FAMILY SEEK PARDON FOR EXECUTED ROYAL NAVY ADMIRAL

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Gents,

Taken from the net at:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/14032007/325/fami...ed-admiral.html

Family seeks pardon for executed admiral Wednesday March 14, 02:45 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - The descendants of an 18th century admiral shot by firing squad after his failure to "do his utmost" to defeat the French are pressing the government to grant him a posthumous pardon.

On the 250th anniversary of Admiral John Byng's execution in 1757, family head Lord Torrington has written to Defence Secretary Des Browne asking for a pardon.

"I have asked the Defence Secretary to consider the matter because Admiral Byng has been judged not guilty by the fullness of time," he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"At the most, he made an error of judgement, but he was in no way a coward."

The family hopes their ancestor's name will be cleared in the same way 306 executed World War One soldiers were pardoned last year.

Great War soldiers who were shot for cowardice or desertion were posthumously pardoned after the Defence Ministry decided last August to end the "stigma" overshadowing the living relatives of the executed men.

But an MoD spokeswoman said Byng's case was different from those of the soldiers, where direct relatives were still alive.

"We have now received the letter so we can look at it," she said.

"But I suspect that it's not going to be sensible or in general practical to review decisions that are really widely accepted as being part of history now."

Early in the Seven Years' War between 1756 and 1763, Byng was called on to relieve the St. Philip Fort on the Mediterranean island of Minorca which was being attacked by French forces.

He was dispatched with a small, undermanned fleet, several ships of which were badly damaged in subsequent skirmishes with the French, prompting Byng to turn back to Gibraltar. The fort was eventually forced to capitulate.

He was brought home, court-martialled and executed for breach of Articles of War.

Many believed at the time he was made a scapegoat to conceal government mismanagement of the navy and that his execution was a travesty of justice.

But general editor at the National Maritime Museum Pieter Van Der Merwe believes that historical events can not be judged from the perspective of the present.

"In the terms of the middle of the 18th century, justice was done," he told Reuters.

"There is no point in historians today saying it was wrong or right. That's judging 250 or 300 years after the fact."

Byng's death inspired Voltaire's epigram in his novel Candide "in this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others."

Admiral Byng is buried in the family's vault at Southill, Bedfordshire. His epitaph says: "To the perpetual disgrace of public justice, the honourable John Byng, admiral of the blue, fell a martyr to political persecution on 14th March in the year 1757, when bravery and loyalty were insufficient securities for the life and honour of a naval officer."

Byng supporters were gathering at his grave on Wednesday to commemorate him, with attendees including Royal Naval representatives and various Naval historical societies.

- - - - - END OF ARTICLE. - - - - - Kevin in Deva.

[Paul R]

That was definitely a different time. Today, he would have been "respectfully asked" to retire!

[Kev in Deva]

That was definitely a different time. Today, he would have been "respectfully asked" to retire!

. . . . . . .on a large pension no doubt Kevin in Deva

[Paul R]

. . . . . . .on a large pension no doubt Kevin in Deva

No doubt!!

[Paul C]

It is typical of governments and the military to make the underlings the scapegoat for their poor decisions and plans. A glaring example is Admiral Kimmel and General Short who were made to take the fully blame for the Pearl Harbor attach. Is it an Admiral's fault that he was not given sufficient force to have a reasonable chance to achieve his mission? It is BS that you can not look back in history and say that a action can not be judged by the current time, that it must be taken in context.

[Paul R]

I hear what you are saying... but they were at least able to retire with full benefits.

[PKeating]

One has to look at this in the context of a time when common soldiers and sailors could be given 200 lashes for having something minor wrong with their uniform on duty or 600 lashes for being late on parade. Byng was certainly a martyr to official incompetence but one wonders how many sailors were subjected to monstrous punishments by Byng. This is not to justify what was done to Byng but let's not forget that the majority of Royal Navy officers were utter bastards. You had to be, to survive the rigours of such a career. At least he was shot, a quick death by comparison with hanging as implemented at the time, which was the fate of sailors for a wide range of offences ranging from relatively minor to cowardice. They were brutal times.

PK

[John]

Interesting topic. The RN had a ferocious discipline system, and I'm surprised to see how far up the chain it went. I think 'Keel Hauling' was about the most horrific.

Regards,

John