In this episode of Memory and Valour, we confront one of the darkest legacies of the First World War: soldiers executed by firing squad. Beyond Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele lies another roll call—twenty‑five Canadians condemned for “cowardice,” “desertion,” or “disobedience.”

Through voices like Private Walter Underwood and Medical Officer Maberly Esler, we uncover the machinery of discipline, from Field Punishment Number One to the ultimate sanction of execution. Were these acts of necessity, or miscarriages of justice?

Step into the trenches, hear the men who lived under the shadow of discipline, and remember those who were shot at dawn.

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