It’s been quite a week for Ted’s story. After years of research, writing and piecing together the truth about my great-great-uncle Ted Roberts, my book is finally out in the world. And this weekend I’ll be officially launching it at Milton Keynes Literature Festival. From Shame to Honour: Uncovering the Hidden Story of Ted Roberts tells the story of my great great uncle who was a First World War soldier who was executed for desertion in May 1916, and of my family’s long journ

My grandfather, John Teague started to write a diary when he was 16. When transferring his paper diaries on to the computer after retirement he wrote, ‘My habit of keeping a detailed diary appears to have started in June 1938, when I was 16.’ He kept a diary until well into his 70’s. Of great interest to us as a family were the diaries that spanned the second world war years. He stored the diaries until he was in his 80s, then carefully typed them up and threw them away!! For

This year it will be twenty years since the British government granted a statutory pardon to 306 soldiers executed by the British Army during the First World War. It will be 110 years since my ancestor, William Wilfred “Ted” Roberts, was executed for desertion in 1916. It is interesting to reflect on the fact that, had Ted not been court-martialled and executed, we would probably know even less about him. Many First World War service records were destroyed in September 1940,

In the early 1980s, long before the stories of the men shot at dawn were widely known, one figure played a pivotal role in bringing them back into public view. That figure was Judge Anthony Babington. Access Before the Files Were Open In 1982, Judge Babington was granted exceptional access to First World War court martial files that remained closed to the public. His research led to the publication of For the Sake of Example in 1983. The book caused unease. Not because it na