Historian who stole logbook of Dambuster hero jailed for 2 years
THE daughter of a Dambusters hero yesterday condemned the greed of a military historian who stole her father’s treasured logbook.
Shere Lowe said Alexander Bateman conducted a cruel charade to obtain ‘an integral part’ of her family’s history.
Bateman, 48, was jailed for two years yesterday for the theft of RAF Flight Sergeant John Fraser’s wartime logbook.
The document – now worth £10,000 – was lent to Bateman by his widow Doris when he asked to borrow it for research in 1996.
When he was asked to return it, he concocted a series of excuses not to. He even sent Mrs Fraser an envelope with a split in it and claimed the book had fallen out in the post.
Bateman, a convicted paedophile, has refused to divulge its whereabouts and it has not yet been found. After his sentencing, Mrs Lowe, urged anyone who had information about the book to come forward.
‘The stolen log book to anyone else is just a commodity,’ she said. ‘To us, it was a reminder of a loved and cherished man.
‘Due to the greed of a dishonest man, an integral part of our family’s history has been stolen from us. I hope that Mr Bateman reflects on this and finds it in his heart to disclose the whereabouts of my father’s logbook.’ Mrs Lowe had been unaware her mother, who is now 92, had lent the log book to Bateman until 2003, when she asked for its return.
Bateman initially claimed it must have been lost, but later said he had recovered it. He then told the family he had been gifted the book by Mrs Fraser.
After being told a report on the missing book would appear in the national Press, he reported a burglary and claimed it was stolen.
Bateman produced a copy of the log book on the final day of the trial, despite previously insisting he had never reproduced it.
Mrs Lowe said: ‘I had every reason at the start to believe that this man was a historian and wanted to uphold the legacy of the Dambusters. The action that followed – the deception and the cruel charade, the lies, it’s had its weight on our family.’
Flight Sergeant Fraser, who was born in Canada, was an experienced bomb aimer when he was selected to join the crew of a Lancaster bomber in the new 617 Squadron in 1943.
He was one of only two survivors when his Lancaster was shot down during the daring Operation Chastise in May 1943 – the attack on Germany’s Rhur dams that became known as the Dambusters raid.
He became a prisoner of war until liberated in April 1945. After the war he moved to Canada with his wife, but died in 1962 in an air accident.
Mrs Lowe said it was important that relics of the war were not treated as commodities. She added: ‘What we value most is upholding his memory and his legacy and his courage.’
Jailing Bateman at Wood Green Crown Court, Judge John Dodd QC described the theft as a ‘despicable offence’. He had previously been cautioned for theft in February 2003 for stealing two documents and a badge from the National Archives.
He was also convicted in May last year of six counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possession.