British Free Corps Info

Discussions on the foreigners (volunteers as well as conscripts) fighting in the German Wehrmacht, those collaborating with the Axis and other period Far Right organizations. Hosted by George Lepre.
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Adrian Weale
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#226

Post by Adrian Weale » 04 Mar 2010, 15:59

Try this:
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courlander2.jpg
courlander2.jpg (192.25 KiB) Viewed 4352 times
courlander1.jpg
courlander1.jpg (107.09 KiB) Viewed 4352 times

Phil Don
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#227

Post by Phil Don » 04 Mar 2010, 19:40

Great pics. Many thanks.

Phil D.


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Askold
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#228

Post by Askold » 04 Mar 2010, 23:34

Excellent photo, thank you for sharing!

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Marcus
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#229

Post by Marcus » 08 Mar 2010, 19:18

Guy Walters posted the below about the photo in another thread:
guywalters wrote:Last week, I stumbled across a remarkable file in the National Archives in Kew which contained an envelope full of pictures of British WWII collaborators. By far the most interesting shot was one of SS-Unterscharführer Roy Courlander in his BFC uniform, which I attach here. My friend Adrian Weale tells me this is the first such pic to be unearthed since he last found one – which was in Feb 1982.

I've posted all the other pictures on my blog. Do let me know if I've misidentified any, and indeed if you can identify the ones not known to Adrian and me.

http://web.mac.com/guywalters/Site/Blog ... y_Guy.html

Best to all

Guy
/Marcus

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guywalters
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#230

Post by guywalters » 08 Mar 2010, 19:21

Looks like Adrian beat me to it! Thanks Marcus for drawing my attention to this thread.

Peter
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#231

Post by Peter » 09 Mar 2010, 15:22

Thanks Guy and Adrian, what a superb find.

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Rand
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#232

Post by Rand » 09 Mar 2010, 17:29

Congrats on the amazing find, Mr. Walters, superb to finally have photographic evidence of the Union Jack armshield being moved to the right arm. Well done.

As for the link to your blog, I am 100% that the photo two lines down from John Amery is that of Walter Purdy, seated holding his hands. I was at the NA back in October and am positive that I recognize it from another file.

Cheers, Rand - W. Nielsen

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guywalters
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#233

Post by guywalters » 09 Mar 2010, 17:33

Thanks so much! I've changed it and will credit you on the comments field!

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Rand
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#234

Post by Rand » 10 Mar 2010, 15:30

Cheers Guy,

I was also thinking about the photo next to the one of Purdy, the one chap with the moustache labeled as possibly being Berneville-Claye. Some evidence you have to go on is the Army Service Number listed at the bottom of his army 'mugshot' which is 1480577, and I had a look through some of my notes, which shows B-C's POW Number was 35300 and his service number was 207721 which would not correspond with the 'mugshot' photo. None of the other men that were involved with the BFC or the Legion of St. George had the number 1480577 with either a POW Number or Service number.

From there I asked a chap who is familiar with service numbers for help and he e-mailed me that such a number, a seven digit sequence starting with '14', would indicate ex-Royal Artillery. I have also posted this question to another researcher who may be able to provide an approx enlistment date. So this chap must be a POW who was a member of the RA and may have worked as a broadcaster or such?

Will post again when/if I learn anything about the enlistment date.

Rand.

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guywalters
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Re: New British Free Corps Photograph found

#235

Post by guywalters » 10 Mar 2010, 16:04

Nice one! To me, it looks as if it could a police mugshot, but then they often have the name and date of arrest...

Arto O
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Cuff title of Britisches Freikorps

#236

Post by Arto O » 08 Mar 2011, 02:21

Hi,

I had always understood that the cuff title of Britisches Freikorps was in latin lettering, but after observing the photos of flickr de Yahoo pictures (http://www.flickr.com/photos/41044438@N ... otostream/ from the view topic SS photos, I noticed that seems to be in Gothic lettering. Didnt Gothic lettering in cuff titles disapeared during the war?
This photo is from Christopher Ailsby s Mercenarios de Hitler book. Do somebody has better picture or copy (I dont think original exist) of Gothic BFK cufftitle?

Cheers

Arto
Dibujo.JPG
BFK
.

Peter
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Members of the SS British Free Corps

#237

Post by Peter » 21 Jan 2013, 18:41

David Thompson kindly provided this information on another thread
Barker, Ronald David aka Voysey (1924-?) [SS-Mann] -- Australian seaman; member, SS British Free Corps; {captured by Germans Feb 1941 when his ship was sunk by the German warship Admiral Scheer; arraigned at the Bow Street court in London 24 Dec 1945 on charge of conspiring with John Amery, Thomas Heller Cooper, Eric Pleasants, Alfred Vivian Minchin, Herbert George Rowlands, Kenneth Edward Berry and others to join the SS British Free Corps and thereby assist the enemy (LT 24 Dec 1945:2e); committed for trial 2 Jan 1946 (LT 3 Jan 1946:2c) ); convicted and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment at hard labor 21 Feb 1946 (LT 21 Feb 1946:2d). (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}

Berry, Kenneth Edward aka Jordan (1926-?) [SS-Mann] -- member, SS British Free Corps; merchant seaman {captured by Germans when his ship was torpedoed 2 Sept 1940; arraigned at the Bow Street court in London 20 Dec 1945 on charge of conspiring with John Amery, Ronald David Barker aka Voysey, Thomas Heller Cooper, Eric Pleasant, Alfred Vivian Minchin, Herbert George Rowlands and others to join the SS British Free Corps and thereby assist the enemy (LT 21 Dec 1945:2c); committed for trial 2 Jan 1946 (LT 3 Jan 1946:2c); convicted and sentenced 21 Feb 1946 to 9 months imprisonment at hard labor (LT 21 Feb 1946:2d). (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}

