Britain to Probe Charges That WWII Hero Ordered German Prisoners Shot
The Ministry of Defense said Sunday it will investigate allegations that Britain’s most decorated World War II hero ordered the machine-gunning of seven German prisoners in 1942.
A spokesman said the charges have been leveled against retired Rear Adm. Anthony Miers, who died three years ago.
Miers received a Victoria Cross--Britain’s highest decoration for valor--three weeks after the officer, who was then a lieutenant, allegedly ordered the crew of his submarine Torbay to shoot the Germans, who were cast adrift in a dinghy after the British submarine sank a freighter off Crete.
Details of the alleged killings were first published in a recent book by Ludovic Kennedy, who said they were ordered by a war hero but did not name him.
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper named Miers in its latest edition and Kennedy confirmed it.
The newspaper said the killing of the seven prisoners was similar to war crimes for which several German submarine commanders were tried and executed.
The bullet-ridden bodies were found by the Germans and may have led to brutal treatment meted out to captured British commandos in the area afterward.
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