Theodore Schurch
Theodore William John Schurch (5 May 1918 – 4 January 1946) was a British soldier who was executed under the U.K. 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 Maternity 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
In June 1942, Schurch, aged 24, was captured by Axis forces at Tobruk during the North African campaign. Soon afterwards, he began working for both the Italian Servizio Informazioni Militari and German intelligence. He often posed as a Prisoner of war to gain the trust of other Allied prisoners, including Lieutenant Colonel Sir David Stirling, initiator of the Special Air Service.[2]
Trial and execution
Schurch was arrested in Rome in 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 King's Road, Chelsea, London, in September 1945. During his court-martial, Schurch demanded to know the religion of each judge. After learning that one of the officers was Jewish, he asked for him to be removed. The request was granted after Schurch's King's Counsel said "The question of fascism looms large in the accused's mind; there would be an inevitable clash between the accused and the major." Schurch was nevertheless found guilty of all counts and received the death sentence mandated under law.
Schurch was hanged on 4 January 1946 at HM Prison Pentonville, at the age of only 27.[3] His execution was carried out by Albert Pierrepoint, who had hanged William Joyce the previous day for treason.[2]
Sources
- ↑ Graham Macklin (2007). Very deeply dyed in black: Sir Oswald Mosley and the resurrection of British fascism after 1945, International Library of Political Studies. I.B.Tauris, 34. ISBN 978-1-84511-284-4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 (2016) Rogue Warriors. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 177–178, 189–190, 203–204, 350–351. ISBN 9781101904169.
- ↑ "Soldier Executed." Times, London, England, 5 January 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.
