British Free Corps, A Kiwi in the SS Options

[ChrisB]

At the moment there seems to be a bit of interest in the foreign troops who served in the Whermacht and SS in this forum. I have been doing research on a bloke who served in one of these foreign units and thought this might be a good opportunity to share some of what I have found on him

If any member is interested in a comprehensive look at the British Free Corps (BFC) I suggest they get a copy of Adrian Weale’s “Renegades-Hitler’s Englishmen”.

The BFC was the brainchild of Englishman John Amery (a son of Churchill's Secretary for India) who proposed the formation of an anti-Bolshevik legion, comprised of British Empire prisoners of war, to fight for Germany on the Eastern Front (he optimistically predicted that over 5000 would join up). Waffen SS contingents of foreign volunteers from Germany's occupied territories had already been formed and the proposal found favour with German officials, including the Propaganda Ministry and Hitler himself.
When recruiting for the legion (initially known as 'The Legion of St George') began in POW camps in April 1943, results proved disappointing. A few months later, renewed efforts were made to raise the unit by establishing the camp at Genshagen with the specific aim of turning POWs and identifying potential sympathisers. This was portrayed as a type of holiday camp for POWs to rest and recuperate from enforced work in German heavy industry and it was unwittingly endorsed by a British POW Brigadier who failed to perceive its real nature. This time it was partially successful in obtaining the first batch of recruits. The British Free Corps was officially formed on 1 January 1944. The first months of its existence were punctuated by long periods of inactivity and idleness before the unit was moved to Hildesheim, near Hanover, where its German controllers attempted to build it to platoon strength before committing it to any combat role. Recruits slowly brought the unit to a strength of 23 in June 1944, but it suffered from a series of internal disputes and a number of recruits opted out of it soon after joining. As Germany's defeat appeared increasingly likely during this period, morale in the unit dropped and desertions became rife. By October 1944, the unit was in Dresden where its members undertook training as assault pioneers before having to clear debris and bury bodies in the aftermath of the city's destruction by Bomber Command in February 1945. Shortly afterwards, the remaining members were sent to Berlin and then trucked eastward to the Oder River region to join elements of the 'Nordland' Division; the only occasion they were ever exposed to the front line. They were withdrawn without seeing action (except for experiencing some artillery fire) after four weeks and spent the last few weeks of the war in a rear area sector before shedding any traces of their BFC membership and blending in with other liberated Allied POWs. All were arrested and most were tried for treason after the war.

Kiwi soldiers, in the second world war, have a history that in the most part they can be very proud of. However there is one particular solider that I am interested in that has managed to blot their copybook somewhat. Of the 9000 odd NZers taken POW there was only one who took the drastic step of joining the enemy.

Roy Nicolas Courlander was born in London on 6 December 1914. His mother, Edith Cater, married a man 22 years her senior, in London on 4 November 1920. They divorced in 1933 and Roy went to live with his step Father Leonard Courlander in the New Hebrides. In November 1938 he arrived in New Zealand and found work as a clerk with the Land and Income Tax Department in Wellington. He appears to have been a reasonably intelligent and well-educated man.
In June 1939 he and several other men were caught breaking in to a house in Napier. Courlander represented himself at the trial and claimed to be an innocent bystander. He was sentenced to 9 months hard labour but this was reduced on appeal to 18 months’ probation. He then moved to Auckland, where he got married on 30 September 1939. Three days later Courlander enlisted in the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He was posted to the intelligence section 18th Battalion and sailed for Egypt in January 1940 (the first Echelon). In December 1940 he was promoted to lance corporal.
Courlander went with the New Zealand Division to Greece and was captured in the British's last stand at Kalamata on 29 April 1941. According to a fellow prisoner, it was while Courlander was in Cornith POW camp that he learned German from a fellow POW who was a German Jew from a Palestinian battalion. After some six weeks at Cornith the first draft of British and Commonwealth prisoners were entrained for permanent POW camps in Europe. It was while onboard the first of these trains that was taking him and other prisoners of war to Stalag XVIIIA that Courlander briefly escaped. On his capture Courlander and the other escapees were denied food, water and medical attention for the rest of their trip. It has been suggested by some that it was this harsh treatment by the Germans that lead Courlander to later act as he did. During his stay in Stalag 18 A Courlander acted as an interpreter, a job that according to some he did rather poorly. Other POW have said that he did his best for his fellow POW’s even at times doing more than was required of him. In mid 1943 Courlander was sent to the Genshagen ‘holiday’ camp in Berlin. There he began to collaborate with the Germans, making propaganda radio broadcasts and in January 1944 becoming a founding member of the British Free Corps (BFC). Courlander was one of the BFC’s leaders and was placed in charge of recruiting. He visited many prison camps attempting – with little success – to recruit new members for the BFC. These activities earned him the hatred and contempt of other prisoners of war. In one instance a NZ POW attacked Courlander hitting him in the face. This POW was then severely beaten by prison guards while Courlander looked on. In April 1944 Courlander was made an Unterscharführer (sergeant).
By mid 1944 Courlander may have realised that Germany would lose the war. He and a friend from the BFC decided to escape by volunteering for service on the western front with the propaganda unit, SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers, and then defecting to the Allies. They were sent to Brussels where, during the confusion that accompanied the withdrawal of German troops from the city, they seized the opportunity to desert. After making it the safety of the British lines, Courlander joined a group of the Belgian resistance and was wounded in the foot on September 9 1944 after supposedly taking out a German stronghold single handedly. Courlander was returned to Britain on 12 September to have his wound taken care of. In July 1945, while he was with the 2nd NZEF Reception group, Courlander was put under close arrest. His court martial was held at Westgate-on-Sea on 1 October 1945. The charge was that:- “Having been made a prisoner of war, voluntarily aiding the enemy’. During the trial Courlander claimed that from the moment of his capture he began to plan his escape. He said that after two escape attempts he was taken to Germany where he posed as a White Russian in order to join the German forces on the Eastern Front and cross the lines. He stated he joined the BFC after a conversation with John Amery in order to obtain information and in the hope that he might influence other members to desert at a favourable time. The Allied authorities found Courlander’s explanations singularly unconvincing, and on the 3 October 1945 he was found guilty by a court martial, convened by the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in England. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment with hard labour, and sent back to New Zealand. He arrived in NZ on the 20 December 1945 and was sent to Mt Crawford Prison in Wellington. In January 1946 he was latter moved to Auckland to serve his time at Mount Eden prison. He continued to proclaim his innocence and with the help of his wife and lawyer waged a determined campaign to win his freedom. They gathered new evidence favourable to Courlander and raised legal issues about the conduct of his court martial. After a review of his sentence in May 1950 Courlander’s sentence was reduced to nine years with hard labour . The sentence was further reduced and on 2 October 1951 he was released from prison and discharged from the army. On the same day, at Auckland, he married a close friend of his late wife, Margaret Josephine Spence (née Young). Courlander now worked for a business directory company. He was a heavy drinker and mixed socially with a rather bohemian group in Auckland. During the late 1950s he was active in the New Zealand Social Credit Political League. His second marriage ended in divorce in 1968. During the 1960s Courlander went to live in Australia. He died at Lethbridge Park, New South Wales, on 1 June 1979.

