British Free Corps (BFC): traitors to the King.

The British Free Corps of the Waffen SS was a small and little known unit of volunteers recruited from Commonwealth prisoners of war (POWs) from prisoner of war camps in German controlled Europe. This paper will examine the origins of this unit and the motivations of POWs who joined the unit including an Australian POW, all of whom became traitors to the King.

Overview

The BFC or Legion of St George is not mentioned in the standard texts on the Waffen SS and indeed a passing reference to the unit in John Keegan's out of print text Waffen SS--the Asphalt Soldiers provided the catalyst for this paper. This obscurity may have a number of reasons: It may have been the small size of the unit or alternatively it may have been a deliberate policy of the British at the conclusion of the war not to publicise that some of their soldiers had changed sides and actually pledged to fight for the enemy. These possible reasons will also be explored.

The Founder of the Legion of St George

In 1946, a 33 year old, son of a British Cabinet Minister, was escorted to the scaffold in Wandsworth prison where he was hung for his crime of treason. He was John Amery. His father Leopold Stennet Amery had been First Lord of the Admiralty, Secretary of State for the Colonies and during World War Two, he was Secretary of State for India and Burma. (1) In any examination of the BFC the role of John Amery is pivotal.

At the beginning of the war Amery went to France were he joined forces with the French fascists known as the Gagoulards and the German authorities were aware of him. He was subsequently invited to Berlin in 1942 where he met Dr Friedrich Hansen, a member of Hitler's staff. Hansen was chairman of a political body known as the England Committee. The Committee had been set up to study matters of a diplomatic nature with Britain. Amery expressed an interest in opening a radio station to conduct propaganda broadcasts to Britain and to raise a force from British POW's to fight the Russians on the Eastern Front. (2)

On 19 November 1942, Amery conducted the first in a series of propaganda broadcasts for the Nazi's on the New British Broadcasting Station. In relation to his second aim Amery was the instigator of the Legion of St George. In September 1942, he presented the idea of a British legion to battle the Soviets to Hitler who was attracted to the idea. (3)

Similar national legions had already been raised from amongst Nazi sympathisers in Norway, Holland, Belgium and France so Amery's idea was not unique. He received support from the German High Command and the Foreign Ministry to raise a brigade of 1,500. Amery set about drafting a proclamation as the first recruitment drive was to be made at the St Denis internment camp near Paris. On 20 April 1943 Amery visited St Denis camp and delivered his proclamation. (4) Amery gave his speech to a rag tag group of civilian internees and soldiers who had been instructed to present themselves in the visitors hut of the camp by the camp commander. During his speech Amery was interrupted by a formal British consular official Wilfired Brinkman who asked Amery a series of simple questions to which he had no reply. Those questions included:

What will happen if, by chance, the Legion finds itself against British soldiers?

What will be the Legionnaire's status if he is taken prisoner?

What will happen to him after the war?

The crowd gradually became more agitated and the situation was diffused by the intervention of the camp commandant. The hut was cleared and as Amery left the camp he was confronted by a jeering crowd. The mass recruitment campaign had thus been an initial failure forcing Amery to reconsider his recruitment techniques. A new strategy based on individual interviews with prospective recruits was initiated. The targeted camp would be saturated with propaganda two to three days before Amery's interviews. The propaganda included the distribution of Amery's manifesto John Amery Speaks and the posting of his proclamation in every hut. (5)

As a result of the revised recruitment strategy Amery secured three volunteers from St Denis camp for his legion. One of the volunteers was Maurice Tunmer, a naturalised Englishman, who was born in France and another was Edward Jordan, a 17 year old crewman of an ammunition ship captured when the ship was sunk by a German surface raider in May 1940. The pair were transferred from St Denis to an apartment in Paris where they were at liberty to explore the city. However, Tunmer had joined the legion with the sole purpose to escape to Spain and then return to Britain to join the Free French Forces. His disappearance from the Paris apartment significantly undermined the credibility of Amery's exercise with the German authorities.

Subsequently the Gestapo arrested Jordan and he was held in prison for a week. He was interrogated several times before being released. He was then sent to Berlin were his was met by Amery. However, Amery's interest in the legion was already waning. He made other visits to civilian internment camps and POW camps but his campaign was a consummate failure.

The SS and the British Free Corps

Whilst Amery's enthusiasm for the unit faltered the German High Command's increased and in October 1943 the unit officially became part of the SS with the title Britisches Frei-Korps.

SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Johannes Roggenfeld was appointed commander of the BFC. He had lived in America prior to the war and he spoke fluent English. The administration of the unit was also shared with SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Hans Wemer Roepke. Roepke also conveniently spoke English. The BFC was issued with standard German uniform of field grey but with a number of distinct insignia. (6)

The insignia included:

   a Union Jack armshield, worn on the left arm; and
   a three lion of St George collar patch.

The role of the BFC was altered from a propaganda tool to that of a combat unit at the behest its members. Five of Amery's recruits Bartlett, Milton, Regan, Montgomery and Wood had formed a committee and they attended a meeting in October 1942 where the role, formation, training, designation, uniform, oath of allegiance and officer complement were considered. The German members of the meeting agreed that the existing members of the group should embark on a new intensive and wide recruitment campaign to bring its strength up to platoon strength of thirty. It was further agreed that following recruitment there would be revision courses in basic military training and ideological training. Then the unit would be ready for transfer to the Eastern Front. (7) It was during this period of that an Australian POW was recruited into the BFC.

