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Dear Keith, My husband and I read Cruel Crossing, by Edward Stourton and found your website mentioned in it. My husband's father Knut Behr and his sister Gys Landsberger (nee Behr) and her husband Herbert Landsberger, all German-Jewish, fled France for Spain over what we now believe was the Pat Line in late 1942. I am attaching an essay about their experiences during the war. It was written by our daughter Emma Hansen (nee Behr) for a highschool history project some years ago. She was helped by us, her parents, her great-aunt Gys, and other relatives and friends. Gys Landsberger is still alive at 95, living in her own home in Connecticut. She finds talking about their terrble experiences during the war very painful. We are not certain about the accuracy of some of the details in the essay, as her memories of this difficult time have been affected by the passage of time. Briefly, the family fled from a wealthy upper-class life in Berlin in 1933, to Paris, and the subsequent 1939 round-up and persecution of the Jews. They fled south, to internment camps, and hiding elsewhere in Vichy France. Knut was hidden by a French peasant woman for a year on her farm. They were reunited in Marseilles, went to Banyuls-sur-Mer, and a finally did the punishing treck over the Pyrenees where they were abandoned by the guides they paid, followed by imprisonment in Spain. They were eventually released. Knut went to England, and Gys and Herbert to the USA. Knut married his fiancee Hilda, from whom he had been separated by the war, in London in 1944. They emigrated to the USA in 1946, joining Gys and Herbert. Peter Behr, my husband, was born in New York in 1947. This October, Peter plans to walk the Chemin de Liberte with his son Towagh Behr, in memory of his father's and aunt's escape over the Pyrenees. I hope you will find this history an interesting addtition to your other articles. Margaret Behr

Dear Sir. I would imagine you get bombarded with these sorts of requests, but since you have done such amazing, meticulous work with your Information Exchange Website, I thought it would be a good idea to see if you can help to shed any light on my late father: Arthur Sebastian Gilbey. (B.18/10/1919 - D.25/05/1964).

From what I have learned from sketchy pieces of information gained from The War Diary of The 4th Queen's Own Hussars, he was a 2nd Lieutenant, and was probably captured in or around the Corinth Canal, following the rearguard action 25-27/04/1941. My sisters tell me that he said he evaded capture for a while with the help of locals, in the hillside, but what has been said down the years by grandparents, friends and associates may not be true, or maybe part-true? We know he spent the next two years or so in an Italian POW camp, somewhere near Milan (we think) and then we understand he escaped - or was let out - probably on or around 08/09/1943, and spent a bit of time 'free' until he was recaptured by the Germans and spent the rest of the war in a camp in Germany; which one we don't know.

I have contacted Disclosures, Army Personnel Centre, Glasgow, and sent my £30, but nothing has come back, yet.

Dear Chris, I can help quite a bit. I have identified your father as having been a prisoner at Fontanellato, near Parma, from where all 600 officers walked out with the consent of the Italian commandant after the Armistice in September 1943. A.S. Gilbey, Lt, 4H, is in the list of prisoners carried in the book "Home by Christmas?" [privately publlished in 1997] edited by a fellow prisoner David English (father of one of the trustees of Monte San Martino Trust). There is one ref in text to him on P38 that runs: “The option of a boat or naval vessel did not arise until later, but a few did manage to escape that way. But Tom Pitman, Black, Arthur Gilbey, Tom Wheeler, Eric Hopkins, and Maurice Goddard ... set off in the direction of Genoa or La Spezia.”

After finding that reference, I then remembered that your father was a friend of my own father, Anthony Simkins! Anthony mentions Arthur in his own account of the war. They were together at Montalbo camp, my Dad writing that he had a link with Arthur through the Routledge family and that he and Arthur became close friends and played Bridge. Both men were then sent to Fontanellato. There is a lot of literature about Fontanellato and you will find many references to it on our website www.msmtrust.org.uk. Best wishes, John Simkins, Administrator, MSMT.

Wow John, That is simply fantastic what you have written, absolutely spellbinding, I am totally thrilled and so will be my two sisters, Linda & Patricia; I will copy this through to them now. Thank you and Keith so very much. You have provided more information than I have ever known, so perhaps we were always looking in the wrong places, or simply relied on snippets of information that were fed to us/passed down all those years ago, and never delved deeper - for whatever reasons. Anyhow, you have indeed given us a lot to think over.

It always intrigued me as to why and how come, being a POW of the Italians, my father seemed to have such great affection for all things Italy, so much so that my mother (Jennifer) carried through what she told us was his/their long term aim, and moved to live in Italy, first Terracina, then Rome, where she died in 1991. The fact that there is also the family friendship & war connection with your father is extraordinary, what a real turn-up for the books, that really is. Gosh, so much information and after all these years, I now need a glass of wine methinks; no don't worry, that will wait till much later! Again, thank you (all) so very, very much, you have made three Gilbeys very happy, and extremely grateful.

