The pardon which the Government has signalled is imminent for the British soldiers executed for cowardice and desertion during the First World War is long overdue.

John Major, the then Prime Minister, was misguided when he declared in 1993 that we could not rewrite history by substituting our latter-day judgement for that of the contemporaries of the 307 executed men, who included Bradford Pals Herbert Crimmins and Arthur Wild and Boer War veteran Private Harry MacDonald from Keighley.

In fact we owe it to the men who were so harshly judged to re-examine their actions in the light of knowledge gained since about the pressures endured by those who are thrust into wars and to reappraise their reputations, for the sake of their families.

There was felt to be a clear need, by those commanding the troops between 1914 and 1918, to maintain discipline by showing no mercy to those who failed to obey orders or who absented themselves from the battlefield. The view was that they must be cowards and, as cowardice was a cardinal sin in the military world, they must pay the ultimate price to deter others from behaving similarly.

We have learned a great deal since then about the brutal battering to which the nervous system is subjected during prolonged bombardment and the terrible trauma which can be caused through seeing your comrades slaughtered around you.

We owe it to Herbert Crimmins, Arthur Wild, Harry MacDonald and the other men who were shot at dawn to take those factors into account and give them the benefit of the doubt.