British Traitors Who Have Committed High Treason

To paraphrase a well known saying, one man's traitor is another man's freedom fighter. This must certainly be the sentiment that people feel towards William Wallace.

Treason Act 1351 instigated by Edward III. Worth a read...just in case

The water gate to the Tower of London from the river Thames.

The web article Traitors Gate describes its gruesome history which includes that of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

As you might expect this guy was a bit of a double dealer. Originally on the side of Richard III the Yorkist (white rose) King, he switched sides at the battle of Bosworth to fight with Henry Tudors's (red rose) Lancastrian army which contributed to the defeat of Richard and establishment of the Tudor dynasty.

In 1495 he was executed for treason against Henry because he supported a rebellion lead by pretender to the throne Perkin Warbeck. I guess a leopard never changes its spots.

One minute you're 'in' the next minute you're 'out'. Such were the perils of senior government stewardship at the time of Henry III. Thomas Moore being Catholic resisted the Reformation which developed ideas of the so called Praemunire which denied the right of the Pope to have ultimate power of English affairs. Moore was committed for High Treason for denying for the King's Supremacy, May 7, 1535.

For over a year prior to his trial attempts were made to persuade him to change his mind whilst he was held in the Tower of London. The Duke of Norfolk one of the people who were trying him said. "You see now how grievously you have offended his Majesty ; yet he is so very mer­ciful, that if you will lay aside your Obstinacy, and change your Opinion, we hope you may obtain Pardon and Favour in his sight." Moore stuck to his principles and responded "Most Noble Lords, I have great reason to return thanks to your Honours for this your great Civility, but I beseech Almighty God, that I may continue in the Mind I am in, thro' his Grace, unto Death."

He was sentenced to a traitors execution, which involved the gruesome process of hanging drawing and quartering. The sentence was announced as "... to be hanged till he should be half dead; that then he should be cut down alive, his Privy Parts cut off, his Belly ripped, his Bowels burnt, his four Quarters sit up over four Gates of the City: and his Head upon London-Bridge." King Henry commuted the sentence to beheading because he had previously held top jobs in the country.

Famously came unstuck by failing to produce a male heir for Henry III. As well as being accused of witch craft and sorcery she faced charges of adultery. The alibi's she provided for her whereabouts relating to her alleged affairs were conveniently dismissed because they were inadmissible. Why? Well, because it was claimed she was a Witch she could travel in non human ways which meant she could materialise at any time and any place of her choosing. Interesting isn't it that she wasn't able to spookily evaporate from her place of execution on Tower Green in the Tower of London.

The 1534 Treasons Act followed close on the heels of the Act Of Supremacy. The 1534 Treasons act was replaced by another Act in 1547 and further ammendments were made in 1551. The sorts of things that got you into trouble were counterfeiting the royal seal and taking over Castles and not giving them back within six days when asked nicely.

People who fell foul of the Treason Acts included, George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, Sir William Brereton, Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris
Sir Francis Weston, Catherine Howard, Queen, Thomas Culpeper, and Francis Dereham.

I have a small claim to fame in that I once stayed at Brereton Hall home of Sir William. The house was owned by a business friend of mine.

Whilst Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators fell foul of the law. Their unsuccessful attempt to blow up parliament with the Gunpowder Plot has meant November the Fifth has become a great time for friends and family to enjoy fireworks and food. Here are some great Bonfire Night recipes.

Worried about social unrest because of the social and economic changes provoked by the industrial revolution, the 1799 Combination Acts made it illegal for groups of working class people to gather together. Upset by the restrictions political activist Arthur Thistlewood and some like minded people conspired to assassinate the whole of British Cabinet in 1820.

They were rumbled when their planning meetings in Cato Street London were stormed by Police following a tip off.

More Cato Street Conspiracy links:

National Archives
Cato Street Conspiracy

88 Scotsmen were charged with various offenses associated with the so called Radical War of 1820. Their aim was Scottish Independence.

The Scottish Insurrectionist movement like the Cato Street Conspiracy and the more famous Tolpuddle Martyrs were driven by social and economic pressures of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. There is an annual commemoration to Baird Hardie and Wilson at Sighthill Cemetery in Glasgow to this day.

The Scottish Insurrection of 1820

British Consul and Human Rights activist. Roger Casement became radicalised after the Boer War and the mistreatment of people there and elsewhere in Africa. He sought German support for and Irish rebellion against British rule. His reputation is controversial. The so called Black Diaries in which evidence of Casement's homosexuality were believed to be forged were claimed to have been part of a smear campaign. In 2002 forensic investigation suggests they were actually written by him.

Executed on the 3rd August 1916 at Pentonville Prison. Executioner Albert Ellis said 'He appeared to me the bravest man it fell to my unhappy lot to execute'

Responsible for trying to form the British Free Corp an army unit inspired by anti-communism whilst working in Nazi Germany during second world war. At his trial the presiding Judge said "You now stand a self-confessed traitor to your King and country, and you have forfeited your right to live."

The Legion Of St George was the original name of the BFC. He broadcast pro fascist radio bulletins from Italy. He was described as a Mouthpiece for Hitler by the Daily Mail in an article which describes Amery's eccentric, and colourful lifestyle

Four clever people who betrayed Britain by working for the Soviet Union. This BBC article describes how they coped with their treachery.