Roy Courlander

Roy Courlander
Born(1914-12-06)6 December 1914
London, England
Died1 June 1979 (aged 64)
Lethbridge Park, New South Wales, Australia
Military career
Allegiance New Zealand (to 1941)
 Germany (to 1944)
Belgian Resistance (Alleged) (1944)
Service years
1939–1941; 1943–1944
NicknameReg
UnitBritish Free Corps
Conflicts

Roy Nicolas Courlander (6 December 1914 – 1 June 1979), nicknamed 'Reg', was a British-born New Zealand soldier who became an unterscharführer in the German Waffen-SS British Free Corps during the Second World War.

Early life

It is indicated Courlander was born to an Irish mother Edith Cater (1898–1970) in December 1914, and a Russian or Lithuanian Jewish businessman Leonard Henry Courlander (1878–1970) as his father or step-father.

When he was 19, his parents divorced and he was sent to live and work on a coconut plantation owned by his father in the New Hebrides in the South Pacific. His mother married Frederick Bohne in 1933 and eventually moved to New Zealand in the 1950s where she died in 1970.[citation needed] His father remarried Gwendoline Elmes and moved to Sydney, Australia.[citation needed]

In November 1938, Courlander arrived in New Zealand and found work as a clerk with the Land and Income Tax Department in Wellington.

On 10 April 1939 he was arrested and convicted and sentenced to nine months imprisonment for breaking and entering a Napier house of Kathleen Reeston with John Matterson and Geoffrey Keen. Courlander and Keen's sentences were reduced on appeal to 18 months probation from 14 June 1939. Courlander held that his reason for going to the house was for a meal and that this was at Keen's invitation.

With early release, Courlander moved to Auckland on 30 September 1939 and married Joan Beryl Marchand there.

Military life – Allies

New Zealand Army

On the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Courlander was enlisted into the New Zealand Military Forces. Because of his knowledge of French and German he was placed in the Intelligence Corps. He sailed for Egypt on RMS Orion and served in Greece with the 18th Battalion. In December 1940 he was promoted to lance corporal. At Kalamata, Greece on 29 April 1941 he was captured and interned in Stalag XVIII-D at Maribor in Yugoslavia.[citation needed]

Prisoner-of-war

As a prisoner of war, Courlander acted as an interpreter at the camp. He joined work parties in Austria and eventually in September 1943 was sent to Genshagen camp (Stalag III-D/517) in Berlin. Courlander posed as a "White Russian émigré" and claimed to have extreme anti-Soviet views. He participated in Nazi broadcasts to the United Kingdom.

Military life – Germans

Subsequently, the Germans recruited Courlander in January 1944 for the British Free Corps. He was one of the original six members. Although the name 'Leonard Courlander' appears in some records in connection with the British Free Corps, the actual member appears to be Roy Courlander. Along with Thomas Cooper, he is said to have forcibly[citation needed] recruited British and Dominion POWs for the British Free Corps. By April 1944 he was promoted to unterscharführer (sergeant). At his court martial, statements were made that Courlander was seeking to oust John Amery and take control of the Corps.

Courlander and another man, Francis Maton, left the BFC by volunteering for service with the war correspondent unit SS-Standarte Kurt Eggers, which was operating on the Western Front. Their ultimate goal was to make for the Allied lines at the first chance. Courlander and Maton removed all of the BFC insignia from their uniforms, replacing them with the standard SS patches and rank. The two men boarded a train for Brussels in the company of a Flemish Waffen-SS unit. On 3 September 1944, the two men arrived in Brussels, where they linked up with the Belgian Resistance. They participated in street fighting against the Germans, with Courlander being wounded during action. The following day, they gave themselves up to a British officer, thus becoming the first two BFC men to be arrested.[citation needed]

After his capture, Courlander was interviewed by British military intelligence, MI5. He told them Adolf Hitler had told BFC members that if Britain was defeated, the former King Edward VIII would replace George VI on the throne and Oswald Mosley would become the Prime Minister. Courlander also provided background information on the formation of the BFC.

Court martial and imprisonment

Lance Corporal Courlander was arrested and tried by court martial on charges of treachery by the New Zealand military authorities in Westgate-on-Sea near Margate in Kent, England. On 3 October 1945, six years to the day after enlisting, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on a charge of "voluntarily aiding the enemy".

Prosecuting officer Lieutenant-Colonel R. A. L. Hillard said that Courlander produced a series of propaganda talks designed to show how the British had failed to keep to pledges after the First World War and Trooper J. E. Wilson gave evidence that Courlander had told him he was trying to persuade the Germans to allow a corps of free British to fight the Russians. Courlander pleaded not guilty to the charge and stated that he had joined the BFC to facilitate escaping, but as that did not eventuate had sought to find a way to control and use the unit against the Germans.

In 1946, Courlander was transferred to Mount Eden Prison in Auckland. Because the court martial did not dismiss him from the military, Courlander was still entitled to wear his New Zealand Army uniform when out of prison for medical treatment, which he did in May 1946. His wife died in February 1949, having fought for a trial reopening due to "considerable evidence... which was not put before the court martial", while he was in prison. He appealed against his sentence, and in May 1950 it was reduced to nine years.

Release

Courlander was released on 2 October 1951, was discharged from the army, and married Margaret Spence the same day.

