Alfred Minchin

Alfred Vivian Minchin (27 January 1917 – February 1998)[1] was a British merchant seaman who was taken prisoner by a German destroyer after his ship, the SS Empire Ranger, one of a Murmansk convoy, was sunk by German bombers off Norway.[2] He held the rank of Sturmmann[3] in the Waffen-SS British Free Corps during the Second World War. He was taken prisoner on 28 March 1942.[4] It was he who suggested the name for the British Free Corps.[5] By 8 March 1945 he 'was being treated for scabies in the SS hospital at Lichtefelde-West.'[6] The National Archives holds the depositions for his trial at the Central Criminal Court under reference CRIM 1/485 and a Home Office file on him under reference HO 45/25817. He was 'convicted at Central Criminal Court on 5 February 1946 of conspiring to assist the enemy and sentenced to 7 years penal servitude' for offences against the Defence Regulations.[7][8] He died in 1998 at the age of 81.[9]

Minchin (second right) with SS-Mann Kenneth Berry (second left) and German officers, April 1944

See also

References
  1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
  2. Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Locations 1968-1969). Random House. Kindle Edition
  3. Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Location 2342). Random House. Kindle Edition
  4. http://bills-bunker.de/56856.html
  5. Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Location 2216). Random House. Kindle Edition
  6. Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Locations 3000-3001). Random House. Kindle Edition
  7. The National Archives - Reference: HO 45/24477
  8. "Seamen Sentenced For Aiding Enemy." Times, London, England, 21 Feb. 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
  9. Guy Walters' site - history of the BFC, complete with pictures
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.