Patriot Traitors
Adrian Weale

Roger Casement and John Amery were convicted and executed for two remarkably similar offences: both travelled to Germany in wartime and attempted to raise military units from amongst their own countrymen held as prisoners by the Germans, and to use them against British interests. In 1916, with his attempt to create an ‘Irish Brigade’ a useless failure, Casement travelled to Ireland by U-Boat to participate in the Easter Rebellion; he was caught on arrival, quickly transferred to London, tried for High treason and executed, the last victim of the British backlash against the Easter rebels. John Amery, the son of Leo Amery, a leading Conservative politician of the early 20th Century, offered his services to Nazi Germany in 1942, proposing to found a ‘British legion’ to participate in Germany’s war against Soviet Russia. This project also failed and Amery played out the rest of the war as an occasional propaganda broadcaster and aide to Mussolini. In 1945 he was captured and, uniquely, pleaded guilty to High Treason. He too was hanged.

Both men came from an establishment background and both were rebels: politically, morally and sexually. ‘Patriot Traitors’ is based largely on primary sources, including recently declassified intelligence documents, bringing much new material to the parallel stories of these two men, and giving much new insight into hitherto unexplained aspects of their behaviour.