Theodore Schurch

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Theodore William John Schurch
Executed
Conviction(s)Treachery (8 counts)
Desertion with intent to join the enemy
Criminal penaltyDeath
Military career
Allegiance 
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

In June 1942, Schurch was captured by

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

KC. During his court martial, Schurch demanded to know the religion of each judge. After learning that one of the officers, a major, was Jewish, he asked for him to be removed. The request was granted after Schurch's lawyer said "The question of fascism looms large in the accused's mind, there would be an inevitable clash between the accused and the major."[3] Schurch was nevertheless found guilty of all counts and received the death sentence mandated under law.[4]

Schurch was

HM Prison Pentonville, at the age of 27.[5] His execution was carried out by Albert Pierrepoint, who had hanged William Joyce the previous day for high treason.[2]

Schurch was the only British soldier executed for treachery committed during the war.

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 members of the French Resistance
, was shot dead by the French police in January 1946, a month after he escaped from custody.

Civilians William Joyce and John Amery were executed for high treason, a different offence.

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-84511-284-4
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781101904169
    .
  3. ^ "Jewish Officer Removed from British Military Court at Request of Pro-nazi Defendant". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  4. ^ "News in Brief." Times, London, England, 3 January 1946: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.
  5. ^ "Soldier Executed." Times, London, England, 5 January 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 March. 2015.

Further reading

External links
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