- John Brown (spy)
John Henry Owen Brown DCM was a
Non-Commissioned Officer in theRoyal Artillery in theBritish Army , who served inFrance at the beginning of theSecond World War . Prior to the war he was a member of theBritish Union of Fascists , another fact that helped him ingratiate himself with the Germans. He was captured on29 May 1940 and remained a prisoner of war until1945 . He volunteered to serve at Blechhammer camp inUpper Silesia , and generally ingratiated himself with theGermans . In due course he was transferred to the camp atGenshagen , which he effectively ran for the Germans. This move allowed him access toBerlin .Throughout all this time, while being distrusted by the British P.O.W.s, he was reporting to
MI6 by coded letters, giving guidance on targets for bomber attacks. More particularly he was engaged in subverting the German proposal to form aBritish Free Corps to fight for Germany. He was instrumental in identifying the Britishtraitor John Amery , and had contact withWilliam Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw).After the war he was a witness at the trials of a number of traitors. He was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal for his services.He wrote of these events in "In Durance Vile" (Hale 1981), concluding "...I was only able to do what I did because of my Christian belief which sustained me in my durance vile through not only the danger, but the hopeless dreariness of prisoner-of-war life".
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