With Violent Hands

In June 1945, Britain was in the awkward phase between the end of the war in Europe and that in the Far East. However as people enjoyed their new-found freedom from air raids and rocket bombs, violent crime was still around. That month, an armed robbery took place at a garage in Thornton Heath, South London. A cashier was shot and fatally injured, the robber escaping with a small amount of money.This book follows the investigation into the crime, and the eventual trial and aftermath. Interspersed with this is an account of an unrelated case going through the parallel military court system. In that case some German prisoners of war were accused of killing one of their companions for allegedly betraying an escape plan.The cases had one striking similarity - they each led to the trials of eighteen year olds, who despite their young years faced the possibility of death by hanging.This book tells what the outcome of the trials was, the fates of the young men, and the subsequent lives of the surviving persons and their family members.