On his release from prison, Courlander sought to appear before the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association which was rejected. The RSA had already protested against the change from fifteen to nine years and his early release after six. Any application to the New Zealand Ex-Prisoners of War Association was going to be refused. At this time, at least one former prisoner-of-war sought the court martial be reopened to give evidence in Courlander's defence, and there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

Later life

Courlander obtained a job working for a business directory company and during the late 1950s was involved in the New Zealand Social Credit Political League. He moved to Australia during the 1960s to start a new life, divorcing his second wife in 1968. This was as a result of his heavy drinking. He ended up in a small industrial town of Lethbridge Park, near Sydney, which at the time was home to many serving and former soldiers and also another former SS soldier.[citation needed]

He died in Australia in 1979 at the age of 64.

Archives New Zealand holds a record entitled 'Biography of "Roy Courlander – Traitor" by G Carr under reference R20110377.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography indicates he was born in London, and went to the New Hebrides from or after 1933. However an April 1929 Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper article indicated he was born in New Hebrides and educated in England; and by this age of 15 had been 'twice around the world'. Courland is a region of Latvia, and historically, Latvia and Lithuania were under Russian control at various times.
  2. ↑ The order of the move and the divorce has not been established. They may have divorced (as she was later identified as being in New Zealand), and then he moved to Australia.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Weale, Adrian (12 November 2014). Renegades (Kindle Location 2342). Random House. Kindle Edition
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Fantastic traitor, Nazi SS Man, to be freed". Truth. No. 3218. New South Wales, Australia. 30 September 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Courlander, Roy Nicolas – Biography – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". Teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Courlander, Roy Nicolas, 1914-1979". National Library. New Zealand Government (National Library of New Zealand). Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Shipping intelligence & weather". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 15, 397. New South Wales, Australia. 16 April 1929. p. 13. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "News". The Sun News-Pictorial. No. 2053. Victoria, Australia. 12 April 1929. p. 22. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ ""Rather serious"". Auckland Star. Vol. LXX, no. 85. New Zealand. 12 April 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  8. ↑ "Arrest of witness". New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXXVI, no. 23357. New Zealand. 27 May 1939. p. 15. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  9. ↑ "Appeals succeed". The Evening Post. Vol. CXXVII, no. 138. New Zealand. 14 June 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  10. ↑ "Entering a house". The Evening Post. Vol. CXXVII, no. 17. New Zealand. 20 July 1939. p. 22. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  11. ↑ "Roy Nicolas Courlander". Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 7 July 2022 – via Online Cenotaph.
  12. ↑ "N.Z. N.C.O. on charge of deserting to Nazis". The Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXVII. Queensland, Australia. 3 October 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ Alleged Help To Germany, The Times (London, England), Tuesday, 2 October 1945; pg. 2; Issue 50262
  14. 1 2 3 "Treachery charge". Warwick Daily News. No. 8166. Queensland, Australia. 2 October 1945. p. 1. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. 1 2 "One N.Z. soldier was German collaborator". The Press. New Zealand. 26 May 1990. p. 4. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  16. ↑ "Astonishing Politician, Astonishing Failure". Human Events. 28 September 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  17. ↑ MI5's Report on the British Free Corps (BFC) dated 27 March 1945.
  18. ↑ "15 years' gaol for assisting enemy". The Barrier Miner. Vol. LVIII, no. 17, 282. New South Wales, Australia. 3 November 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ↑ Aid To Enemy Denied, The Times (London, England), Wednesday, 3 October 1945; pg. 2; Issue 50263
  20. ↑ "Traitor still wearing uniform he disgraced". The Courier-Mail. No. 2970. Queensland, Australia. 31 May 1946. p. 4. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ↑ "Returned Services". Hawera Star. Vol. LXIV. New Zealand. 7 July 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  22. ↑ "Wants to meet his detractor face to face". The Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXXI. Queensland, Australia. 5 October 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ↑ "Man who aided Nazis". The Press. No. 26542. New Zealand. 3 October 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  24. 1 2 "War prisoners ask reason for release of R. N. COURLANDER". Rotorua Morning Post. New Zealand. 6 October 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  25. ↑ "COURLANDER case again aired". Rotorua Morning Post. New Zealand. 1 November 1951. p. 5. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  26. ↑ "Ex-prisoners refuse to admit COURLANDER". Taranaki Daily News. New Zealand. 9 November 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  27. ↑ "New light cast on COURLANDER by former prisoner". Taranaki Daily News. New Zealand. 7 November 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  28. ↑ "COURLANDER's release attack on critics". The Evening Post. No. 26800. New Zealand. 3 October 1951. p. 10. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  29. ↑ "Acceptances". Marlborough Express. Vol. 86, no. 255. New Zealand. 26 October 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 20 October 2026 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  30. ↑ "Social Credit League – Mr W.B. Owen Again Leader". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. The Press. 23 May 1957. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  31. ↑ "In the Supreme Court of New South Wales.—Notice of". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 114. New South Wales, Australia. 24 August 1979. p. 4141. Retrieved 19 October 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. ↑ Stone, Andrew (15 August 2009). "The war in black and white". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  33. ↑ "Biography of "Roy Courlander – Traitor" by G Carr". ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 July 2023.

Further reading