Theodore Schurch
Theodore Schurch | |
---|---|
Born | Hammersmith, London, England | 5 May 1918
Died | 4 January 1946 Pentonville, London, England | (aged 27)
Allegiance | United Kingdom Nazi Germany Kingdom of Italy |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1936–1942 |
Rank | Private |
Unit | Royal Army Service Corps |
Battles/wars | Second World War |
Theodore William John Schurch (5 May 1918 – 4 January 1946) was a British soldier who was executed under the Treachery Act 1940 after the end of the Second World War. He was the last person to be executed in Britain for an offence other than murder.
Early life
Schurch was born in Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital, Hammersmith, London, while his Swiss father was living in Britain. During his late teens Schurch was a member of the British Union of Fascists.[1]
In 1936 he enlisted in the British Army as a Royal Army Service Corps driver.[2]
Double agent
During June 1942, Schurch was captured by Axis forces at Tobruk during the North African campaign. Soon afterwards, he began working for both Italian and German intelligence. He often posed as a prisoner of war to gain the trust of Allied prisoners, including Lieutenant Colonel Sir David Stirling, initiator of the Special Air Service.[2]
Trial and execution
Schurch was arrested in Rome during March 1945, and charged with nine counts of treachery and one count of desertion. He was tried by court martial at the Duke of York's Headquarters in Chelsea, London, during September 1945, Major Melford Stevenson presiding. He was defended by Alexander Brands KC. He was found guilty of nine charges of treachery and one of desertion with intent to join the enemy.[3]
Schurch was hanged on 4 January 1946 at HM Prison Pentonville, at the age of 27.[4] His execution was performed by Albert Pierrepoint.[2]
British Security Service files on him are held by The National Archives.
Schurch was the only British soldier executed for treachery committed during the war.[2] However, Duncan Scott-Ford, a merchant seaman, was also hanged for treachery, and New Zealand-born Captain Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan of the British Indian Army was convicted of espionage, and shot by a guard. Harold Cole, a British POW who betrayed the French Resistance, was shot dead by the French police during January 1946, a month after he escaped from custody.
Civilians William Joyce and John Amery were executed for treason, a different offence.
References
- ^ Graham Macklin (2007). Very deeply dyed in black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the resurrection of British fascism after 1945. International Library of Political Studies. Vol. 14. I.B.Tauris. p. 34. ISBN 1-84511-284-9.
- ^ a b c d Macintyre, Ben (2016). Rogue Warriors. New York: Crown Publishing Group. pp. 177–178, 189–190, 203–204, 350–351. ISBN 9781101904169.
- ^ "News in Brief." Times, London, England, 3 January 1946: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.
- ^ "Soldier Executed." Times, London, England, 5 January 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.
Further reading
- Norman Davies (2008). Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory. Pan Macmillan. p. 234. ISBN 0-330-47229-1.
External links
- "Soldier Accused Of Aiding Enemy." Times, London, England, 13 September. 1945: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 February. 2015.
- "Private Accused Of Treachery." Times, London, England, 18 September. 1945: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 February. 2015.
- Use dmy dates from July 2012
- 1918 births
- 1946 deaths
- 1945 crimes
- People from Hammersmith
- Royal Army Service Corps soldiers
- British Army personnel of World War II
- British Army personnel who were court-martialled
- Executed people from London
- People executed by the British military by hanging
- Executed British collaborators with Nazi Germany
- English people of Swiss descent
- 20th-century executions by England and Wales
- English World War II spies for Germany