At last, could this be the year of jubilation and forgiveness?

After reading about 1,250 dangerous criminals who live among us and 53 lifers being freed after six years in jail, would it not be nice to go back 90 years and forgive the soldiers who were shot at dawn in the First World War?

It appears out of thousands of men who were called up, tens of thousands were boy soldiers, and should not have been there in the first place.

Because they lied about their age, some were as young as 14.

If anything, it should have been the recruiting sergeants and officers executed.

Although MP Auther Mukham tried desperately to stop this happening, Under Secretary For War, Harold Tenont MP, turned a blind eye to it, so it carried on.

Also, according to our historians, Field Marshall Haig wasn't such a bad chap after all. To lose 20,000 men in one day at the Somme wasn't such a bad thing - apparently we learnt quite a lot from this denouement.

There were artillery techniques, tank, and lots of other goodies to kill and maim for the next war to come along 20 years later.

So with this in mind we can forget any resentment we might have had against him.

We seem to have some academics who do not agree, pointing out there could have some real deserters among them, and I've no doubt there were.

So would they condone the holocaust on the assumption athough six million were executed, there must have been a few killers and rogues among them?

G Woodget, Orpington