Americans in the Waffen SS

**Woolgar** · 10-02-2009, 04:32 PM

A bit of info on him:

At this time, another Briton, Thomas Haller Cooper (who used the German version of Cooper – Boettcher – as his last name), arrived at the camp. Cooper, unable to obtain public service employment in Britain due to his mother's German nationality, joined the BUF. During a visit to Germany in 1939, he became trapped there by the war and joined the Waffen-SS. He was posted to the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (LAH), where he eventually transferred to the infamous SS "Totenkopf" infantry training battalion. He became a machine-gun instructor with the 5th Totenkopf Regiment and was made an NCO. Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union, he was assigned to the Wachbattaillon Oranienburg outside Kraków, Poland, where he allegedly told BFC men that he committed atrocities against Soviet POWs, Polish civilians, and Jewish prisoners. Later, he served as transport driver in the SS-Polizei-Division, which was posted to Schablinov, a town on the Leningrad front, replacing the mangled forces of the Spanish Blue Division. When Soviets attacked the division on 13 February 1943, Cooper was hit in the legs by shell splinters, evacuated, and awarded the Wound Badge in Silver, becoming the only Englishman to obtain a German combat decoration.[1]

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 10-02-2009 04:32 PM

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Jonesy · 10-02-2009, 07:44 PM

Thanks Wolfspear, great feedback.

Mark

**Woolgar** · 10-02-2009, 08:18 PM

You are welcome Mark and welcome to the forum

**Ash Riding** · 10-07-2009, 04:13 PM

A further titbit on the BFC , on the 22nd of march they where ordered to move to the HQ of the Nordland div at Angermunde , from there they where sent to join the divisional armoured recon batt ( 11 . ss - panzer - Aufklarunsabteilung ) in Grussow . It was here that the BFC where to nearly go into combat but where pulled out in April before any combat was seen .
On the 19th April the BFC had a surprise in the form of a man called Douglas Berneville - claye dressed in a black ss tank uniform with the rank of Hauptsturmfuhrer who had come to lead the BFC into battle . This didnot happen as cooper basically told him to go away . Claye was the only member of the BFC to of been an officer in A squadron 1 SAS .

**Woolgar** · 10-07-2009, 05:50 PM

Thanks for that Ash, I wasnt aware of that

Nick

**big ned** · 10-07-2009, 06:25 PM

Hi Guys,

Not only was Berneville-Claye a traitor, he was also a thief, complete bounder and all round cad!!

Check him out here: Douglas Berneville-Claye - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The b*****d also got away with it too!!!

Disgruntled, Ned.

**Woolgar** · 10-07-2009, 06:44 PM

Blimey! He even pulled the wool over Felix Steiners eyes !!!

Thanks for the link Ned

Nick

**Paul D** · 10-07-2009, 08:40 PM

As far as i know he was just a Walter Mitty character , as for him being an SS Hauptsturmfuhrer and dining with Steiner !!!!!

No facts or records exist to support this at all , another part of his "Walter " stories or fabricated by some historians to make the whole BFK more exiting than it actually was !!!

**Ash Riding** · 10-07-2009, 09:20 PM

I only wrote what is written in Adrian Weales Renegades Hitlers Englishmen book . As far as all the scumbags who served in the BFC every single one of them as told " stories " .