Story of Private Albert Stokes

Albert James Stokes was born in Fremantle, Western Australia on 3 August 1917. He enlisted in the 2nd AIF on 4 March 1940 at Subiaco in Western Australia. After training he served with 2/32nd Battalion in Egypt and Syria. (8) He was taken prisoner by the Germans on 17 July 1942 at the battle of El Alamein. He was handed over to the Italians and held initially in prisoner of war camps at Benghazi and after Tripoli. In December 1942 he was transferred to Camp 85 in Italy. When Italy capitulated he was transferred to Stalag XVIII at Spittal in Austria. (9)

After a few weeks at the Stalag Stokes was sent out to a working commando at Bruck-Muir where he was employed on the staff at the camp until March 1944. He was taken to Berlin and a location called Zehlendorf. He was interviewed by a soldier in a field gray uniform. He identified himself by the surname of Courlander. According to Stokes he stated that he was a member of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and a member of the British Free Corps.

Courlander said that the BFC was being led by a British Officer, Major Stranders and that it would sabotage German lines of communications under the guise of fighting against the Russians on the Eastern Front. Stokes asked for a few days to think over Coulander's offer but subsequently agreed to enlist in the BFC. (10) 10

Then in March 1944 Stokes with four other recruits from the camp were transferred to BFC which was stationed at the SS Nordic Study Center in Hildesheim, Germany. Stokes along with his fellow traitors assumed false names. Stokes assumed the name of Gordon. The use of false names does cast doubt on Stokes suggested rationale for joining the BFC. It suggests that all the members of the BFC were aware of the possible ramifications if Germany did not win the war and their respective parts in the Waffen SS were revealed.

For the next few months the members of the BFC spent their days learning German and listening to lectures on ideology. The lectures were intended to supply the members of the BFC with persuasive arguments to recruit other POW's to the unit. The recruitment exercise continued at a pace across German controlled territory.

BFC as a combat unit

The BFC had grown to 27 members when the unit was moved to Dresden-Neusstadt to under go combat engineer training in September 1944. Given the small number of recruits when considered against the energy expended in recruiting it can only be concluded that the recruitment campaign was ultimately a failure. A training schedule was drawn up which included: language lessons, ideological lectures, infantry and pioneer training.

Infantry and pioneer training followed the standard German pattern, with theoretical and practical instructions imparted by German instructors. The infantry training included lectures on the standard German rifle and machine- gun. The unit also undertook their share of sentry duty during this period. (11)

In October 1944, the commander of the BFC, Hauptsturmfuhrer Johannes Roggenfeld was replaced by Captain Dr Wenzel Rebus formerly of the Propaganda Ministry. However, the daily running of the unit fell to his deputy, Lt Willy Kumcarre, a veteran of the Eastern Front. The BFC under went pioneer training at Dresdan until the Allied firebombing of the city in February 1945. The unit was then transferred out of the city and some members used it as a chance to escape. On 8 March the remaining members of the unit were offered the option to either fight at the front or be sent to a disciplinary camp at Droennewitz. The members of the unit who chose the front were issued with a MP 44 and a magazine with thirty six rounds. Albert Stokes elected to go to the front but he stated with the intention of escaping. (12)

The BFC was transferred to Stettin and assigned to the III SS-Germanische Panzerkorps 11, SS Panzergrenadier Division Nordland. On 22 March the BFC reported to SS Major General Joachim Ziegler at Angermuende, 35 kilometres south of Stettin. They were placed with a armoured reconnaissance battalion in the village of Schoeneberg. The unit were issued with shovels and proceeded to dig themselves in. They came under Soviet mortar and artillery fire but sustained no casualties.

The BFC had been split into two groups with Stokes in one group with four others (Nixon, Nicholls, Russler and Cameron). (13) The command of the unit passed to an NCO Archie Webster who received orders to report to the Third Armoured Corps at Steinhoefel. Webster sort an interview with Obergruppenfuhrer Felix Steiner. Steiner did not trust the BFC in the line so he immediately reassigned them to various duties, including as medical orderlies at Templin. Templin was 44 kilometres to the west of Stettin.

The Russian offensive over the Oder River obliged the remaining members of the BFC including Stokes to flee in a convoy towards Schwerin. The Americans were reported to be 30 kilometres from Schwerin so Stokes and Cameron changed into civilian clothing and proceeded to walk towards the American lines. They were met be a British officer outside Schwerin and they identified themselves as escaped POWs. They stopped in the camp for five days and later transported to Luneberg. They were repatriated on 9 May 1945. (14)

After the War

The members of the BFC received a variety of penalties from British justice after the war. In the case of John Amery, he was sentenced to death by hanging. In the case of Albert Stokes, he was court-martialled on 17 August 1945 and found guilty of having been made a prisoner of war voluntarily aiding the enemy. Stokes received the relative light sentence of to be reduced to the ranks and to be imprisoned with hard labour for one year. The maximum sentence available to the military court in Stokes case was life imprisonment. (15)

Conclusion

The modest sentences issued to the majority of members of the BFC indicates that British authorities were keen to deal with the matter as quickly as possible with the least publicity possible. As it did not make for a pleasant story that 27 Commonwealth POWs had fought for the enemy. The irony is that the power of the BFC as a propaganda tool was felt after the war as evidenced by the speed of the British cover-up, but the German's had failed to utilise the BFC as a propaganda tool during the war.

(1) Seth, Ronald. Jackals of the Reich, London, 1972, p. 18.

(2) Seth, p. 19.

(3) Seth, p. 23.

(4) Seth, pp. 24-25.

(5) Seth, pp. 27-29

(6) www.wssob.com

(7) Seth, pp. 62-64.

(8) World War Two Nominal Roll at www.ww2roll.gov.au

(9) NAA B883 WX1839 has a digital copy of the WW2 service record of Albert James Stokes.

(10) naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts

(11) Seth, pp. 104-106

(12) NAA

(13) NAA

(14) NAA

(15) NAA