Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan
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Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan (29 July 1910 – 13 February 1942) was a
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in the
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...
who was convicted of
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, after
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for
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
during the Malayan campaign of World War II. Heenan was reportedly killed by his wardens while in custody during the
Battle of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...
. According to Heenan's biographer, Peter Elphick, these events were suppressed by
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military censors.


Early life

Heenan's mother, Anne Stanley (born 1882), was not married at the time of her son's birth at
Reefton, New Zealand Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63  ...
. His birth certificate recorded her maiden name as his surname, and did not include any information about his father. A year later, both mother and son moved to
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with a mining engineer named George Charles Heenan (1855–1912). The older Heenan is described by some sources as an
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
, although he seems to have had a long association with
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, including selection for regional representative
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teams in the 1880s and 1890s. There is no conclusive evidence that George Heenan was Patrick's father, or that George and Anne ever married. However, Patrick was
baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
in Burma as a
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, with the surname Heenan. George Heenan died at
Pauk, Burma Pauk is a town in Pauk Township, Pakokku District, Magway Region, in north-west Myanmar. It is the administrative center for Pauk Township. Pauk is located on the western bank of the Kyaw River just above its intersection with the Yaw River. The ...
in 1912. Patrick's mother then worked as a
governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...
for a family named Carroll. In 1922, the Carrolls moved to England, and Anne Stanley went with them. Mrs Carroll died a few years later, and Bernard Carroll, who was an accountant, married Anne. From 1923 to 1926, Patrick was a
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at
Sevenoaks School Sevenoaks School is a highly selective coeducational independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. It is the second oldest non-denominational school in the United Kingdom, dating back to 1432, only behind Oswestry (1407). Over 1,000 day pupils ...
in
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, and in 1927 proceeded to
Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...
, as a day boy, in a stream of students preparing for military careers. Although he was then 16 years old, at Cheltenham he was put in classes with pupils as young as 13. Accounts of his time at Sevenoaks and Cheltenham show Heenan to have been a poor student and – in the words of the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' — a "gloomy, resentful misfit disliked by other pupils". He nevertheless excelled at sports, especially
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, due largely to his impressive physique. According to Elphick, Heenan was unpopular with other students at Cheltenham and was often in trouble with school authorities. Although he joined the
Officers Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...
(OTC) at Cheltenham, Heenan did not gain any formal qualifications; because of this, he was not able to be admitted to
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officer training, when he left school at the age of 19. Heenan instead joined Steel Brothers, a trading company with interests in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.


Military career

In the early 1930s, Heenan applied for the Army Supplementary Reserve, the only way he could become an officer without formal qualifications. According to Elphick, had Heenan's illegitimacy been known, it would have prevented him becoming an officer. He was able to join the reserve by presenting his baptism certificate, along with a certificate signed by his school headmaster, stating that Heenan was capable of performing the duties of an officer. This was endorsed by the commander of Cheltenham's OTC. In 1932, he was placed on the Supplementary Reserve. In 1935, Heenan was commissioned into the British Army, with the service number 547AI. His address at this time was recorded as Cheam, Surrey, England. He was put on the Indian Army's Unattached List, and was sent to
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. After six months' training with a British regiment, Heenan was not accepted by any Indian Army regiments. He had to do an additional six months with another British regiment before being accepted by the
16th Punjab Regiment The 16th Punjab Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army from 1922 to 1947. Upon the Partition of India, it was transferred to the newly-raised Pakistan Army. It ceased to exist in this form in 1956, when it was amalgamated ...
. He reportedly performed well in a skirmish on the North-West Frontier, but was later transferred to the
Indian Army Service Corps The Indian Army Service Corps (IASC) is a corps and an arm of the Indian Army which handles its logistic support function. It is the oldest and the largest administrative service in the Indian Army. While the history of supply and transport serv ...
. According to Elphick, this was a device commonly used to get unsatisfactory officers away from prestigious frontline regiments. However, Heenan later returned to the 16th Punjabs, but to a different battalion. In 1938–39, Heenan took a six-month "long leave" (an Indian Army tradition) in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. During 1941, as fears of a Japanese invasion of Southeast Asia grew, Heenan's unit was sent to
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
. He was transferred to an Indian Army Air Liaison Unit and was sent to
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
for training. Following the completion of air liaison training, Heenan was stationed at
Alor Setar Alor Setar ( Jawi: الور ستار, Kedahan: ''Loqstaq'') is the state capital of Kedah, Malaysia. It is the second-largest city in the state after Sungai Petani and one of the most-important cities on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia ...
, in
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, northern Malaya, in June 1941. It was in this area that most of the British
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,
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and
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squadrons in Malaya were based. Japanese forces invaded Thailand and
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
on 8 December. Mr Sydney Tavender, chairman of the Cotswold branch of the Far East Prisoners of War, and who served in the AIL unit with Heenan, said the Japanese aircraft always seemed to know the correct recognition codes, despite the fact that they were changed every 24 hours. By 10 December, the Japanese had destroyed most of the
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aircraft in northern Malaya. Heenan was caught during an air raid. "When we discovered he wasn't in the slit trenches with us we became suspicious," Mr Tavender reported. "We went to his quarters and discovered a radio, which was still warm. That was the last we saw of him. He was arrested."''
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'', Brisbane, 6 May 1992
The Japanese air raids were assisted by radio transmissions made by Heenan. Among other espionage equipment, he reportedly had a
morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
transmitter operated by an
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— similar to a Traeger Transceiver — which was disguised as a typewriter. Heenan was sent to Singapore, and was reportedly
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led in January 1942. He does not seem to have been formally sentenced, but the normal sentence for treason by British officers was death. Heenan remained in custody at Singapore for several weeks. The Japanese gradually drove the Allies out of Malaya, and on 8 February they invaded Singapore Island. Within days, it became clear that the battle was being won by the Japanese. In the words of journalist and author Lynette Silver (whose main source is Elphick): :By 13 February Heenan had become very cocky, taunting his guards ... that he would soon be free and they would be prisoners. It appears that ... British military police took matters into their own hands. After cards were cut to decide who would ...
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Heenan, it is alleged he was taken to the dockside, where a sergeant executed him with a single pistol shot to the back of the head. The body was then dumped in the harbour. Elphick also says that Heenan was shot at
Keppel Harbour Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its natur ...
.


