Execution
In order to calculate the correct parameters for hanging Amery (e.g. required height of the noose above the gallows trapdoor and length of subsequent "drop" to ensure a swift death) his height and weight were recorded shortly before his execution: he measured 5 feet 7 inches and weighed 140 pounds. Amery was given a drop of 7 feet 8 inches when he was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint, assisted by Henry E. Critchell, in Wandsworth Prison at 9.00 am on Wednesday, 19 December 1945. A few hours later, on the same day that he was executed, Amery's body was buried in an unmarked grave in Wandsworth prison cemetery. This practice was standard procedure because bodies of executed prisoners were regarded as property of the British government, and therefore remained in the custody of the prison where they had been executed. Wandsworth prison cemetery is situated inside the walls of the prison, and therefore it cannot be visited by the general public. Amery's body has remained there ever since.
In an article which was to be published in the Empire News and Sunday Chronicle, but which was suppressed as the result of pressure from the Home Office, Pierrepoint described him as "the bravest man I ever hanged". Greeting the hangman at the appointed hour, Amery reportedly quipped: "Mr Pierrepoint, I've always wanted to meet you, but not, of course, under these circumstances...". A proof copy of this article is in the Prison Commission files at the United Kingdom National Archives, but it is contradicted by another archive file: the Prison Commission official who wrote this stated that "Amery did extend his hand and said 'Oh! Pierrepoint.' Upon which Pierrepoint took his hand and placed it behind his back for pinioning and that the conversation was entirely limited to that remark".
An epitaph written by his father appears in The Empire at Bay. The Leo Amery Diaries. 1929-1945:
| “ | At end of wayward days he found a cause “Twas not his Country’s” – Only time can tell |
” |
Read more about this topic: John Amery
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