John George Lingshaw (4 September 1909 – 1975) was a British collaborator who worked in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Nazi propaganda The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1946, he was convicted of offences under the

Defence Regulations During the Second World War Defence Regulations were a fundamental aspect of everyday life in the United Kingdom. They were emergency regulations passed on the outbreak of war and during it to give the government emergency powers to prosecute the ...

and sentenced to five years penal servitude.

Biography

John Lingshaw was the son of George and Marie Lingshaw of

Saint John, Jersey St John (Jèrriais and ) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey and is around north of St Helier on the north coast of the island. It has a surface area of 8.7 km2. St John's Village is also the name of the main village in the parish. The par ...

, and a member of the Jersey Island

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Internment

Jersey fell under the

German occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British ...

on 30 June 1940. In 1942,

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

ordered the deportation from the Channel Islands of all those not born there or who had served in the British armed forces. This was in retaliation for the internment of German nationals in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

following the Anglo-Soviet invasion in 1941. As Lingshaw had joined the part-time

Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey Formed in 1337, the Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey can claim to be the oldest sub-unit of the British Army, although, because it is not a regiment, and was disbanded for decades in the late 20th century, it is not the most senior. History ...

on 31 August 1929, he was subject to this order. He was sentenced on 15 August 1942 to deportation by the German ''Feldkommandantur'' and on 13 February 1943, Lingshaw was in the group of Channel Island detainees deported to the internment camp at

Oflag VII-C Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To ...

, Laufen,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Collaboration

While interned, Lingshaw decided to collaborate with the Nazis and, on 16 August 1943, he was released to travel to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

where he was employed to teach English to a group of 15 women working in the German propaganda service. He worked on minor duties for the New British Broadcasting Service unit of the

Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft The Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (RRG; ''Reich Broadcasting Corporation'') was a national network of German regional public radio and television broadcasting companies active from 1925 until 1945. RRG's broadcasts were receivable in all parts o ...

, German State Radio, monitoring and recording the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

's wartime news bulletins. In 1944, Lingshaw appears to have fallen out with the NBBS as on 11 November 1944 he was sent back to internment, this time to

Oflag V-B Oflag V-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager''), in operation from 1940 until 1942. It was located in Biberach in south-eastern Baden-Württemberg. Camp history The camp was originally built as barracks ...

at Biberach, Bavaria, where he remained until 23 April 1945 when the camp was liberated by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. Along with all other interned Channel Islanders, Lingshaw was repatriated to

RAF Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, not to the Channel Islands, and there his wartime collaboration became known.

Trial

Lingshaw was committed for trial on 6 February 1946 at a hearing at

Bow Street Magistrates' Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court became one of the most famous magistrates' court in England. Over its 266-year existence it occupied various buildings on Bow Street in Central London, immediately north-east of Covent Garden. It closed in 2006 and ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, where he was charged with aiding the enemy by monitoring radio broadcasts. At his following trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

on 1 March 1946, he admitted to having assisted in the production and recording of British news bulletins for the German State Radio and was sentenced to five years' penal servitude.

Later life

On his release, Lingshaw lived in Sheffield where he married in 1961. There he was occupied as a boarding house keeper and as a licensed hawker. His business activities appear to have been unsuccessful. He petitioned for bankruptcy in September 1959 and this was not discharged until May 1969. He died in Sheffield in 1975.

External links

"Charge Of Aiding Enemy."
Times, London, England, 7 Feb. 1946: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Mar. 2015. * Home Office file
HO 45/25792

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lingshaw, John George 1909 births 1975 deaths People from Saint John, Jersey British broadcasters for Nazi Germany Jersey collaborators with Nazi Germany Jersey prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the United Kingdom