THE tragic case of John Wall - the Worcestershire soldier shot at dawn by his own side during the First World War - is never far from these news columns.

Like some awful weeping wound, this is a scar that refuses to heal. His relatives' relentless quest for justice has captured the public imagination, further fuelling calls for a blanket pardon for the 350 British soldiers who died because they could no longer carry out the appalling tasks they had been set.

There is little doubt that Jack Wall's execution was almost certainly a gross miscarriage of justice. The charge of throwing away his rifle in the face of the enemy - even allowing for the sensibilities of far-off 1917 - was levelled on the flimsiest of evidence.

The tragedy of this man is that he had survived the 1914 battles of Mons, Marne, Aisne and First Ypres, yet was ultimately to die in disgrace. In an age where duty was all that mattered, Wall had done everything expected of him. Even if he had momentarily lost his nerve, there were surely grounds for compassion.

I have nothing but sympathy for Sergeant Wall's relatives. I hope they can somehow close the chapter on this distressing episode in a way that will finally allow this long-dead soldier to rest in peace.

However, it is not for others to rewrite history in the process. There are any number of politically-motivated parvenus out there, waiting to jump on this particular gun limber, just to go along for the ideological ride.

Whatever the outcome, I sincerely hope that the Wall campaign is allowed to run unhindered. They don't need the interference of those who are more interested in creating a new kind of cannon-fodder for class battles still being fought.