Shepton Mallet Prison

England Somerset Shepton Mallet

Shepton Mallet had closed as a prison in 1930, but at the outbreak of WW2 the prison was occupied by the British military and prisoners began to arrive from 15th October 1939 soon filling it to capacity. The garden in the exercise yard was tarmacked to provide a drill square.
The "Mallet" gained a reputation as a hard disciplinarian 'glasshouse' (Glasshouse was military slang for a prison, after the large glass lantern roof at Aldershot military prison)
In mid 1942 the prison was handed over to the American forces until September 1945 when it returned to British hands and continued to be used as a military prison until 1966.
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In 1942 Shepton Mallet Military Prison was handed over to the US Forces and upto September 1945 over 700 US servicemen were held there. During the 3 years under US control, 16 prisoners were executed by hanging and a further 2 by firing squad. The hanging executions were carried out in a specially designed red brick building attached to D wing. The executions were usually carried out by a member of the Pierrepoint family.
Of the 18 men executed eight were convicted of murder, six of rape and four of both crimes. 3 of the executions were double hangings.
Initially their bodies were interred at Plot X in Brookwood Cemetery. In 1949 all 18 bodies were exhumed and 17 were re-buried in Plot E at Oise-Aisne American Cemetery. Plot E is separate from the main cemetery and is a plot for the "dishonoured dead".
David Cobbs body was repatriated to the US.
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2 of the executions carried out during the period of American occupation were by firing squad against this wall within the prison.
Private Alex F. Miranda (30th May 1944) and Private Benjamin Pygate (28th November 1944) were both executed by firing squads after being convicted of murder of fellow soldiers.
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Private Verney Asser (aged 30) was the only Australian serviceman to be executed during the First World War. He was found guilty in a civilian court of the murder of fellow countryman Pte J.H. Durkin at Sutton Veny camp near Salisbury on 27 November 1917.
Asser was hanged at Shepton Mallet Prison on 5th March 1918 and his body buried in an unmarked grave within the prison walls. An archaeological dig took place after the prison had closed and identified the unmarked graves of 7 prisoners executed between 1889 and 1926.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At the outbreak of WW2 many of the countries important historical documents were moved from the Public Record Office in London to 'C' wing Shepton mallet prison. Some 300 tons of documents were moved, including the Domesday Book, HMS Victory Log books and despatches from the Battle of Waterloo. Some of the items were moved elsewhere on 5 July 1942 due to fear of concentration of important items with the Germans bombing nearby Bath and Bristol. An archivist and his family lived in the cell block along with the documents. When the prison opened as a visitor attraction, one of the first visitors was the son of the archivist who described to the guides his life there during the war years.
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