Historian Guilty of Dambuster Logbook Theft

[ORAC]

Dambuster?s records stolen by historian | News | The Times & The Sunday Times (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/dambuster-s-records-stolen-by-historian-zb7wzc97v)

A military historian has been found guilty of stealing a log book from the widow of an RAF airman who was in the Dambusters squadron. Alexander Bateman, 48, was convicted of theft at Wood Green crown court in London yesterday. Flight Sergeant John Fraser’s log book has never been found and Bateman has refused to tell police what happened to it.

Scotland Yard said Bateman contacted Doris Fraser in 1996 as part of his research into the Dambusters. She sent him the log book to assist with his work. Several years later Bateman also contacted her daughter, Shere Lowe. After learning he had the log book, she asked for it to be returned in January 2003, but an envelope arrived that had been carefully cut open at the bottom. A piece of card and a letter from Bateman were found stapled to the inside of the envelope but there was no log book. He initially claimed that it must have been lost but then said that he had recovered it from the Post Office.

Police said that his story then changed again and he told the family that he had been given the log book as a gift. He later produced a Christmas card with had a note written inside apparently confirming his story. Handwriting experts concluded that the card was almost certainly not written by Mrs Fraser. He then reported a burglary at his address in June 2003 and claimed intruders had stolen the log book, but the investigation at the time did not identify any suspects or forensic leads.

Bateman, of Headstone Lane, Harrow, will be sentenced on February 3.

[Brian W May]

Presumably the scumbag sold it . . .

[ORAC]

Presumably so, he has a previous conviction for looting the national archive of hundreds of items relating to the Fambusters whilst "studying" them and then selling them in the USA.

One would hope the buyer will step forward.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/13/man-stole-dambuster-heros-mission-book-also-took-hundreds-items/

[NutLoose]

One would hope he is detained until such time as it is recovered, surely his accounts would show an unusual amount of cash transferred.

[SimonK]

What an utter scumbag......I would imagine that he still has it and keeping it in a very safe place to feed his obsession with all things Dambusters.

WW2 Logbooks are hugely valuable and almost priceless to those in the know, it saddens me very much when I think of the senseless burning of all the unclaimed KIA RAF WW2 Logbooks held by the archives in the 60s. I'm lucky enough to have been given one that was about to be binned and 3 years of relentless combat in Beaufighters and Blenheims still sits on my bookshelf rather than existing as just ashes.

[barnstormer1968]

I listened to a radio feature on this story last night. The lengths the chap went to to cover his tracks are a good indicator of what a low life he is.
The forged Christmas card and pretend burgulary being prime examples.

[Tankertrashnav]

WW2 Logbooks are hugely valuable

Whilst that is certainly true in the case of a Dambuster crew member, it is not always the case.

I once went to look at a Mosquito logbook which was being offered for sale by the deceased original owner's family. I had high hopes of some very interesting reading but I discovered that the chap had spent his whole time in Coastal Command, and his ops were recorded as page after page of "Patrol, area X," or whatever. The flying was dangerous and an essential part of the anti submarine campaign, but the unpalatable truth was that it made uninteresting reading. In the event I decided not to make an offer, and suggested that they kept it in the family for posterity.

Hope this chap gets his just deserts. Maybe an offer of a reduced sentence if he produces the logbook might be effective in bringing it to light.

[Fonsini]

I recommend dropping him from the BoB Lanc at an altitude of 60 feet and 232mph over the Humber Estuary.

You probably think I'm joking.....

[Art E. Fischler-Reisen]

I disagree. The Humber estuary has no dam wall at the end of it....

[NutLoose]

Do you think he would bounce?

[phil9560]

What a c@#t.

[SimonK]

Whilst that is certainly true in the case of a Dambuster crew member, it is not always the case.