Hope this has been of some interest and please feel free to comment.
Cheers
Chris

[ChrisB]

The man in Question. Roy Nicolas Courlander.

[Knightscross]

(IMG:http://www.militariacollecting.com/style_emoticons/default/smilie_daumenpos.gif) Hi Chris, thank you for this great story. And I thought I lead a controversial life!

[ChrisB]

Ello KC,

What is interesting is that there have been no books written (yet) about this interesting if somewhat controversial NZ character. Apart from the odd article there really hasn’t been that much written about him. Though information isn’t that hard to find. I was able to find quite a bit written about him in newspapers of the 40’s and 50’s and even got lucky with some defence force material that has been declassified.
It’s hard to pin down just what motivated Courlander to do what he did. Before joining the BFC he does not seem to have had strong Nazi sympathys. There have been a few supporters (one an officer who was in the Intelligence section with him and one who was a bunk mate in a POW camp) who have commented on how staunchly patriotic he was. I think the fact he joined the NZ army so soon after the declaration of war also is an indication of his patriotism. Perhaps one constant flaw in his personality is his liking for tall tales. For example an intelligence report notes that during interrogation, Courlander states he was born in the New Hebrides while also commenting on the fact he told the Germans he was born in Lithuania. In one newspaper article there is a story about how Courlander travelled around the newspaper offices in the UK trying to sell his story about his membership in the BFC and how while in Dresden, he and his fellow BFC members were ordered to form an extermination squad and kill any trapped German citizens after the bombing. While it makes a good, if somewhat grizzly, story there is no historical bases to this story of Courlanders. Like a lot of historical figures Courlander is not a black or white character, though I definitely think he is a murky shade of grey.
Cheers
Chris

[Bryan Avery]

Excellent stuff Chris! keep up the great research!!. Lets keep this BFC ball rolling... Several British volunteers were in Berlin during the battle for the city.from the last remnants of the BFC coordination staff, as war reporters, or as volunteer medics with SS-Nordland. As one of the latter Reginald Leslie Crawford knocked out a Soviet Tank in close combat on April 27 , and was then killed by survivors of the tanks crew. Eric Pleasants was also in Berlin, and was able to escape from the city after killing two Soviet soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.*


excerpts taken from "Waffen-SS the Encyclopedia" by Marc J. Rikmenspoel

[ChrisB]

Gidday Bryan,

Would be good if we can keep this thread rolling. I hope some members might give me suggestions/ideas on other resources I could use or areas I can cover in my research.

The whole question of the BFC in Berlin seem to cause some debate amongst BFC enthusiasts. This is what Adrian Weale has to say on the story about Cornford/Crawford.

