Occupation policeman ‘denied natural justice’, says grandson
A local police officer controversially convicted of stealing wood from the Nazi occupying forces during the Second World War was denied natural justice in not being allowed to defend himself in court at the time, his grandson has said.
James Langmead, who lives in Australia, is calling for justice for his grandfather, Inspector Arthur Langmead.
He said it was a ‘different and unique’ case when compared to those of the 17 police officers sentenced to years of hard labour for stealing food from the Germans during the Occupation.
‘The concern of myself and my extended family is that if the 17 police officers are considered for a pardon, it is important that my grandfather is not forgotten in this process,’ Mr Langmead said.
‘He was not involved in the alleged theft from the food stores of which these former police officers were accused, and his case must be considered on a different level because of the facts.’
He was especially eager for his 93-year-old uncle Raymond – Inspector Langmead’s son, who now lives in Whanganui in New Zealand – to see justice applied before his death.
According to historical documents, Inspector Langmead was accused of theft of wood from a common wood pile in January 1942.
When questioned about the wood, he admitted that he took it, but said it was with the permission of plain-clothed German police.
These admissions were different from the allegations presented by the Germans, and he was subsequently suspended from duty in July 1942.
In December 1942 he was advised that his case had been heard in his absence in a court in St Helier and that he had been found guilty.
He was consequently imprisoned in Guernsey for one year and then deported to Germany. He was refused readmission to the police upon his return to the island in 1945.
‘While there have been arguments regarding the legality of the Crown Courts during the Occupation, the mere fact that he [Inspector Langmead] was denied natural justice in itself presents that the trial and subsequent conviction were a farce and not a legitimate process that any Crown Court, both then and now, would endorse,’ Mr Langmead said.
‘He was denied reinstatement into the police based on an illegal conviction and denied natural justice again when he was not allowed to present his case to the deciding committee. Such presentation might have been sufficient to produce a different outcome.’
Mr Langmead, who lives in Salisbury East, near Adelaide, said he had written to the UK’s Ministry of Justice about the case but had only received a standard form letter response advising his deceased grandfather to lodge an appeal against his conviction.
He also said he had written to Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, external relations lead for the Policy & Resources Committee, and Deputy Gavin St Pier, who has championed the cause of the police officers convicted of stealing. He said he was still awaiting a response.
Policy & Resources has said that it was planning to make a conciliatory statement as part of the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day.
A former police officer himself with South Australia Police, and part of a family with generational links to police forces on both sides of the world, Mr Langmead said his family were desperate to see justice served.
‘My grandfather never really spoke about it himself, but seeing the resurgent push to have the officers convicted of stealing food pardoned has made us as a family realise that my grandfather’s case must not be forgotten about.
‘He fought for King and country in World War One, and now it appears that his King and country have abandoned him in his time of need.’
