In total, 306 British servicemen were executed at dawn by firing squads during and just after World War One.

They may be gone, but like those who died in active service, they are not forgotten. Relatives of the men branded cowards have waged a long campaign to clear their names.

For them, the announcement by the Armed Forces Minister Doctor John Reid that the government "regrets" the executions does not go far enough.

Dr John Reid makes the statement to the House of Commons

During the period between August 1914 and March 1920 more than 20,000 servicemen were convicted by court-martials of offences which carried the death sentence.

Only 3000 of those men were ordered to be put to death and of those just over 1% were executed.

Months spent in appalling conditions took their toll on soldiers

According to Dr Reid the government's main difficulty in granting a pardon was making a distinction between men that suffered from trauma and real deserters.

Records of the original court-martials are sketchy - most only include a summary of the trials - and run to a couple of pages.

In more recent cases of granting a pardon it has been possible to interview the people involved in the case.

But Dr Reid pointed out that in this case the executions happened over 80 years ago and interviews have not been possible.

"Eighty years ago, when witnesses were available and the events were fresh in their memories, this might have been a possibility. But the passage of time has rendered it well-nigh impossible in most cases," he said.

Medical science has moved on a long way since the 1920s and now post-traumatic-stress-disorder is believed to be a possible cause for the unusual behaviour of the servicemen during WWI.

Although the statement was well received in the House of Commons not all veterans' groups are of the same opinion.

Some groups say that the pardon should be granted, others want the whole issue left alone.

Phillip Dixon, from the World Veterans Alliance: "They all deserve to be pardoned"

The Vice-President of the World Veterans Alliance, Phillip Dixon, said he was disappointed with Dr Reid's announcement.

"Obviously many of the 300 men that were shot were not guilty of desertion at all. How can the minister say that he cannot say who was guilty or not ... they all deserve to be pardoned."

But Mr Dixon added that the decision to have the mens' names added to the books of remembrance was "a welcome move."

Marina Brewis whose uncle was excecuted for desertion told BBC Radio 4 that a mistake was made at the his Court Martial.

Marina Brewis: "He followed an order to run"

"He didn't desert he was on the front-line. He heard an order 'Run the Hun are upon us' ... in the offiicers statement it said there wasn't enough evidence but the death penaly should still be carried out."

Dr Reid called for the abolition of the death penalty under military law and said that the ministers would look at bringing legislation through Parliament.