THE THIN YELLOW LINE

Softcover. The summary execution by firing squad of confused and shell-shocked British soldiers in the First World War still arouses heated passions over almost 100yrs later. Calls for posthumous pardons are still made in Parliament on behalf of these men who were tried by flawed courts martial and shot within hours of the verdict. The author's compassionate account of the dreadful proceedings that caused 346 men to be executed by their comrades was the first book to raise this uncomfortable subject. Brilliantly researched against the wishes of the War Office, it traces the origins of military capital punishment, placing in context the regulations which led brave men - both regular soldiers and conscripts - to their lonely deaths at dawn. Part I: 1632-1914; Part II: 1914-18; Part III: 1918-39; Part IV: 1939-45. With Postscript, Index and List of British Regiments + Formations Other Than British Regiments. 270pp. trade size softcover. From the library of true-crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. with no creasing to covers.