Mysterious British SS-PK member
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Mysterious British SS-PK member
According to Christopher Ailsby's book SS: Roll of Infamy,
in April 1945 SS propaganda chief d'Alquen evacuated his staff from Berlin accompanied by an Englishman named Benson Freeman- who was he?
in April 1945 SS propaganda chief d'Alquen evacuated his staff from Berlin accompanied by an Englishman named Benson Freeman- who was he?
This is the man.
Freeman Benson Railton Metcalf - SS-Untersturmführer
6 October 1903
Party Number SS Number
He was born at Newbury, Berkshire, the son of a serving officer and lived in Portsmouth until he was 18, attending St. Helen’s College in Southsea and later Newton College Devon. In 1922 he entered the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, being commissioned in August 1924 into the Kings own Royal Regiment as a second Lieutenant. He developed an interest in flying and in September 1926 was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and posted to an RAF flying school near Chester. He qualified as a fighter pilot, transferring to the RAF. In 1931 he retired, taking up farming, which gave him time to develop his political views. 1937 saw him join the BUF, remaining a member until the war. Even though he became very agitated due to the conflict of loyalties the war produced he returned to service with the RAF, assuming he was to hold a non-combatants position. Events overtook eventualities on the 22 May 1940, when ordered to fly to Merville, where on landing the planes were destroyed by enemy air action. Freeman, accompanied by other RAF personnel, ordered a DC3 for England only to be forced down by ground fire, being taken prisoner. He was taken into Luftwaffe captivity and moved to a special camp set up to extract information from newly captured air crew. However it seems that his incarceration was due to his pro-Nazi views. His position in the camp became increasingly uneasy and he was concerned to discover that air crew were being informed in briefings by MI9 that he was “a German informer”. Eventually, after a number of heated disagreements with other prisoners he and a few others were asked to sign a document requesting their removal from the camp. He was eventually taken to Berlin to meet Hesse, who asked him if he was prepared to help in the “promotion of peace and the frustration of Bolshevist plans”. Freeman agreed. In June 1942 he became a propagandist and the next two years were a disaster for him and his employers. In September 1944 a chance meeting with d’Alquen at a social function in Berlin changed his resolve. Taking a liking to Freeman and having joint views on the likelihood of the German defeat in the East, d’Alquen offered him a commission in the “Kurt Eggers Regiment”. Freeman joined the Waffen-SS in October 1944, where he made a declaration that he was “an Englishman of Aryan descent and have never, neither now nor previously, been a member of a free masons lodge nor any other secret society.” He was not required to command troops, but to vet propaganda material being prepared for use in scorpion west. He had found his ideological niche as an SS officer. By the end of April 1945 d’Alquen decided to evacuate his remaining staff from Berlin. He went with his deputy Sturmbannführer Anton Kriegbaum, American SS-Hauptsturmführer Ackermann, and Freeman. Commandeering three Stork planes they flew to Lenggries in south west Germany. Persuasion was placed on Freeman to fly to Switzerland, but he refused and subsequently surrendered to American forces in the area on the 9 May. He was court-martialled, receiving a sentence of 10 years.
Freeman Benson Railton Metcalf - SS-Untersturmführer
6 October 1903
Party Number SS Number
He was born at Newbury, Berkshire, the son of a serving officer and lived in Portsmouth until he was 18, attending St. Helen’s College in Southsea and later Newton College Devon. In 1922 he entered the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, being commissioned in August 1924 into the Kings own Royal Regiment as a second Lieutenant. He developed an interest in flying and in September 1926 was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and posted to an RAF flying school near Chester. He qualified as a fighter pilot, transferring to the RAF. In 1931 he retired, taking up farming, which gave him time to develop his political views. 1937 saw him join the BUF, remaining a member until the war. Even though he became very agitated due to the conflict of loyalties the war produced he returned to service with the RAF, assuming he was to hold a non-combatants position. Events overtook eventualities on the 22 May 1940, when ordered to fly to Merville, where on landing the planes were destroyed by enemy air action. Freeman, accompanied by other RAF personnel, ordered a DC3 for England only to be forced down by ground fire, being taken prisoner. He was taken into Luftwaffe captivity and moved to a special camp set up to extract information from newly captured air crew. However it seems that his incarceration was due to his pro-Nazi views. His position in the camp became increasingly uneasy and he was concerned to discover that air crew were being informed in briefings by MI9 that he was “a German informer”. Eventually, after a number of heated disagreements with other prisoners he and a few others were asked to sign a document requesting their removal from the camp. He was eventually taken to Berlin to meet Hesse, who asked him if he was prepared to help in the “promotion of peace and the frustration of Bolshevist plans”. Freeman agreed. In June 1942 he became a propagandist and the next two years were a disaster for him and his employers. In September 1944 a chance meeting with d’Alquen at a social function in Berlin changed his resolve. Taking a liking to Freeman and having joint views on the likelihood of the German defeat in the East, d’Alquen offered him a commission in the “Kurt Eggers Regiment”. Freeman joined the Waffen-SS in October 1944, where he made a declaration that he was “an Englishman of Aryan descent and have never, neither now nor previously, been a member of a free masons lodge nor any other secret society.” He was not required to command troops, but to vet propaganda material being prepared for use in scorpion west. He had found his ideological niche as an SS officer. By the end of April 1945 d’Alquen decided to evacuate his remaining staff from Berlin. He went with his deputy Sturmbannführer Anton Kriegbaum, American SS-Hauptsturmführer Ackermann, and Freeman. Commandeering three Stork planes they flew to Lenggries in south west Germany. Persuasion was placed on Freeman to fly to Switzerland, but he refused and subsequently surrendered to American forces in the area on the 9 May. He was court-martialled, receiving a sentence of 10 years.
- Dan E. Moe
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- K.Kocjancic
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Re:
Any info on this American?Dan E. Moe wrote:Who was this American SS-Hauptsturmführer Ackermann?
Best Regards,
Dan
Re: Mysterious British SS-PK member
There have been a number of mentions of Freeman in the last couple of decades along with various newspaper articles about his mysterious disappearance after release from prison in the 1950's and newspaper investigative journalists reported being unable to discover what had become of him.
I don't suppose I'm the first of us by any means to look at this and find the likely solution but I looked to trace the wife he married on 27 Oct 1927 at All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London, to whom he was reportedly devoted.
She was Irene Muriel Aileen Treharne, born c Jul 1904 in Pontypridd and died 2 Oct 1993 at Glenmure, Annamoe, Wicklow County, Eire.
I wouldn't be the least surprised if a man convicted in the UK as a traitor for his service to the Third Reich found a warm welcome in Eire which itself had very dubious links with the Third Reich. I'd bet money on him being buried beside her in a quiet countryside churchyard in Annamoe area just south of Dublin.
I don't suppose I'm the first of us by any means to look at this and find the likely solution but I looked to trace the wife he married on 27 Oct 1927 at All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Knightsbridge, London, to whom he was reportedly devoted.
She was Irene Muriel Aileen Treharne, born c Jul 1904 in Pontypridd and died 2 Oct 1993 at Glenmure, Annamoe, Wicklow County, Eire.
I wouldn't be the least surprised if a man convicted in the UK as a traitor for his service to the Third Reich found a warm welcome in Eire which itself had very dubious links with the Third Reich. I'd bet money on him being buried beside her in a quiet countryside churchyard in Annamoe area just south of Dublin.
Re: Mysterious British SS-PK member
Railton Freeman (spartacus-educational.com)