I once went to look at a Mosquito logbook which was being offered for sale by the deceased original owner's family. I had high hopes of some very interesting reading but I discovered that the chap had spent his whole time in Coastal Command, and his ops were recorded as page after page of "Patrol, area X," or whatever. The flying was dangerous and an essential part of the anti submarine campaign, but the unpalatable truth was that it made uninteresting reading. In the event I decided not to make an offer, and suggested that they kept it in the family for posterity.

Hope this chap gets his just deserts. Maybe an offer of a reduced sentence if he produces the logbook might be effective in bringing it to light.

Yes you're absolutely correct, the phrase 'can be very valuable' would have been more appropriate in this case. I collect WW2 RAF/Luftwaffe logbooks and the really 'good/valuable' ones to me are mainly those where the author has recorded some of the finer detail of their missions....more often than not Luftwaffe rather than RAF. Many Luftwaffe aircrew also had exhaustive details of their missions recorded in a matching 'Leistungsbuch', which has been copied across into some of my Luftwaffe logbooks, aka Flugbuch.

Sorry to go OT, back OT the guy is still a **** and hopefully will get s deserving custodial sentence.

[Heathrow Harry]

One would hope that, as he has clearly not shown a scintilla of remorse, he'll be removed from circulation for a couple of years

[Tankertrashnav]

Simon K - You may be interested in a logbook which once came my way. It was a genuine logbook of WW2 period, but the entries were made in a very non-standard way. The chap was apparently a fighter pilot (I dont remember the type) flying in the period 1943 - 44. Instead of doing it month by month with summaries, they were all written continuously, without gaps. There were also no countersignatures, assessments etc

The chap seemed to be having a very active war, lots of dogfights and enemy aircraft shot down, etc, but when I got to the bit where he was himself shot down and crash landed in France in May 1944, but was back in England flying ops a week later the penny finally dropped. I don't think the most efficient resistance unit would have got him home quite that quickly.

I assumed this was the work of some AC2 from the cookhouse who had got hold of a blank logbook and invented it all to impress a girlfriend or mates, post war. Just went to show that there is nothing new in Walts.

[MACH2NUMBER]

Slightly off thread, but not by much. A couple of years ago I had the privilege of reading Bob Braham's log books at the RAF Museum. Beautifully written with pithy remarks, a great shame they are hidden away in a drawer. The most decorated fighter pilot of WW2 deserves more recognition.

[polecat2]

A facsimile copy of Guy Gibson's logbook was once published by After the Battle and is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Second hand copies sometimes appear on eBay or Amazon and even copies in poor condition sell for a three-figure sum.

A facsimile copy of Robert Stanford Tuck's log book was recently produced and is still available from the usual sources.

[David Thompson]

A facsimile copy of Guy Gibson's logbook was once published by After the Battle and is almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Second hand copies sometimes appear on eBay or Amazon and even copies in poor condition sell for a three-figure sum.
The facsilile is of his second log book and I believe that his first log book went 'missing' and has never been seen in public view ?

[polecat2]

Yes, this is his second logbook. It covers his time on night fighters, 106 Squadron, 617 Squadron and finishes with his penultimate flight.

Polecat

[Lee Howard]

Sadly it is reprehensible individuals such as these who spoil it for the vast majority of genuine researchers and historians for whom access to logbooks and photographs is a tremendous help in piecing together history. The likes of eBay has not really helped matters as it has placed pricetags on such items (often over-inflated, especially for those, as mentioned above, that are not particularly well filled out), invariably putting them well beyond the reach of those who would welcome even a viewing or a photocopy of them for their bona fide work.

[TEEEJ]

2016 conviction.

A former Harrow school employee has been jailed for a string of sexual offences against children.

Alex Bateman, 47, of Headstone Lane, pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing indecent images of children at Wood Green Crown Court on May 3.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison on May 27.

Bateman is to remain on the sex offenders register for ten years and has been placed under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.

He worked as an archivist at Harrow High School, and has also written a book on the 617 “Dambusters” squadron.

