In November 2006, the British government granted a group pardon to 306 men executed for acts of "cowardice or desertion" during the First World War. The move has public sympathy on its side—after all, to us, these men suffered unimaginable horrors on the battlefield. But, when examined more closely, it becomes a highly complex issue, fraught with conflicting arguments and emotions.

In Not Forgotten: Shot at Dawn, Ian Hislop—whose grandfather fought in the First World War—looks at the lives of six soldiers executed during the war. He tells the emotional stories of these men, and traces descendents whose grandfathers or great grandfathers were executed—many of whom have been campaigning for decades against the executions.

Through their stories he asks, 'is it dangerous to try to rewrite history?' And he poses an uncomfortable question: Are some of these men—under the strict military law of the time—really deserving of a pardon, or is it sentimental to view them all as innocent victims?

This programme explores the decisions taken during the First World War; and debates the moral and social mores of the time, the rights of the soldier, and the complexities of retrospective judgments.

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