FIVE YEARS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 221, 15 April 1933, Page 5

FIVE YEARS

OFFICER TO GO TO GAOL T

Sentence of Penal Servitude

LIEUT. BAILLIE STEWART,

Press Association. —Copyright. t

London, April 13.—Lieut. Baillie Stewart, the officer of the Seaforth Highlanders, who was courtmartialled on a series of charges of divulging official secrets, was cashiered and sentenced to five years' penal servitude. His Majesty the King confirmed the sentence.

A War Office communique says that the Court found Stewart guilty on the first, second, fourth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth charges. His Majesty confirmed the findings on the second, fourth and ninth of obtaining, collecting and communicating information which might be useful to an enemy for a purpose prejudicial to the State, but withheld confirmation of the remainder relating only to subsidiary incidents and the same transactions.

After the announcement Stewart, clad ■in civilian clothes and seated between two officers in mufti, was driven out of the Tower to Wormwood Scrubs prison to become a civilian prisoner. Ht will be subject to the usual routine, and will probably go from Wormwood Scrubbs to the convict prison at Maidstone. Ccnsiderable public interest was taken in the case, largely because of Stewart's apprehension and detention in tee Tower of London for a considerable tima before the court-martial took place.

Details of the accusation were made public for the first time on March 20, when Stewart "was charged that, at Berlin and elsewhere, between August 1 and August 20, 1932. in association with "X" (a German named), he made note of the following matters: Firstly, the organisation: secondly, the extent of automatic rifle equipment; thirdly, the organisation of a brigade of tankr; being an act preparatory to obtaining information which might be useful to enemy. Altogether there were ten charges, referring to journeys and events between July and November, including allegations of having obtained near Aldershot information which might be useful to enemy, and having arranged a meeting in Holland with Otto Walde'mar Od»«, Berlin, which was preparatory to communicating information prejudicial to the State's interests. The charges mostly referred to tanks, armoured cars and. automatic rifles. Baillie Stewart was the first officer court-rnartialled since the war under the Official Secrets Act.