Former Harrow school employee jailed for possession of indecent images of children (From Harrow Times) (http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/14568686.Former_Harrow_school_employee_jailed_for_possession _of_indecent_images_of_children/)

[Whenurhappy]

There was also the incident almost 20 years ago at RAF Digby, when OC PMS stole Ops Room log books (with entries by Bader etc) and swapped them (if I recall correctly) for Nazi memorabilia. Luckily they were spotted at an antiques and collectables show and returned. The Flt Lt (Sxx Hxxxxx) was court martialed and found guilty. He had cancer so his sentence was suspended but he was dismissed form the Service. Fast-forward 15 years and he emerges as a bit of a wheel in SNP politics and publishes bonkers diatribes on the Nazis under a pseudonym. Fancy that, eh?

[Wander00]

I have to admit that I know the subject of this thread, same school though many years apart, but he was active in the Old Boys association. I was astounded by the first case, and now by this. It is all very sad, and I find it very difficult to equate the guy I have known for may years with these two very serious offences. You never know what is going on behind the screen.

[Shack37]

Just Heard on ITV news that Bateman has been sentenced to 2 years in prison.:ok::ok: Still no sign of the logbook

[Tankertrashnav]

Only two cheers then. I wonder if it will ever come to light.

[MPN11]

Only 2?

Oh, well, that will have to suffice I guess.

Barsteward.

[Always a Sapper]

Hang on, lets get this into perspective...

On one hand he gets 12 months for taking naughty kiddy pictures and on the other hand gets 2 years for effectively nicking a book.

Some how I think someone has the sentencing and their priorities bit mixed up.

In respect to the logbook theft, taking all of the consequences of his actions into account and likely parole I think they should have started the tariff at the 5 year point with a bit knocked off if he says where the logbook is.

In respect to the kiddie pictures which IMHO far out weighs the logbook event, locking up and throwing the key away would seem to be in order...


I do however hope the logbook turns up in the near future and is returned to the family.

[TEEEJ]

The daughter of a Dambusters crew member has offered a £5,000 reward for information leading to the return of his stolen log book.

The artefact was loaned to military historian Alexander Bateman by the family of Sgt John Fraser for the purposes of research.
He was jailed for two years in February for theft after failing to return it.

Sgt Fraser's daughter Shere Lowe believes someone other than Bateman knows of its whereabouts.

Ms Lowe, who is visiting Lincolnshire from Canada to mark the 74th anniversary of the raids, said: "Some people say it's just a document , a piece of paper, but that's not what it is to me - it's priceless."

"Because I lost him at a very young age - I value every little piece - so to get it back would be like getting a piece of my father back."

She said she did not think it right to treat the log book as a commodity but had been advised that "money talks".

"I believe someone out there knows something, and hopefully they will come forward and tell us where it is," she added.


Dambusters log book theft: £5,000 reward offered - BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-39898631)

[TBM-Legend]

Better arrange said pr!ck a nice tattooed "boyfriend" for his time in the slammer>>>

[VIProds]

A very good friend of mine, who flew unarmed photoreconnaissance Spitfires covering Brest, all down occupied French Coast to the Spanish Border. Several years ago, RAF Benson were putting on a Display & asked my friend if he would loan them some of his PRU artefacts for the display. Luckily, he felt that his Logbook was too precious to let them borrow. Needless to say he never got his artefacts back. In his 90's he was still bitter about the loss. so I took up his case with RAF Benson, who I have to point out were nothing to do with the display several years before. The C.O. invited myself & my friend down to Benson so that they could give my friend a VIP day. It was far too long a journey from Cleethorpes to Benson by car, so I asked on PPRuNe if anyone could fly us down there, well ! I was inundated with offers. Thank you Gents. Also, thank you RAF Benson for putting on a great show.
http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/VIProds/Alec%20Stuart%20Dixon/aaaAlec1.jpghttp://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae59/VIProds/Alec%20Stuart%20Dixon/Benson06-Copy.jpg

[Al R]

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/shamed-historian-ordered-pay-widow-11235003.amp

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