Talk: Back over Old Ground by Michael Jackson

World War One researcher Michael Jackson discusses the cases of soldiers executed during the Great War. British soldiers were executed under the 1881 Army Act and 1911 Indian Army Act, for what were considered ‘battlefield offences’. Examples of these are cowardice or desertion which we now know may be influenced by the stress of battle. Michael looks at twenty-first century attitudes to a seldom discussed episode in history. He reviews the revisionism behind the 2006 Armed Forces Act which pardoned British soldiers executed for such battlefield offences. Using case studies, he poses the question, Was it modern thinking which powered the debate or the unfairness of the High Command in the Great War? Michael aims to create a lively discussion.