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.p...tish+free+corps

“The story about 'Reginald Leslie Cornford' destroying a tank in Monbijou Square in Berlin is a fabrication: 'Cornford' was invented by the author Ronald Seth for his book 'Jackals of the Reich' and was actually based on the exploits of Alexander Dolezalek, a Waffen-SS officer who briefly served as the BFC's liaison officer. SS-Freiwillige Eric Pleasants was present in Berlin when it fell but did not take part in any organised combat: he actually managed to escape with his wife to her parents' home near Dresden where he was later arrested by the Soviets.
Most of the confusion surrounding the BFC stems from the fact that one of the first people to write about it, JG Slade in 'Yeomen of Valhalla', coined pseudonyms for all of its members, including the Germans. As a result, subsequent authors who either didn't know or didn't care - like Seth and Richard Landwehr - have created confusion by using Slade's aliases and identifying some real names as well. Thus we have, for example, both 'Roggenfeld' and Roepke identified as the unit commander when they are actually the same person. The confusion surrounding the unit has enabled a number of myths about it to grow up, including the idea that it was larger than it was, that members fought in Berlin, and so on.”

Cheers
Chris

[ChrisB]

Here is how the Osprey men at arms series have portrayed the men of the BFC. Does any member have any other photos/representations of the BFC they care to share? I am sure there has been a bit written about the BFC so if any member knows of any books/articles could they mention them as I would be interested in seeing what is out there on them.
Cheers
Chris

[Bryan Avery]

Thanks for clearing that up Chris, and I concur in that I hope more is added to this thread as it is interesting subject matter!

Cheers,
Bryan

[Knightscross]

Hi Chris, thank you for this additional information. I agree with you and also too wonder why not much is out there about the BFC. I would find that a nice subject to learn more about.

Which of the Osprey titles is that artwork of the BFC man in? Is the book devoted only to the BFC?

(IMG:http://www.militariacollecting.com/style_emoticons/default/cheers.gif)

[ChrisB]

Hello KC,

The Osprey MAA title is "the Waffen-SS (revised ediditon) Number 34.

The osprey serries is a great collector resource and the artwork is usually of an excellent standard. The only thing wrong on this depiction is the cuff title, but this edition was written before better photos of the BFC had been found so it's not a big problem.

Cheers
Chris

[Knightscross]

Hi Chris and thank you. I too collect Osprey titles and have over 30 of them. As far as I know, I have all on uniforms (German) but I will ask my local store to get a revised edition so I can look at it. I would liek to see what they say about the BFC.

[rand]

Hello ChrisB and all,

here's a picture of Albert Stokes, an Australian who served briefly on the Russian Front with the BFC of the Waffen SS. He was sentenced to a year in prison after the war.

[rand]

Also a picture of Robert Chipchase, who left the BFC after only a few days. He is believed to be the last surviving Commonwealth BFC member, and was briefly interviewed for the BBC documentary "The Brits who fought for Hitler."

[Tyler]

I can't remember where I found this photo, but here are two men in the BFC:

[garethmk1]

Thought I'd add these three photos to's to the collection here, I can't remember where I got 2 of them from or I would credit the sources accordingly.

Below is SS-Schutze Kenneth Berry (Unknown Source), as per the picture above. The man in the middle of the previously posted picture SS Sturmann Alfred Minchenn.

(IMG:http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/2313/ssschutzekennethberrybritishfr.jpg)

This second is of SS Rottenfuhrer William Britten (Scan Credited to Adrian Weale)

(IMG:http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/3523/ssrottenfuhrerwilliambrittenbr.jpg)

Below is what I believe to be a recruiting poster / leaflet. Has anyone seen this before ?

(IMG:http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/6368/ssbritishfreecorps25qw.jpg)

[Tyler]

That poster is pretty neat! I can't say I've ever seen one like it before. This poster wouldn't have been very impressive in the 40's. . . at least to me. "So my place is there eh?".

Thanks for posting it! :cheers:

[Titan]

Hi

Courlander was not a Kiwi he was British born. To be a New Zealander he would have to had been born in NZ or have been naturalized there after living there for a specified period. He did fight for NZ forces and in that respect let the NZ'rs down.

Titan

[Mark S.]

Hi all, interesting reading about Courlander again,I live in Hildesheim where the BFCwere based for a time, and worked as researcher(for the German part of) the "Brits who fought for Hitler" programme back in 2002,afterwards I got to know Bob Rössler the interpreter and his wife quite well as he lived just up the road in Hannover,Courlander had been his best mate in the BFC and Rössler had a few interesting stories to tell.His wife also remembered Courlander very well,she met Rössler on a double date with Courlander who was going out with her sister at the time.The Rösslers still felt affection for Courlander and also Woods/MacLardy(who funnily enough also went out with her sister after Courlander),they particularly disliked Cooper.
Before anyone asks,no I,ve not found any BFC regalia yet,but I now work at the local museum and am going to have a peek at their 3 Reich militaria(which is stored and not on display so here,s hoping!).
Unfortunately Rössler died a while back but interestingly his wife still called him by his BFC nickname Bob to the end of his life.
All the best,Mark,Hildesheim,Germany...

[Bryan Avery]

Thanks for that little bit of interesting info Mark! its niced to see this thread has come back to life. does anyone know if the BBC documentary discussed (The Brits that fought for Hitler) is available for purchaes on DVD anywhere?

Bryan

[Ingsoc]

Here another pic of a BFC and a BFC propoganda leaflet.