Duncan Scott-Ford
Encyclopedia
Duncan Alexander Croall Scott-Ford (4 September 1921 – 3 November 1942) was a British
merchant seaman
who was hanged
for treachery
after giving information to an enemy agent during World War II
.
with the name Duncan Alexander Croall Smith, the son of Duncan Scott Smith who worked as a sick bed orderly in the Royal Navy
. His father died on 23 March 1933 after catching pneumonia
from the effects of taking an overdose of morphine
in a suicide
attempt, and Scott-Ford changed his surname in an attempt to improve his social status. He was educated at The Royal Hospital School
, Holbrook from 1933 to 1937, and then on turning 16, enlisted in the Royal Navy and joined HMS Impregnable in Devonport
in December 1937.
which had called at Dar-es-Salaam on a goodwill visit. He met and became infatuated by a German
girl; the Security Service
later came to believe that he may have told her secret naval codes. Later in 1940 his ship was stationed in Egypt
and Scott-Ford became obsessed with a prostitute whom he often visited; he was discovered to have altered the book of his Post Office Savings account and sent to a court martial which convicted him. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and dismissed from the service with ignominy but after a successful appeal by his mother, the sentence was remitted to six months' imprisonment and an honourable discharge.
on 10 May 1942, and a few days later he was met in a bar by a man who told him that his name was Rithman and that he could get a letter to the girl he had known in Dar-es-Salaam.
s if he would confirm the rumour that all British ships had been ordered to be in port on 28 June. Scott-Ford undertook to try to find out and to meet again the following day. Although unable to find confirmation, Scott-Ford met with Rithman and a man who called himself Captain Henley and appeared to be Rithman's superior. Confessing to not having supplied the information wanted, the group nevertheless discussed issues such as the state of morale in Britain, public opinion of Winston Churchill
, and the extent of air raid damage. Henley gave him a 1000 Escudo note and arranged another meeting a few days later.
At this meeting, Scott-Ford was driven around in a car to disorient him and then taken to a room where he was asked to obtain more information about the location of British minefields, the arrival of American servicemen in Britain, and up-to-date copies of Jane's Fighting Ships
and Jane's All the World's Aircraft
. Henley asked Scott-Ford to sign a receipt for the 1000 Escudos, which Scott-Ford did, using his real name. His ship sailed the next day; all the crew were interrogated on arrival at Liverpool
to ask if they had been approached by German agents. Scott-Ford stated that he had been approached but had not cooperated.
.
for him to be detained. He was sent to Camp 020
, an interrogation centre based at Latchmere House on Ham Common in south west London
where he complied with the authorities, although becoming increasingly alarmed at the reality of the situation he was in. Professor A. W. B. Simpson
, a historian of detention without trial, has speculated that Scott-Ford was offered his life in return for more information on the Germans' intelligence system, but had no more information to give. Scott-Ford was charged under the Treachery Act 1940
, and after an in camera
trial before Mr Justice Birkett
was convicted and sentenced to death on 16 October.
is almost too good for a sailor who will encompass the death of thousands of his shipmates without qualm." The sentence of death on Scott-Ford was executed by Albert Pierrepoint
at 9 AM on 3 November 1942 at Wandsworth prison
.
The details of his trial had been kept secret until Scott-Ford was dead. The next day's papers reported that Scott-Ford had betrayed his country for £18, and lost his life in consequence, as a warning to other Merchant Navy sailors who might have been approached.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
merchant seaman
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
who was hanged
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for treachery
Treachery Act 1940
The Treachery Act 1940 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland enacted during World War II to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies, and suspended after the war and later repealed...
after giving information to an enemy agent during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Family origins
Scott-Ford was born in PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
with the name Duncan Alexander Croall Smith, the son of Duncan Scott Smith who worked as a sick bed orderly in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. His father died on 23 March 1933 after catching pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
from the effects of taking an overdose of morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
in a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempt, and Scott-Ford changed his surname in an attempt to improve his social status. He was educated at The Royal Hospital School
Royal Hospital School
The Royal Hospital School, , is a British co-educational independent boarding school with naval traditions. It admits pupils from age 11 to 18 through Common Entrance or the school's own exam...
, Holbrook from 1933 to 1937, and then on turning 16, enlisted in the Royal Navy and joined HMS Impregnable in Devonport
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
in December 1937.
Royal Navy career
In June 1939 Scott-Ford was serving on HMS GloucesterHMS Gloucester (C62)
HMS Gloucester was one of the second group of three ships of the "Town" class of light cruisers. She was launched on 19 October 1937 prior to commissioning on 31 January 1939....
which had called at Dar-es-Salaam on a goodwill visit. He met and became infatuated by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
girl; the Security Service
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
later came to believe that he may have told her secret naval codes. Later in 1940 his ship was stationed in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Scott-Ford became obsessed with a prostitute whom he often visited; he was discovered to have altered the book of his Post Office Savings account and sent to a court martial which convicted him. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and dismissed from the service with ignominy but after a successful appeal by his mother, the sentence was remitted to six months' imprisonment and an honourable discharge.
Merchant Navy
Repatriated to Britain to serve his sentence, Scott-Ford was released in July 1941 and stayed briefly with his mother. They had a blazing row over his mother's use of the allowance from his Royal Navy pay which he sent home, with Scott-Ford accusing his mother of using it to buy a fur coat. Shortly afterwards he joined the Merchant Navy. He was on board the SS Finland, which arrived in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
on 10 May 1942, and a few days later he was met in a bar by a man who told him that his name was Rithman and that he could get a letter to the girl he had known in Dar-es-Salaam.
