Disgraceful Conduct of a Cruel Kind

is out on 30 July on Amazon Kindle as an eBook.

This is the true story of the most extraordinary court martial in British Military history. Major Frank Edmunds, an intelligence officer in the British Army in the Second World War, (who happened to be Jewish and gay), after demobilisation was accused with two junior officer of arranging the torture and mistreatment of two high ranking SS officers while he was an interrogator for the British Army based in Bad Nenndorf interrogating former Nazis. The interrogations in 1946 were undertaken to find out the truth of a suspected planned uprising in Germany to coincide with Hitler’s birthday on 20 April 1946. Frank Edmunds was probably the most skilled interrogator of that time and had previously obtained details of V1 and V2 rockets, German tank waterproofing and Hitler’s last will and testament by his interrogations. He also obtained information from leading German generals that he interrogated, all of which helped the war effort. Frank and two of his officers faced court martial proceedings to defend themselves against charges of disgraceful conduct of a cruel kind. This true story offers insight into this particularly political court martial held in 1948. The trial started in Germany and continued in London. The defence was conducted by Derek Curtis-Bennett K.C., who was one of the most brilliant counsel who ever practiced at the English bar. In the course of the 20 day hearing one of the former SS men absconded and had to be found and brought to court to give evidence, other witnesses for the prosecution who undertook the ill treatment in the form of beatings up refused to give evidence unless they were pardoned and there were many other highly unusual features of the court martial such as the interruption of the prosecution’s closing speech to interpose a witness. This book, thoroughly researched and based on Frank Edmunds papers, will be of great interest to military historians and lawyers providing insight to the work of British Intelligence in 1946 and the conduct of a complicated trial conducted by the most famous King’s Counsel of the day- Curtis-Bennett. This is one of the most important additions to military history and is relevant today when soldiers are at risk of criminal proceedings long after they have left the army and raises the inevitable issue of political influence on prosecutors’ decisions to start such proceedings.