial.

More than 3,000 death sentences were imposed by British military courts during the wartime period, but over 90% were ultimately reduced to other punishments.

One documented case was Second Lieutenant Eric Skeffington Poole, who had been treated for shell shock before being convicted of desertion and executed on 10 December 1916.

In 2006, Parliament granted posthumous pardons covering servicemen executed for specified First World War disciplinary offences, including desertion and cowardice. The legislation did not erase their original convictions or sentences.

Their stories remain one of the most debated aspects of military discipline during the First World War.

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