Shepton Mallet prison to host chilling wartime talk

By Laura Linham 22nd Apr 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 22nd Apr 2026

A chilling true story of war, crime and justice will be brought to life at Shepton Mallet Prison later this month.

Annie Kalotschke, from the United States, will give a one-off lecture at the prison on Tuesday, 28 April 2026, focusing on the 1945 execution of Private William Harrison Jr and the wider story of American military justice at the jail during the Second World War.

What makes the event especially powerful is Kalotschke's personal connection to the case. She says Harrison raped and murdered her aunt, Patricia Wylie, aged seven and a half, in Northern Ireland in 1944.

The talk, titled A Tale of War, Crime and Forgotten Justice, will explore one of 18 executions of American soldiers carried out at Shepton Mallet Prison between 1942 and 1945. Organisers say the evening will include new research, courtroom history, personal testimony and previously unseen documents and photographs.

Kalotschke said what brings her to Shepton Mallet is not only the history of the prison, but the lasting pain left behind in her family. She said relatives still living in the town where the murder happened have struggled for years with rumours that Harrison was never executed.

The lecture will also examine the extraordinary attempt by Harrison's parents to seek executive clemency from US President Franklin Roosevelt. According to the information provided by Kalotschke, it was the first such plea from the European Theatre of Operations, but it was denied.

Kalotschke is due to present the event with Peter and Shepton Mallet Prison research historian Dave Cable. The evening is being billed as a chance to look beyond the prison walls and into a case that touches on military justice, family trauma and the human cost of war.

Tickets for the lecture are available through the Shepton Mallet Prison event page. A start time was not included in the information provided.