Harold Pringle... executed by firing squad
Harold Joseph Pringle[1] (died 5 July 1945) was the only soldier of the Canadian Army to be executed during the Second World War for military crimes. Pringle enlisted in the Canadian Army with his father. On medical examination he was accepted but his father was turned away due to poor eyesight. Pringle was a disciplinary problem for his unit and went AWOL many times and in the end he was sent to a reformatory camp for a year. He escaped after serving six months there and was sent to Italy where he was posted to the 1st Battalion, The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment as a Private. Pringle's combat record was unblemished, but after the Hitler Line battle, he deserted and went to Rome where he joined the Sailor Gang. The Lane Gang was a bigger and better organized gang in Rome that smuggled goods for the black market. The Sailor Gang did much the same things, but on a smaller scale, as it only had five members. The members of the Sailor Gang lived pleasantly for many months, but then things started going downhill. They were almost always drunk, got into fights, and made rash decisions, up to the point where one of their members was shot by another. They tried to take him to the local field hospital. All of his gang (except one who was given immunity for his testimony at their trials) said he died on the way. They did not want to get caught with the body, so they put him in a ditch, and Pringle and the leader shot him several times so it would look like a Mafia killing. The dead man was discovered and police apprehended almost all the members of the Lane Gang and the members of the Sailor Gang. The members were tried and sentenced to death for murder. Pringle appealed the decision, which was rejected, and on 5 July 1945, the sentence of death was carried out. He was shot by a Canadian Army firing squad. He was subsequently buried in grave number 11, row B, plot VII at Caserta War Cemetery.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/canadian-forces/38716/harold-pringle...-executed-by-firing-squad