Alfred Minchin

Alfred Vivian Minchin
Alfred Minchin (second right) with SS-Mann Kenneth Berry (second left) and German officers, April 1944
Born27 January 1917
Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England
DiedFebruary 1998 (aged 81)
Somerset, England, United Kingdom
OccupationBritish merchant seaman
Criminal statusDeceased
Conviction(s)Conspiracy to assist the enemy
Criminal penalty7 years' imprisonment

Alfred Vivian Minchin (27 January 1917 – February 1998) 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.[1] He held the rank of Sturmmann[2] in the Waffen-SS British Free Corps during the Second World War. He was taken prisoner on 28 March 1942.[3] It was he who suggested the name for the British Free Corps.[4] By 8 March 1945 he 'was being treated for scabies in the SS hospital at Lichtefelde-West.'[5] The National Archives holds the depositions for his trial at the Central Criminal Court under reference CRIM 1/485.[6] and a Home Office file on him under reference HO 45/25817 [7] 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.[8][9] He died in Somerset in February 1998 at the age of 81.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Locations 1968-1969). Random House. Kindle Edition
  2. ^ Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Location 2342). Random House. Kindle Edition
  3. ^ http://bills-bunker.de/56856.html Archived 2016-02-05 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Location 2216). Random House. Kindle Edition
  5. ^ Weale, Adrian (2014-11-12). Renegades (Kindle Locations 3000-3001). Random House. Kindle Edition
  6. ^ "Defendant: Minchin, Alfred Vivian Rowlands, Herbert George Berry, Kenneth Edward Jordan..." National Archives. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  7. ^ "WAR: Renegades and Persons suspected or convicted of assisting the Enemy: MINCHIN,..." The National Archives. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ The National Archives - Reference: HO 45/24477
  9. ^ "Seamen Sentenced For Aiding Enemy." Times, London, England, 21 Feb. 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
  10. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
  11. ^ "Guy Walters' site - history of the BFC, complete with pictures".