Britons battle to restore historic admiral's honour

By Avril Ormsby

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - More than 250 years after British Admiral John Byng was executed for failing to "do his utmost" in battle against the French, his descendants have handed in a petition calling for the restoration of his honour.

Alistair Burt, MP for North East Bedfordshire, will submit a petition signed by 600 people to the House of Commons next week.

The family and local community still feel the shame and sorrow surrounding the death in 1757.

Supporters hope his name will be cleared in the same way that 306 executed World War One soldiers were pardoned in 2006, decades after they were shot for cowardice or desertion.

"I think many of us were moved by the interviews of descendants of those shot in World War One and how much it meant to them that a name could be placed on a town war memorial because it lingers in people's minds, the families become marked," Burt told Reuters.

"It has been a long time ... but if we were moved by the families of World War One, which was a long time ago too, we might be moved on this occasion."

Byng was court-martialled and shot by firing squad for Breaching the Articles of War, despite appeals by the judges for leniency.

Early in the Seven Years' War between 1756 and 1763, Byng had been sent to help a British garrison on the Mediterranean island of Minorca which was under attack from French forces, but after a brief skirmish he sailed off and sought repairs at Gibraltar.