Private Henry Morrison, age nineteen, was executed by firing squad on June 7, 1919, at 6:47 AM at a British military camp in France (Executed for Desertion). His crime: desertion during battle. His defense: shell shock—what would later be called post-traumatic stress disorder. The British Army didn’t recognize shell shock as a legitimate medical condition. They called it cowardice. Henry had enlisted in 1917, age seventeen, lied about his age to join the war effort. He served in the trenches at Passchendaele—one of the war’s bloodiest battles. Henry watched his entire unit die around him—thirty-two men killed in three days of artillery bombardment. Henry was the only survivor from his original platoon.

After Passchendaele, Henry developed severe psychological symptoms—violent tremors, inability to sleep, terrifying nightmares, panic attacks triggered by loud noises. Military doctors examined him. Their diagnosis: “Lack of moral fiber. Soldier is exaggerating symptoms to avoid combat duty.” Henry was returned to the front lines. On November 3, 1918—eight days before the Armistice that would end the war—Henry’s unit was ordered to advance across no-man’s-land toward German positions. When the whistle blew for the advance, Henry froze. He couldn’t move. His body wouldn’t obey commands. He stood in the trench while his unit climbed over the top and advanced. Seventy seconds later, Henry ran. He ran away from the front line, away from the battle, away from the war. He was found four miles behind the lines, hiding in a destroyed barn, shaking uncontrollably.

Henry was arrested and charged with desertion in the face of the enemy—a capital offense. His court-martial was held November 15, 1918, four days after the Armistice. The war was over. But Henry’s trial continued. The prosecution’s case: “Private Morrison deserted his post during an active advance. He ran from battle while his comrades fought and died. This is desertion. The penalty is death.” Henry’s defense officer—Lieutenant Charles Webb—argued: “Private Morrison is nineteen years old. He’s suffered severe psychological trauma from two years of trench warfare. He watched his entire unit die at Passchendaele. He’s suffering from shell shock. He didn’t choose to run. His mind broke under the strain of combat trauma.”

Cowardice or PTSD? The Henry Morrison Story |Henry Morrison: Executed for Desertion in WWI

The court-martial board consisted of three officers—none with medical training, none who’d spent significant time in front-line trenches. Their deliberation lasted seventeen minutes. The verdict: “Private Henry Morrison, guilty of desertion. Sentence: death by firing squad.” Lieutenant Webb appealed: “The war is over. Morrison is a traumatized teenager who broke under impossible conditions. Executing him serves no military purpose. The fighting has ended.” The appeal was denied. Command decision: “Desertion convictions must be upheld regardless of war status. Military discipline requires consequences. The sentence stands.”

Henry was executed June 7, 1919, seven months after the Armistice. He was nineteen years old. The photographer documenting military justice procedures captured Henry’s execution preparation. The photograph shows Henry tied to a wooden post at 6:42 AM, five minutes before execution. Henry is crying, begging the chaplain standing beside him for mercy. The firing squad—eight soldiers from Henry’s own regiment—stands thirty feet away with loaded rifles. Henry’s face shows absolute terror. He’s nineteen. He’s about to be killed by his own army for running away from a battle that broke his mind. The image shows military execution of traumatized youth, how Henry Morrison is tied to a post crying and begging while eight soldiers prepare to shoot him for desertion caused by shell shock the army refused to recognize.

At 6:47 AM, the firing squad executed Henry Morrison. Eight rifles fired simultaneously. Six bullets hit Henry’s chest. He died within seconds—nineteen years old, executed for desertion seven months after the war ended, killed for running away from a battle that occurred eight days before the Armistice. Henry was buried in a military cemetery with a marker that read: “Private Henry Morrison. Died 1919. Executed for Desertion.” The military wanted people to know. Henry hadn’t died honorably in battle. He’d been executed for cowardice.

In 2006, eighty-seven years after Henry’s execution, the British government pardoned 306 soldiers executed during World War I for desertion and cowardice. The pardon statement read: “Many soldiers executed for desertion and cowardice were suffering from what we now recognize as post-traumatic stress disorder. These men were not cowards. They were traumatized soldiers suffering from psychological wounds the military did not understand. Their executions were unjust. We grant posthumous pardons to all soldiers executed for desertion and cowardice during the Great War.” Henry Morrison was among the pardoned. Eighty-seven years after his execution. Eighty-seven years after he was shot by firing squad for shell shock the army called cowardice. The pardon came too late to save Henry. He’d been dead for eighty-seven years. But at least they finally acknowledged: Henry Morrison wasn’t a coward. He was a traumatized teenager executed for a mental breakdown the military refused to recognize. Remember him.