Did you know…?
This is Ignatius Timothy Trebitsch-Lincoln.
Member of Parliament for Darlington. Buddhist abbot. Self-proclaimed Dalai Lama. Convicted con artist. Infamous spy. Nazi collaborator.
Ignatius was known as many different things to many different people. Is he also known as the last man to be subject to a civil execution within the walls of Shepton Mallet Prison?
No – he was the condemned man’s father.
Ignatius learnt of his son John’s forthcoming execution from the front page of an English newspaper whilst in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). As soon as possible he booked a liner to set sail towards England.
Before he left he sent a letter to John in which he wrote:
“My sins seem to have been visited on your head, and I pray that you will forgive me before you die. If I had been a better father, this might not have happened, and I am now filled with regret for my past.”
Ignatius made a request to the Home Secretary to delay the execution to allow him time to travel to England. Whilst the 22 year old John remained hopeful that his father would arrive in Shepton Mallet in time, at 8am on 2 March 1926 when he went to the gallows his father was still on a ship somewhere off the French coast.
Ignatius died in Shanghai in 1943, aged 64.
John remains buried in plot seven inside the walls on the west side of the prison.
Published on 20/03/16 @ Creating a Vision and Future for Shepton Mallet Prison
[References: Wikipedia and Disney, 1992]
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