Murder claim over NZ war hero's disguise

A NEW Zealand war hero broke international rules of combat by killing German soldiers in World War II while disguised as a Nazi, according to a newspaper report about a new book.

Alfred Clive Hulme was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British and New Zealand bravery award, for his actions in the 1941 Battle of Crete, where he killed 33 German snipers and other soldiers while dressed in a German paratrooper's smock, historian Glyn Harper writes in his book, In the Face of the Enemy.

The Sunday Star-Times quoted Peter Wills, Auckland University's Centre for Peace Studies deputy director, saying Hulme's actions were ''unsanctioned murder'' and New Zealand should track down the families of his German victims and apologise. Auckland University associate professor of law Bill Hodge said killing enemy soldiers while wearing their uniform was ''prima facie a war crime''. Harper, who co-wrote the book with Colin Richardson, said Hulme deserved his VC for his outstanding bravery ''but he shouldn't have done what he did (in disguising himself).''

Hulme died in 1982, and his daughter Anita said accusing her father of war crimes was ''a terrible thing to bring up''.