Britain Ends Probe of Military Hero’s Alleged War Crimes
The Ministry of Defense said Friday it had dropped its probe into allegations that one of Britain’s most decorated war heroes ordered the machine-gunning of seven German prisoners in 1942.
An inquiry began Monday into the alleged actions of the World War II hero, Commander Tony Miers, who died in 1986, after the Sunday Telegraph published the claims that were earlier printed in a biography by author Ludovic Kennedy.
The newspaper said Miers ordered the crew of his submarine to shoot seven Germans who were adrift in a dinghy in the Mediterranean after the submarine sank a freighter off Crete.
“We have noted these matters were considered at the time by the Admiralty and it was decided no further action should be taken,” a ministry spokesman said.
Miers, a lieutenant commander at the time of the alleged incident, was awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military decoration for bravery, in 1942.
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