 |
| British POWs in Colditz at Christmas - IWM |
Autumn approached in Colditz, and with it came the twilight of the escaping season in 1941. For most POW camps in occupied Europe, the freezing and severe winter weather would curtail or postpone much of the escape work. But the men in Colditz would try anything at any time. They continued their plans with a steady flow of attempts which kept the Germans busy.
On 1 September 1941 Major William Anderson, Squadron Leader Brian Paddon and Lieutenant-Colonel Guy German were discovered by pure chance reconnoitring escape possibilities in the camp kitchen basement area. Whilst they were in situ, a snap fire-fighting practice had been called by Colditz Lieutenant Paul Priem and the courtyard was cleared. A horse drawn fire appliance ‘rushed’ into action through the main doors, followed by a manually pulled contrivance which rattled in to a chorus of ridicule from the POWS looking out from their upstairs windows. As part of the drill, a main hose was passed through the kitchen window to connect with a fire hydrant. The three POWs were discovered. Chance detection at any level of an escape could occur by sheer bad luck and timing.
 |
| Major William Anderson |
 |
| Lieutenant- Colonel Guy German |
On 7 October Lieutenant H Desjobert climbed over a fence on the POWs return walk from the park. Sentries opened fire and closed in. With no chance of getting away he put his hands up and surrendered. The Frenchman was lucky not to have been wounded or killed. During his spell of solitary punishment, Desjobert would gather his thoughts and think about trying again.
Other escape attempts from the park enclosure would have encouraged Belgian Lieutenants Marcel Leroy and Andre Lejeune. On 8 November, they climbed the wire of the ‘sheep pen’ exercise area and made a run up the steep hill towards the park perimeter wall. Rifle shots fizzed past the POWs. As they raced towards the wall, the rounded shape of the cordon meant that sentries risked firing and hitting each other. Bullets were flying at the two Belgians from all directions and guards around the castle walls joined in. The POWs tried to distract the castle guards by shouting abuse from their windows and ‘goon baiting’. This only inflamed the situation. When the Belgians were forced to surrender because they were unable to climb the wall, the guards in the castle had started firing up at the POW windows.
 |
| Park grounds and wall - virtualcolditz.com |
A subsequent enquiry into the incident by Camp Kommandant Oberstleutenant Max Schmidt concluded:
‘There were what appeared to be shots from the French quarters which later turned out to be artificially created, complete with smoke. At the same time, paper darts were thrown at the guards and a steel helmet* appeared at the window. It was very clear that the purpose of the demonstration was to distract the attention of the guards.’
*Tin hat was made of cardboard
A union Jack was also hung out of one of the British windows. Anyone poking their head up during the height of the incident risked getting it blown off.
 |
| Kommandant Oberstleutenant Max Schmidt - war 44.com |
With only 33 POW days to Christmas; a spate of opportunist escape attempts took place:
22 Nov 41 – Lieutenant Geoffrey Wardle and Dutch 2nd Lieutenant H G Donkers were caught attempting to exit through Oberstabsfeldwebel Gephard’s office.
23 Nov 41 - Captain Cyril Lewthwaite was spotted and apprehended in the Polish orderlies’ quarters.
23 Nov 41 – RAF Flight Lieutenant Don Donaldson and Flying Officer Don Thom decided to try their luck over the roof just before it was dark. The sentry on duty at the teatime appell had a predictable routine and the British had noted this before. He would be patrolling the prisoner yard during the evening. Hauptmann Roland Eggers described the routine:
‘He walked back and forth across the yard regularly, as was his known custom. He stopped every three or four turns for just so long. ….He never stopped half way across, and went back again to the wall he started from.’
The sentry moved out from the kitchen towards the other side of the yard and would walk about forty yards before stopping and turning. Donaldson and Thom had to climb on to the roof of the single floor kitchen building before the sentry turned around and before the yard security light came on. They managed to haul themselves up by using the lightening conductor for additional leverage. Their plan was working and they had reached the foot of a smoke stack when the camp security lights came on and they were spotted.
 |
| British, French & Polish POW's in Colditz Front Row 1st right Flt Lt Donald Thom, 5th right Flt Lt Don Donaldson - IWM |
25 November 41 – French Lieutenant Michel Girot dressed as an orderly tried to pass through the main gate with a fake message but was soon recaptured.
