A military historian has been jailed for stealing a log book from the widow of an RAF airman who was a member of the Dambusters squadron.
Bateman was found guilty of stealing the treasured book, worth £10,000, following a five-day trial in January.
The log book, which belonged to the late Sergeant John Fraser, has never been found and Bateman has refused to tell police what happened to it.
Sergeant Fraser's daughter, Shere Lowe, 60, who flew over from Washington in the United States for the hearing, blasted Bateman for his "cruel charade" as she spoke in court.
Sentencing, Judge John Dodd QC said: "I consider this to be a despicable offence involving, as it did, abusing the trust placed in you, presenting yourself as a genuine historian, by the widow of a war hero.”
He said it "remains a mystery" what he had done with the log book, which he described as an "important historical artefact".
Doris Fraser, 92, the widow of Sgt Fraser, sent the log book to the historian after he contacted her in 1996 as part of his research into the airmen involved in the Dambusters RAF squadron.
Several years later he contacted Ms Lowe, who was unaware her father's log book had been previously loaned to Bateman.
She asked for it to be returned in January 2003, having never seen it herself, but when an envelope arrived from Bateman it had been carefully cut open at the bottom.
Her mother was "physically sick" when she realised the log book was missing, Ms Lowe said.
He initially claimed the log book must have been lost, but then said that he had recovered it from the Post Office.
Bateman then told the family he had been gifted the log book and later produced a Christmas card he claimed was from the victim which appeared to confirm his story of ownership.
In June 2003, after he was told a report on the missing log book would appear in the national press, he reported a burglary at his address and alleged intruders had stolen it.
Bateman had previously been cautioned for theft in February 2003 for stealing two documents and a badge from the National Archives, prosecutor Jollyon Robertson said.
He was also convicted in May last year for six counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possession.
In a statement outside court, Ms Lowe said it had been a "long 14 years".
"My father was a great and brave man. To the world he may have been a hero, to us he was so much more, he was devoted husband and he was Dad," she said.
"The stolen log book to anyone else is just a commodity. To us, it was a reminder of a loved and cherished man.”
Additional reporting by Associated Press
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