Robert John Pope, of Walter Road, was charged at a special sitting of the Ammanford Police Court of Thursday, before Mr. Henry Herbert and Mr. John Lewis, with being an alien enemy who had failed to register.
He was also charged under the Defence of the Realm Act with uttering words likely to cause disaffection among His Majesty's subjects.
Alfred Bradbrook, a private in 4 th Yorks. Regiment, said that on Monday afternoon, between four and five o'clock, he was at the Cross Inn Hotel, and saw the prisoner there.
The conversation turned upon the war, and the prisoner said they were very slow in allowing Germans to act as censors passing letters to the prisoners interned in England; that his father was a German, and was a censor in the North Hants. encampment, where he was interned. He said also that he was a German himself.
Witness told him he would have to report him, and he then said he was not a German; there was no need to report him. He said witness knew nothing about signalling just because he was a soldier.
“What do you know about the Army,” he said. “Can you show me any signals?” Witness told him he was not a signaller, and then prisoner made some signs with his hands, and said they represented German aeroplane signals.
Witness said he had better come to the police station, and he would report him there. He did not want to go at first, but witness and a man named James caught hold of him, and he then said he would walk with out trouble.
He took them past the police station nearly to the recruiting office, and then James said they were going wrong. They went back to the police station, where he was handed over.
Witness, was a stranger in Ammanford, and prisoner gave him a piece of paper with his father's address on it in north Hants. He wanted to bet that he could show a letter from his father to prove he was acting as a German censor, but on a man offering to bet he said he could not lay his hands on the letter at once. He was sober, though he had had a few drinks, and knew what he was talking about.
Thos. Henry James, of 20, New Road, Ammanford, a collier corroborated.
Inspector Davies said that on Monday, about 6.30 p.m., the prisoner was brought by the last witness, and on their statement he charged prisoner with being a German subject and not registering himself.
He replied: “I don't think I am a German subject, although my step-father is a German subject, and is interned in North Hants. camp, and has been there since the commencement of the war.”
Witness also charged him with wilfully uttering words likely to cause disaffection among the civilian population, contrary to the Defence of the Realm Act.
In reply to the Clerk, the Inspector said he had made enquiries of the Newport police, and found prisoner's father was a German subject, and was interned as stated, but in London.
The prisoner was not a German subject according to the mother's marriage certificate and prisoner's birth certificate.
The police told him they had made enquiries at his mother's in Newport, and she had buried his father 31 years ago, and had been married to a German subject and had four children by him. He was satisfied prisoner was a British subject.
The Clerk said the onus was on the prisoner to prove he was not a German. Certificates did not speak for themselves, and someone had to prove the fact.
In reply to questions, the Inspector said he withdrew the first charge, but proceeded on the other.
Prisoner, on being asked if he had anything to say, stated that it was a misunderstanding that he was a German. He said his step-father was a German, and they took it for granted he said his father. He was a British subject, born in Cardiff.
Prisoner: my step-father is a letter sorter; that is his work in camp.
Mr. J. Lewis: Sorting is different to censoring; and prisoner said the British were slack in allowing German censors.
Mr. H. Herbert: How did you come to know aeroplane motions?
Prisoner: I don't know the motions at all.
The Chairman said he had been very foolish in talking like this in a public place. He would have to be very careful in future. As he had been living here some time, and had been locked up three days, he would have to pay 30s., including costs.