Espionage
Rithman offered Scott-Ford 1000 Portuguese escudoPortuguese escudo
The escudo was the currency of Portugal prior to the introduction of the Euro on 1 January 1999 and its removal from circulation on 28 February 2002. The escudo was subdivided into 100 centavos....
s if he would confirm the rumour that all British ships had been ordered to be in port on 28 June. Scott-Ford undertook to try to find out and to meet again the following day. Although unable to find confirmation, Scott-Ford met with Rithman and a man who called himself Captain Henley and appeared to be Rithman's superior. Confessing to not having supplied the information wanted, the group nevertheless discussed issues such as the state of morale in Britain, public opinion of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, and the extent of air raid damage. Henley gave him a 1000 Escudo note and arranged another meeting a few days later.
At this meeting, Scott-Ford was driven around in a car to disorient him and then taken to a room where he was asked to obtain more information about the location of British minefields, the arrival of American servicemen in Britain, and up-to-date copies of Jane's Fighting Ships
Jane's Fighting Ships
Jane's Fighting Ships is an annual reference book of information on all the world's warships arranged by nation, including information on ship's names, dimensions, armaments, silhouettes and photographs, etc...
and Jane's All the World's Aircraft
Jane's All the World's Aircraft
Jane's All the World's Aircraft is an aviation annual publication founded by Fred T. Jane in 1909. It is published by Jane's Information Group....
. Henley asked Scott-Ford to sign a receipt for the 1000 Escudos, which Scott-Ford did, using his real name. His ship sailed the next day; all the crew were interrogated on arrival at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to ask if they had been approached by German agents. Scott-Ford stated that he had been approached but had not cooperated.
Blackmailed
The Finland sailed for Lisbon again in July, arriving on 26 July. Scott-Ford again met up with the Germans, receiving another 500 Escudos for expenses (again signing a receipt) although he had been unable to get the books which they had requested. The Germans threatened to give the receipts to the British consulate. Scott-Ford did give details of the convoy he had sailed in and its protection, the location of an aircraft factory, and the training of troops for an invasion of Europe. At the end of the meeting he was told to keep a record of the movement and speed of the convoy and given another 100 Escudos. Another meeting was arranged but Scott-Ford was unable to keep it as the Finland sailed for ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Confession
On arriving at Salford Docks on 18 August, Scott-Ford was again routinely asked about approach attempts from German intelligence, and this time described a man who had asked him about communism in Britain. The authorities had already had word from Lisbon that an agent codenamed 'RUTHERFORD' by the Germans had been talking and therefore arranged to see him again the next day. Scott-Ford admitted that he had received 1600 Escudos (about £18 in 1942) for information, and was taken into custody and sent to the 'London Reception Centre' where refugees were routinely screened for German agents. The notes which Scott-Ford had made about the convoy were found in a search of his quarters on the Finland.Trial
In order to allow Scott-Ford to be kept in custody, an order was made under Defence Regulation 18BDefence Regulation 18B
Defence Regulation 18B, often referred to as simply 18B, was the most famous of the Defence Regulations used by the British Government during World War II. The complete technical reference name for this rule was: Regulation 18B of the Defence Regulations 1939. It allowed for the internment of...
for him to be detained. He was sent to Camp 020
Camp 020
Camp 020 was a British World War II interrogation centre for captured German agents, based at Latchmere House in south London. It was run by Lt Col Robin “Tin Eye” Stephens. Although other wartime interrogation centres have been alleged to have used torture to extract confessions, torture was not...
, an interrogation centre based at Latchmere House on Ham Common in south west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he complied with the authorities, although becoming increasingly alarmed at the reality of the situation he was in. Professor A. W. B. Simpson
A. W. B. Simpson
Alfred William Brian Simpson QC , FBA usually referred to as A. W. B. Simpson, was a British legal historian and the emeritus Charles F. and Edith J. Clyne Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School.- References :...
, a historian of detention without trial, has speculated that Scott-Ford was offered his life in return for more information on the Germans' intelligence system, but had no more information to give. Scott-Ford was charged under the Treachery Act 1940
Treachery Act 1940
The Treachery Act 1940 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland enacted during World War II to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies, and suspended after the war and later repealed...
, and after an in camera
In camera
In camera is a legal term meaning "in private". It is also sometimes termed in chambers or in curia.In camera describes court cases that the public and press are not admitted to...
trial before Mr Justice Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, QC PC was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School...
was convicted and sentenced to death on 16 October.
Hanging
Camp 020 were asked for their recommendation on whether Scott-Ford should be reprieved. The commandant wrote that there were no reasons for a reprieve: "Indeed, there may well be many who will agree that death by hangingHanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
is almost too good for a sailor who will encompass the death of thousands of his shipmates without qualm." The sentence of death on Scott-Ford was executed by Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint is the most famous member of the family which provided three of the United Kingdom's official hangmen in the first half of the 20th century...
at 9 AM on 3 November 1942 at Wandsworth prison
Wandsworth (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south west London, England. It is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is the largest prison in London and one of the largest in western Europe, with similar capacity to Liverpool...
.
The details of his trial had been kept secret until Scott-Ford was dead. The next day's papers reported that Scott-Ford had betrayed his country for £18, and lost his life in consequence, as a warning to other Merchant Navy sailors who might have been approached.