Corrected entry: The death sentence for cowardice was abolished in 1917, a year before Tommy gets executed.
Corrected entry: The British army abandoned firing squads in 1917, a year before Tomy gets shot.
Correction: Firing squads were still in use as late as 1941, when German spy Josef Jakobs was executed in the Tower of London using that method.
Correction: The last real-life execution for cowardice took place in 1917, but it was not officially abolished at that point. The death penalty for cowardice remained on the British statute books until 1930 when it was finally, after a couple of previous failures, abolished after years of campaigning by MP (and former soldier) Ernest Thurtle. As such it is entirely reasonable that a fictional character like Tommy could have been executed for the crime in 1918.
Tailkinker ★