Major Alastair Lorimer Cram (25 August 1909 – 17 March 1994) was a Scottish mountaineer, lawyer and British Army officer during the Second World War.

Cram was born in Perth, the son of solicitor Duncan Cram. He was an outstanding athlete, founding the Perth chapter of the Junior Mountaineering Club in 1930 and winning the Scottish A.A.A. half-mile championship in 1933. He was educated at Perth Academy and the University of Edinburgh, earning his LLB in 1934. After an apprenticeship with Balfour and Manson in Edinburgh, he joined his father's firm, Mitchell & Cram, in Perth.

Alastair Cram

Cram joined the Royal Artillery in 1939. He was taken prisoner in 1941 during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh in North Africa. He subsequently made 21 escape attempts, finally succeeding in April 1945, just one month before the end of the war in Europe. He was awarded the Military Cross for his escape efforts.

Alastair Cram

After the war, he served with the SAS and the Intelligence Corps. An excellent linguist, Cram spoke French, German, Italian, and Czech. He was stationed in Germany on intelligence duties in November 1946, serving with the War Crimes Commission.

Alastair Cram

Following the war, he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh. In 1948, he was appointed a resident magistrate in Kenya, a senior resident magistrate in 1957 and a puisne judge in 1960. In Kenya, he played a role in questioning the treatment of detained Mau Mau rebels.

References

External links

Bill Murray, Alastair Cram and the art of escape

The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram

1909 births

1984 deaths

Recipients of the Military Cross

Scottish soldiers

Scottish lawyers

British Kenya judges

Royal Artillery officers

World War II prisoners of war held by Italy

World War II prisoners of war held by Germany

People from Perth, Scotland

People educated at Perth Academy

Alumni of the University of Edinburgh

British Army personnel of World War II

Special Air Service officers

Intelligence Corps officers

British World War II prisoners of war

Scottish escapees

Escapees from German detention