The Dutch tried another variation on a theme with another park escape (see past posts on manhole escapes). On 11 December 41 the park exercise party was a large one and more obstructive than usual when being counted ready for the walk back. The NCOs became wary and checked the line ups carefully. Officer in Charge Paul Priem spotted something odd and split up the Dutch sections of the parade. One of the dummies used at appells inside the castle to cover for earlier Dutch escapes was discovered. (‘Max or Moritz’- see past posts). The Germans finally knew how the Dutch had managed to manipulate the head counts in the past and give escapers a head start away from the castle before discovery.
The recount totalled two men missing, and dogs were brought in. Dutch Lieutenants Fritz ‘Bear’ Kriumink and Douw van der Krap were found hiding under a sheet with leaves meticulously sewn into it.
 |
| Dutch Lieutenants Fritz ‘Bear’ Kriumink and Douw van der Krap are centre & right - IWM |
But this was not the end of the Dutch efforts. On 15 December 41 two German officers stopped at the courtyard gate. The guard let them out and saluted. They marched off and turned left downhill towards the next archway as he closed and locked the door. The guard realised he had not asked for their passes. This was against orders; they were military personnel - all passes had to be checked. The guard was reluctant to leave his post but unlocked the door and ran after the officers. He asked for their ausweis.
‘That’s alright, we’re coming straight back’ one them answered in good German. It was not convincing enough. The castle guard were called out. Lieutenant Baron Diederick van Lynden and Captain Steenhouwer were detained.
 |
| van Lynden & Steenhouwer in fake uniforms - IWM |
It was the French who had the last laugh a week before Christmas. On the 17th December, Lieutenants Guy de Frondeville, Jacques Durand Hornus and Jacques Prot escaped from a party of five POWs and two guards in Colditz town. Hauptman Reinhold Eggers described what happened:
‘…the French officer dentist hadn’t the material for more than simple fillings.* The patients all came out of our dentist’s house together after treatment. Their guard came last. It was very foggy and it was raining too that evening. Three of the party just bolted down the street…There was nothing the guard could do about it. He couldn’t run three ways at once. He daren’t fire blindly into the fog. We could do nothing once we had warned everyone….The three in due course got right back to France.’
* Both the French and German dentists in the castle could only carry out limited work. More serious cases and surgical work had to be performed in Colditz town.
 |
| Colditz town & market place c 1940 - delcampe.net |
 |
| Lt Guy de Frondeville |
 |
| Lt Jacques Prot |
Eggers recorded that their own Christmas celebrations were dampened, but it is worth noting that up until the end of 1941 out of nearly one hundred escape attempts, no home runs had been successful from within Colditz castle itself. That would all change during the first week of 1942.
Sources
Colditz The Full Story - Major Pat Reid MBE MC (Highly recommended read)
Colditz – The German Viewpoint – Roland Eggers (Recommended read)
Imperial War Museum
Internet – Various
Author's Notes
©Keith Morley
THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish it to appear on this site, please message me with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed
good read
ReplyDeleteExcellent blog about the Colditz prisoners of war and their various escape attempts. I'm interested in learning more about Flight Lieutenant Don Thom. In P.R. Reid's book - Colditz The Full Story - the author mentions an escape attempt while Thom was at Lazarett 745 (Serves Stalag IV-A) Schmorkau. Would you happen to know more information about this escape?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind comments. Unfortunately I don't have any info on this escape. I have Thom down as a Flying Officer and my notes only relate to when he was at Oflag 1XA/H at Spangenberg, Stalag Luft 1 at Barth and Fort XV at Thorn.
DeleteI believe the prisoner mentioned in several Colditz publications as "Don Donaldson" is actually RAF Flt. Lieut. M.W. Donaldson, a Canadian.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your message.You're right and Matthew Wilson Donaldson has an interesting story. My understanding is that he was the first POW of the Norwegian campaign. He appears in various publications as M.W. Donaldson, W.M. Donaldson, William Donaldson and Don Donaldson. After his escape attempts at Spangenberg and Thorn, its not surprising that he ended up at Colditz on 16th April 1941. Some publications note him as a flying officer and others as a flight lieutenant. He was listed as a flying officer in July 1938 and again in April 1941. Some references have retained that rank throughout but he's down as a flight Lieutenant in November 1941. I've not had time to drill down on this, but hopefully there be some definitive dates in the RAF records or The Times to clear up the inconsistencies. I used 'Don' in my post because Pat Reid always referred to him by that name in his excellent book.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteJust finished Don't Look Back, and wanted to say how much I enjoyed it. They say "write what you know" and it's clear you have researched the subject meticulously. The detail involved really drew me in!
