Theodore Schurch

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.

Theodore Schurch
Born(1918-05-05)5 May 1918
Hammersmith, London, England
Died4 January 1946(1946-01-04) (aged 27)
Pentonville, London, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
 Nazi Germany
 Kingdom of Italy
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1936–1942
RankPrivate
UnitRoyal Army Service Corps
Battles/warsSecond World War

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
  1. Graham Macklin (2007). Very deeply dyed in black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the resurrection of British fascism after 1945. International Library of Political Studies. 14. I.B.Tauris. p. 34. ISBN 1-84511-284-9.
  2. Macintyre, Ben (2016). Rogue Warriors. New York: Crown Publishing Group. pp. 177–178, 189–190, 203–204, 350–351. ISBN 9781101904169.
  3. "News in Brief." Times, London, England, 3 January 1946: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.
  4. "Soldier Executed." Times, London, England, 5 January 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.