Effects and aftermath

Military historian Brian P. Farrell believes that Heenan could not have done decisive damage to the Allies but probably cost No. 62 Squadron some personnel and aircraft. Elphick suggests that the British Commonwealth air forces would have been defeated without Heenan's help; their aircraft in Malaya were inadequate compared to the Japanese and airfields in northern Malaya had been located in positions that were to all intents and purposes not capable of being defended. Elphick added that Heenan "must have passed on much helpful information pre-war and he pushed the rate of aircraft destruction along a bit after the war began". Elphick also says that word of Heenan's actions spread quickly among British Commonwealth officers, which had a significant effect on morale. By 1998, the families of other personnel listed on the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
World War II memorial at
Kranji War Cemetery The Kranji War Cemetery is located in Kranji, Singapore, and is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942 to 1945 and in other parts of ...
in Singapore were requesting the removal of Heenan's name. His date of death on the memorial, 15 February 1942, was reportedly a standard date assigned to all Commonwealth personnel officially listed as missing during the Battle of Singapore. His date of death listed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is 15 February 1942.


See also

*
Velvalee Dickinson Velvalee Dickinson (October 12, 1893 – ca 1980), was convicted of espionage against the United States on behalf of Japan during World War II. Known as the "Doll Woman", she used her business in New York City to send information on the Unite ...
(American spy for Japan during World War II) *
John Semer Farnsworth John Semer Farnsworth (August 13, 1893 – November 10, 1952) was a United States Navy officer who was convicted of spying for Japan during the 1930s. He was identified as Agent K in radio messages intercepted by the Office of Naval Intellige ...
(American spy for Japan in the 1930s) *
Harry Thompson (spy) Harry Thomas Thompson (September 13, 1909 – September 24, 1960) was a United States Navy yeoman who spied for Japan against the United States in 1934–35. He was the first American to be convicted of espionage after World War I. Thompson had bee ...
(American spy for Japan in the 1930s) *
Norman Baillie-Stewart Norman Baillie-Stewart (15 January 1909 – 7 June 1966) was a British army officer known as The Officer in the Tower when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. An active sympathiser of Nazi Germany, he took part in German-produced propagan ...
(British spy for Germany during World War II) *
Arthur Owens Arthur Graham Owens, later known as Arthur Graham White (14 April 1899 – 24 December 1976), was a Welsh double agent for the Allies during the Second World War. He was working for MI5 while appearing to the Abwehr (the German intelligence agency ...
(suspected British spy for Germany during World War II) *
Eddie Chapman Edward Arnold Chapman (16 November 1914 – 11 December 1997) was an English criminal and wartime spy. During the Second World War he offered his services to Nazi Germany as a spy and subsequently became a British double agent. His British Sec ...
(British double agent during World War II) *
William Colepaugh William Curtis Colepaugh (March 25, 1918 – March 16, 2005) was an American who, following his 1943 discharge from the U.S. Naval Reserve ("for the good of the service", according to official reports), defected to Nazi Germany in 1944. While a cre ...
(American spy for Germany during World War II) *
Tyler Kent Tyler Gatewood Kent (March 24, 1911 – November 20, 1988) was an American diplomat who stole thousands of secret documents while working as a cipher clerk at the US Embassy in London during World War II. Early life and career Kent was born in ...
(suspected American spy for Germany in the early 1940s)


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Published online by ''
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'',
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, 2002. * Published online by ''Four Corners'', Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. * * * *


External links

* An article about the Traeger Transceiver, with pictures. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heenan, Patrick 1910 births 1942 deaths British Indian Army officers Extrajudicial killings in World War II Military of Singapore under British rule Military history of Malaya during World War II Indian Army personnel killed in World War II People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at Sevenoaks School People executed by the British military by firearm Executed spies World War II spies for Japan British people executed for collaboration with Imperial Japan British Indian Army personnel who were court-martialed People from Reefton