It was particularly relevant as I have spent some time looking into my late uncle's story. He went on his, first op as "second dickie" (not "second pilot" which term I have not heard used?) as did Evans - in my uncles case, after no less than 18 months training as a, pilot. He was lost without trace, most likely shot down over the Bay of Biscay. In different circumstances, he might have made the, same journey as your father.
Well done for writing such a gripping and human story from your father's experiences.
Thanks very much for your message and kind words. Feedback like this is very much appreciated and gives the author a real lift. I've had some lovely comments (and reviews) but the challenge has been to nudge the reader into posting their thoughts into the reviews. They make such a difference to folks staying on the page when browsing. If there is a chance you could post some of your kind comments in the review section on Amazon or Troubador Publishing that would be terrific.
DeleteI've noted the publisher's link below here just in case. https://www.troubador.co.uk/bookshop/biography/don-t-look-back
The Amazon link is too long to put in here but you can search the Kindle store by title and author's name.
You are spot with the term 'second dicky'. My father used the phrases 'second pilot' and 'second dicky' when he was recounting his experiences to me but this could have been because of the passing of the years. Additionally I was reluctant to use RAF slang pretty much on the first page. I'm not sure whether the Canadians used the same terminology, so I hedged that one in Ron and Clements' dialogue, although Ron does refer to 'second dickey' (wrong spelling by me) at the Maca's apartment before his exchange with Clements when he finds out what happened to Clements' and the aircraft. Its an interesting one, as the connection to the term was likely to relate to the hinged seat they used to sit on near the pilot. I was sorry to hear about your uncle - with an experienced crew the odds would be infinitely better than a crew in the 'survive the first five and stay alive' scenario. There was a good chance that they would have returned safely.
The sole driver behind this project has always been to reach out to a wider audience with escape and evasion. I feel that it is a vastly underrated area of WW2 and doesn't receive the coverage it deserves. The patriots risked everything for complete strangers and the evaders and escapees had a rough ride too.
I've pasted your post in as the link doesn't seem to be working. "That's done. One more thought, more controversially... was it worth it?
DeleteSeems around 3,000 airmen evaded capture and got back to UK, but they then couldn't take part in ops. The argument could be made that they freed up others, but I don't think the RAF, as the war progressed, was short of volunteers? And the civilian cost, in occupied countries, was terrible. Maybe they should have been instructed to hand themselves in?"
Many thanks for your review and reply. Reviews make such a difference and I’m very grateful to you. I must apologise for the lengthy delay in responding to your post; as I’ve been inundated with reader interest and sales following publication of ‘Don’t Look Back’.
There’s much more which could be written on the subject you raised, depending on what sources you get to read. It’s interesting that Fighter Command generally returned their pilots to operational duties, whereas Bomber Command did not. Some aircrew asked for a return to ops after evading but I’ve found very few of these and they occurred much later in the war.
The overall numbers of airmen evading capture in Western Europe and reaching the UK during the war can also give a distorted picture of their chances of successfully achieving this. Until the Allies advanced through Belgium and France in 1944, successful evasions in Western Europe and a return home remained relatively low. But new directions to reach possible safety did open up. If the geography was favourable, then reaching Allied lines became a possibility. The camps in remote forest areas of France and Belgium set up via Operation Marathon during 1944 also provided shelter for evaders until liberation.
Dangers faced by the population still under Nazis occupation were unchanged, and the driving force for helping in the escape lines stayed equally resolute: it was fight back against the oppressor and feel that you were doing something, via the local Resistance or as a civilian. I guess it would look passive to the patriots (and the Nazis) if airmen just followed orders and gave themselves up to the enemy upon landing.
There was also the morale issue among Allied airmen. If someone evaded or escaped and subsequently returned to their squadron it was a massive boost to everyone, especially the aircrews. The operational losses were tough enough to cope with, and on top of that, perish the thought that if you were then forced to bale out over enemy territory, you had to follow orders and throw in the towel. I’ve read some of the squadron forms 540 and appendices, including the notes on my father. You can feel the buzz.