Some notes on the capture and trial of John Amery.

The autobiography of Commander Leonard Burr, CVO CBE of Scotland Yard's Special Branch casts another interesting light on the career of John Amery as written about in Rohan Goyne's article "British Free Corps (BFC): Traitors to the King". (1)

In 1940 (then) Detective Chief Inspector Leonard Burt of London's Metropolitan Police Murder Squad was seconded with four others to the Security Service for the duration of the war. (2) He had no prior connection with Special Branch. (3) By 1945 Burt was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Intelligence Corps tasked with tracking down traitors in order to bring them to justice in Britain. He states that he and his team of six staff officers had traced about 20 traitors. (4) Two of the biggest traitors captured by Burt and his team were William Joyce "Lord Haw-Haw" and John Amery.

Leonard Burr had travelled in May 1945 to Italy to interrogate Amery. He initially went to Lake Como and then to Tierney Interment Camp near Rome in order to conduct this interrogation. Italian Partisans near Lake Como had captured Amery after he had fled from Milan where he had separated from Benito Mussolini. Butt found Amery more than willing to talk about his activities. After cautioning Amery Burt got him to write everything down. Of Amery's statement Burt wrote that it was, "the full and complete case for the prosecution. Enough to hang him without a word from the Crown". (5) Indeed Amery was not at all worried about his pending return to Britain. He viewed himself as a friend of Britain when "seen in the proper light". Amery believed that his statement proved this and cleared him of any wrongdoing. Leonard Burt states that on the flight back to Britain Amery was "completely cocksure", even to the extent of coming back to Britain, "in his full war paint--a full fascist uniform"! However, by the time Burt saw Amery charged with High Treason at Bow Street in London he was dressed in civilian clothing. (6)

Something of John Amery's character is shown in the following anecdote when he was recruiting for the BFC. Leonard Burt interviewed Merchant Navy Captain Notman who had been Senior British Officer in a POW Camp near Bremen. After Notman had refused to shake Amery's hand when he was attempting to recruit for the BFC in the camp Amery had told Notman in no uncertain terms that he could have him shot. To this threat Notman replied, "Really? Let me tell you--you will be hanged before I am shot". (7)

Leonard Burt placed the evidence against Amery into three main categories:

   Recruiting for the BFC. Amery had attempted to recruit
   British and Commonwealth POW's by using false statements
   and promises to fight on the Russian front.
   Lecturing on Germany's behalf in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia,
   Scandinavia, Belgium and France. Broadcasting from Germany
   and Italy. (8)

Burt states that he spent much time in Milan "picking out records made by Amery and other renegades who had broadcast pro-German propaganda". (9)

Amery's defence to the charge of High Treason sounds quite bizarre. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Amery had fought 'as an officer of Italian troops on Francisco Franco's side. The defence took the line that during this conflict Amery had become a Spanish citizen and was therefore not subject to the jurisdiction of British courts at all. Amery's brother busied himself with gathering evidence to this effect and Burr states that there were many Spanish lawyers at the Old Bailey to give evidence to Amery's naturalisation. (10)

However after the trial began when Amery was asked to enter his plea of guilty or not guilty he replied: "I plead guilty on all counts". As Burt wrote Amery had spoken his death sentence. Amery's cocksureness on the flight back to Britain had clearly disappeared. Leonard Burt states that he (and the prosecution) did not buy the idea that Amery was, or ever had been, a Spanish citizen. (11)

John Amery was executed in Wandsworth Prison on 19 December 1945. Commander Leonard Burr became head of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch on 1 January 1946. Commander Burt provides us with a suitable epitaph for this sad, sorry story. During the flight back to Britain from Italy John Amery had stated that if any charges were brought against him his father would sort it out. Leonard Burr, in reply, told Amery not to bring his father into it, 'I think he has suffered enough". (12)

(1) Rohan Goyne. "British Free Corps (BFC): Traitors to the King", Sabretache, September 2005, Vol XLVI, No. 3, pp. 39-42.

(2) Fido, Martin & Keith Skinner. The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard, London, Virgin Books, 1999, p. 247.

(3) Allason, Rupert. The Branch: A History of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch 1883-1983, London, Seeker & Warburg, 1983, p. 124.

(4) Burt, Leonard, Commander Burt of Scotland Yard by himself, London, William Heinemann, 1959, p. 2.

(5) ibid, p. 5.

(6) ibid, pp 5 & 7.

(7) ibid, pp. 23-24.

(8) ibid, pp. 24-25.

(9) ibid, pp. 25.

(10) ibid, pp. 26-27.

(11) ibid, pp. 27.28.

(12) ibid, pp. 7.