Man Jailed For Stealing Dambusters Log Book
A military historian has been jailed for stealing a log book from the widow of an RAF airman who was a member of the Dambusters squadron.
Alexander Bateman was sentenced to two years in prison over the theft of the book, which was worth around £10,000.
The 48-year-old had repeatedly lied to the serviceman's widow after being asked to return the memento.
It had belonged to Sergeant John Fraser and has never been found, after Bateman refused to tell police where it was.
Sgt Fraser's widow, Doris, sent the log book to the historian after he contacted her in 1996 as part of his research into the airmen involved in the famous squadron.
The couple's daughter, Shere Lowe, was contacted by Bateman years later. She was unaware the log book had been loaned to him.
But when she asked for it to be returned in January 2003, an envelope arrived which had been carefully cut open at the bottom.
Ms Lowe said her mother was "physically sick" when she realised it was missing.
Bateman said the log book must have been lost but then said he'd recovered it from the Post Office, before changing his story again and claiming he had been gifted the book by the family.
After being told in June that a report would appear in the national press about the missing log book, Bateman suddenly reported a burglary at his home and said intruders had stolen it.
Ms Lowe, who flew over from Washington in the United States for the hearing, blasted Bateman for his "cruel charade" as she spoke in court.
She said:
"All I have wanted out of this from day one is just to see my father's history, to be able to hold it in my hands and to be able to see it for the first time, and to share it with my children and my family."
Sentencing, Judge John Dodd QC said:
"I consider this to be a despicable offence involving, as it did, abusing the trust placed in you, presenting yourself as a genuine historian, by the widow of a war hero."
"You decided to keep the log book, treating it as your own, misleading the family when they sought its return, which added to their sense of loss and betrayal."
He said it "remains a mystery" what he had done with the log book, which he described as an "important historical artefact".
Cover image courtesy of the German Federal Archives.
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