Duncan Scott-Ford - “the man who sold his country for £18”.

21 year old Duncan Alexander Croall Scott-Ford became the youngest person to be executed under the Treachery Act 1940, when he was hanged at Wandsworth prison on the morning of Tuesday the 3rd of November 1942.

At age 16 Scott-Ford joined the Royal Navy and served until 1941 when he was courts-martialed and sentenced to two years in prison followed by dishonourable discharge for dishonesty, later reduced to six months, plus honourable discharge. Upon release from Winchester prison in late 1941 he joined the merchant navy.

In February 1942 he joined the crew of the S.S. Finland which made regular trips between the UK and Portugal (then a neutral country) and sailed on the 11th of April bound for Lisbon.

Here he was approached by German agents offering substantial rewards for information on British ship movements. He was able to give them some information but soon they realised that he was not much of a catch and threatened to pass his information to the British Embassy in Lisbon if he didn’t give them what they wanted. 18,000 escudos (about £18) was in fact all he received for his treachery.

On his return to Salford docks on the 18th of August 1942, Scott-Ford was questioned by security police and later arrested under the Defence Regulations Act of 1939. Inside his wallet were slips of paper with ship movements recorded, detailing the names of ships and their escorts in the convoy, together with their speed and course. On the 1st of September 1942 he was charged under Section 1 of The Treachery Act 1940: "On the British ship SS Finland, with intent to help the enemy, did an act between 7-9 August 1942, that is, he did record information relating to the movements and composition of a convoy."

Scott-Ford was tried in camera at the Old Bailey before Mr. Justice Birkett on the 16th of October 1942. Sub-Lieutenant Wilfred Wood, RNVR, from the Intelligence Division, Admiralty, testified that the information collected by Scott-Ford would prove extremely useful to the enemy. He was convicted and did not appeal.

He was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint, assisted by Harry Kirk, at Wandsworth at 9.00 a.m. Scott-Ford stood 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 132 lbs. Pierrepoint gave him a drop of 8 feet 5 inches, leading to fracture dislocation of the 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae.

The case was reported only after the execution, in view of the sensitive nature of it in time of war.

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