Murders during the war

[paulyb102]

Hiya paul Johnson


Just as a matter of interest, are all the people on the bottom of your post, family members?

Paulyb102

[Paul Johnson]

Hi Paul,

No. These ladies were all murdered whilst serving with the WAAF. Sadly, they were the victims of sex crimes committed by Allied soldiers and Airmen (some of whom were hung). Their files exist in the WO309 Series in the PRO.

Regards

PAUL JOHNSON

[paulyb102]

Hi paul j

When i saw those names at the bottom of your list, i presumed wrongly that they were (murdered) by a doodlebug or V-2, it,s rare you hear of any types of deaths from ww2 in other instances such as these, well done for highlighting their memory.
I suppose many hundreds like them in the u.k. also perished

Paul

[Kiwiwriter]

Originally posted by paulyb102@Jan 11 2005, 07:58 PM
Hi paul j

When i saw those names at the bottom of your list, i presumed wrongly that they were (murdered) by a doodlebug or V-2, it,s rare you hear of any types of deaths from ww2 in other instances such as these, well done for highlighting their memory.
I suppose many hundreds like them in the u.k. also perished

Paul

Quoted post

They're not alone. The magazine "After the Battle" has articles on justice in WW2, which include cases where American or British troops raped and/or murdered British or French women, and drew the death penalty for the crime. While Eddie Slovik was the only American shot for desertion in WW2, a number of GIs were hanged in Europe for the relatively ordinary crimes of murder and rape. They are buried in Plot E at Oise-Aisne Cemetery in France, which is a secret and inaccessible plot behind the superintendent's quarters. So while the public can visit the immaculate white graves of Joyce Kilmer and his buddies from the Second Battle of the Marne in WW1 in Plots A through D, you need permission from the American Battle Monuments Commission to visit Plot E, where the dead lie under flat black tombstones...with no flag flying. Those are the wages of murder and rape.

[Paul Johnson]

Paul,

I know that you have an interest in the D-Day casualties. One of the ladies mentioned was Iris Miriam Deeley who was murdered by Gunner Ernest James Harman Kemp of the Royal Artllery near Well Hall Railway Station, Eltham on Valentines Day 1944. He was hung at Wandsworth Prison on the 6th June 1944, probably just as some of his comrades were landing on the beaches of France. His name is recorded on the Brookwood Memorial, I assume beacuse his body was cremated.

Regards

PAUL J

[angie999]

The normal thing with any execution in a British prison would be for the person to be buried in a virtually unmarked grave within the prison. I belive there was some kind of marker so they knew where the grave was, but no headstone or similar.

There were, of course, a number of American military executions at Shepton Mallet prison in Somerset, which was taken over by American forces during the war.

And when I figure out how to do it, I will try to split this into two separate topics.

[morse1001]

Originally posted by angie999@Jan 15 2005, 10:56 AM
The normal thing with any execution in a British prison would be for the person to be buried in a virtually unmarked grave within the prison. I belive there was some kind of marker so they knew where the grave was, but no headstone or similar.

Quoted post

the graves were marked by the prisoners initials marked on the wall

[angie999]

Originally posted by angie999@Jan 15 2005, 10:56 AM

And when I figure out how to do it, I will try to split this into two separate topics.

Quoted post

Done.

[DirtyDick]

Was rape a capital offence during this period? I'm not too sure it was in UK civil law, but perhaps US military law when on operations?

There was also that serial murdering RAF chap who was caught after leaving his respirator at the scene of a crime.

Richard

[angie999]

Originally posted by angie999@Jan 15 2005, 10:56 AM
There were, of course, a number of American military executions at Shepton Mallet prison in Somerset, which was taken over by American forces during the war.

Quoted post

As far as I can establish, there were 18 US military executions at Shepton Mallet in WWII, including two by firing squad, 20 year old Alex Miranda who shot his sergeant, on 30th May 1944 and Benjamin Pyegate who had stabbed a fellow soldier to death, on 28th November 1944. It is possible that other US personnel were hanged at British operated prisons - one web source hints at this without giving details - but the total probably was these 18.

My husband was once shown what was said to be the former wartime condemned cell at Shepton Mallet. This was actually a room in a house across the road from the prison, which, he was told, had been taken over by the US military. Apparently, the condemned prisoner would be taken over to the prison to be hanged. Is anybody able to confirm this (or otherwise)? It has always seemed doubtful to us.

Here is a link to an academic paper on the subject:

http://www.soci.niu.edu/~critcrim/dp/dppap...l.dirty.details

And another link (this one contradicts my condemned cell comments):
http://www.richard.clark32.btinterne.../sheptonm.html