Cooper, Thomas Heller or Hallert aka Boettcher (c. 1920-?) [SS-Oberscharführer] – member, SS British Free Corps; clerk {arrest by American troops in Germany announced 8 Jun 1945 (LT 9 Jun 1945:3:d); arraigned on high treason charge at the Bow Street court in London 20 Dec 1945 (LT 21 Dec 1945:2c); convicted and sentenced to death 11 Jan 1946 (LT 12 Jan 1946:2d); subsequently commuted. (Weale, "Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps" [ABR-UK]).}

Leister, Dennis John aka Beckwith (c. 1923-?) [SS-Mann] -- member, SS British Free Corps {worked for Germans after capture of Jersey Island in 1940; joined the British Free Corps Jul 1944; arrested by American troops in Italy 1945; arraigned at the Bow Street court in London on charge of conspiring with John Amery, Ronald David Barker aka Voysey, Thomas Heller Cooper, Eric Pleasant, Alfred Vivian Minchin, Herbert George Rowlands, Kenneth Edward Berry and others to join the SS British Free Corps and thereby assist the enemy (LT 21 Dec 1945:2c); committed for trial by a British court 2 Jan 1946 (LT 3 Jan 1946:2c); subsequent disposition unknown. (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}

McLardy, Francis George aka Wood (c. 1916-?) [British Sergeant; SS-Unterscharführer] – member, British Union of Fascists; member, SS British Free Corps {captured by German troops 1940; volunteered for Waffen-SS service; joined the SS British Free Corps; put on trial 1 Jan 1946 before a British military court-martial; convicted of aiding the enemy and sentenced to life imprisonment 30 Jan 1946 (LT 30 Jan 1946:2d). (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}

Minchin, Alfred Vivian aka Milton (c. 1918-?) [SS-Sturmmann] -- member, SS British Free Corps; merchant seaman {arraigned at the British Bow Street court in London on charge of conspiring with John Amery, Ronald David Barker aka Voysey, Thomas Heller Cooper, Eric Pleasant, Dennis John Leister, Herbert George Rowlands, Kenneth Edward Berry and others to join the SS British Free Corps and thereby assist the enemy (LT 21 Dec 1945:2c); committed for trial 2 Jan 1946 (LT 3 Jan 1946:2c); convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment at hard labor 21 Feb 1946 (LT 21 Feb 1946:2d). (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}

Rowlands, Herbert George aka Miller (c. 1909-?) [SS-Mann] -- member, SS British Free Corps; seaman {veteran, Spanish Civil War Communist International Brigades; joined British Free Corps in summer 1944; arraigned at the Bow Street court in London on charge of conspiring with John Amery, Thomas Heller Cooper, Eric Pleasant, Alfred Vivian Minchin, Kenneth Edward Berry, Dennis John Leister and others to join the SS British Free Corps and thereby assist the enemy; committed for trial 2 Jan 1946 (LT 3 Jan 1946:2c); convicted and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment at hard labor 21 Feb 1946 (LT 21 Feb 1946:2d). (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}

Symonds, Henry Alfred aka Davies (c. 1925-?) [British Private; SS-Sturmmann] -- member, SS British Free Corps {joined British Free Corps in 1944; arraigned at the Bow Street court in London on charge of conspiring with John Amery, Thomas Heller Cooper, Eric Pleasant, Alfred Vivian Minchin, Kenneth Edward Berry, Dennis John Leister and others to join the SS British Free Corps and thereby assist the enemy; committed for trial by court-martial at Blacon Camp near Chester 2 Jan 1946 (LT 3 Jan 1946:2c); convicted the same day; sentence of 15 years imprisonment announced 1 Feb 1946 (LT 1 Feb 1946:2b). (Weale, Known Members of the Britisches Freikorps [ABR-UK]).}
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I can add some details from my own files

K E Berry was born 19 Nov 1925 at Devonport and died November 1992 in Falmouth, Cornwall.

D J Leister was born 19 Jun 1922 in London and died Sep 1990 in Stevenage

A V Minchin was born 27 Jan 1917 at Kingston and died Feb 1998 in North Somerset

H G Rowlands was born 3 May 1909 at Sheerness and died Feb 1986 in North Kent

H A Symonds was born 24 Mar 1924 and died Jun 1994 at Vale Royal in Cheshire

Peter
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Re: Members of the SS British Free Corps

#238

Post by Peter » 21 Jan 2013, 18:45

Eric Pleasants who is so often mentioned in BFC topics was

Reginald Eric PLEASANTS, born 17 May 1913 in Norwich and died July 1998 in Norwich
Last edited by Peter on 21 Jan 2013, 18:54, edited 1 time in total.

Peter
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Re: Members of the SS British Free Corps

#239

Post by Peter » 21 Jan 2013, 18:49

Another known member was

Robert Reginald Harry HEIGHES
born 25 June 1919 at Petersfield, Hampshire
1950 to 1970 living in Harlow and working as a contracting carpenter until his business failed Aug 1969
died Feb 1980 in Harlow

Anglian22
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Re: Members of the SS British Free Corps

#240

Post by Anglian22 » 21 Jan 2013, 20:41

Peter wrote:Eric Pleasants who is so often mentioned in BFC topics was

Reginald Eric PLEASANTS, born 17 May 1913 in Norwich and died July 1998 in Norwich
I met him once. He was a friend of a friend. I still go to the pub he used to go to.

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