I have just been reading your site. I now own the house in Boufflers, Picardie that was used by the Comet line and where a number of pilots were treated for injuries prior to being moved on. I have a pair of crutches that were used by injured airmen. The house is mentioned in an article (on the evasioncomete.org website) about one of the men on your list (Jacques-Henri Schloesing). Mme Tellier was the owner during the war. In a huge stroke of irony the house was bombed by the RAF as it was suspected to be a command and control centre for V1 launches.

Our house is the Manoir de Gourlay in Rue Principale, Boufllers. It was owned by Rachel Filloux (nee Tellier) until she passed away in 1999. The house was occupied for over 300 years by the Sagebien family. Marguerite Sagebien was born 21 March 1892 the daughter of Louis-Demetrio Sagebien and Rachel Carmichael. She married Anselme Tellier who was killed during the First World War on 10th January 1915 - hence being referred to as Mme Vve (widow) Marguerite Tellier. I have pictures of the bomb damage to the west wing of the house and it's rebuilding.

Dear Sir. On your website (which I have just discovered) I think you have omitted my father's name from your list. On the same page, you refer to Lancelot Ross Bodey, who was the other "evader" from the same flight.

Hello Keith. Many thanks for your reply and for updating my Dad's entry on your website. I look forward to reading your article about the Ghost Train. My Dad did indeed tell me about that train - including the German guard who was supposed to be guarding him and one other prisoner. My Dad spoke very kindly of him in fact, telling me that he was a decent soul; "He gave me an apple" which I suppose after spending a couple of weeks in prison was a significant present! He was though apparently quite elderly, with heavy glasses and when the attack took place, the poor old German guard was struggling to get his rifle out one side of the train - allowing Dad and the other prisoner an easy enough escape out the other side! It sound so comical to relate - but was no doubt deadly serious ...

That was a fascinating read. The confusion left right and centre, the courage of the Belgian railway workers, the fate of the POW's had the train got through ... Clearly my Dad's reminiscences, as related to me, are not entirely consistent with your account, but then again no doubt my father's memories became fuzzy and confused with time - not to say embellished! Equally, he was only talking about his own personal recollections, not of the entire picture as you were chronicling. He was though very consistent in his accounts to both me and my mother on various occasions about that kindly old German guard who gave him an apple - that does not sound very like the SS to me!

Thank you also for clarifying the fate of Bodey. I had no idea that he was on the train or in St Gilles prison with Dad. I have since found out that he died in Australia in 1993, coincidentally the same year as my father.

With all the information that I managed to get out of him every now and then (and piecing them together later!) he never said that he was frightened as a POW either in the prison or on the train - it was dreadfully uncomfortable of course but apparently the Germans never got rough with him; psychological torture was preferred (e.g. his interogator would smoke endlessly in front of him and offer, but never give him a cigarette when he was dying for one). All the Germans wanted was the name of the family who had helped him after the crash and before he made contact with the Underground. Equally, he was really angry with the agent, as you would expect, who betrayed him (and presumably Bodey) and whom he swears he saw in the London office a few weeks later when he was being debriefed by the British authorities; double agents were, I suppose, pretty common.

It was, he said, only after the train when he was picked up by the Belgian Underground for a second time that he was genuinely frightened. As the war was clearly won at that stage and Belgium was more or less liberated, they were are as drunk as skunks! ... and taking fierce retributions on anyone who was either a captured German or a collaborator. Discipline had completely broken down. Some of them thought Dad might have been a German fleeing the front and trying to pass himself off as an Ally. Fortunately someone more senior and presumably less drunk intervened.

His stories about being lodged in some comfort in the Metropole Hotel in Brussels by the Allies while they checked him out were also amazing. There were several famous and senior (including an Air Commodore) Beamish's in the RAF and while my father was not one of them, they must have thought that they could not take the risk - so they put him in a Five Star hotel! Anyway, I could go on and on ... An amazing story regardless of how fuzzy his grasp of detail might have become over time! Certainly your account of the train has brought clarity to a significant part of it and for that I am very grateful to you.

PS. The family that helped Dad after the crash was Florent Dumont and family from (Bas Coron 17) Willaupuis, Hainaut - very near, obviously, to where the plane crashed. The letter I have is from Florent and it also mentions a Mr Alphonse. Curiously, the letter also includes a photo of my father, looking remarkably well considering, with Mr Dumont and Mr Alphonse! Clearly they were not too security conscious!

He was obviously a well known operator. Did he help a lot of airmen? He wrote to my grandparents in September 1945, one year later, to ask for news of my Dad. Where he got their address, I have no idea - I presume my father had given it to him some time earlier? I have his letter although sadly I have no copy of my grandparents' reply. He wonderfully signed the letter "Florent Dumont - Cultivateur". God bless him - how magnificent it was then that your profession was sufficiently important to be attached to your name.

Thank you for your "Dog House" article, which again throws light on a question about which we knew next to nothing. Unlike the train, Dad told me very little about St Gilles except that the food was absolutely dreadful. I also suspect that "slopping out" affected him in some way ever afterwards; he was always so "just so" in everything he did and while I remember that he would tolerate my bedroom being untidy within reasonable limits, there was absolutely no leeway at all as far as the bathroom was concerned. Open heart surgery could have been safely performed in our bathroom at any time!

As I said to you previously, Dad said that the Germans did not get rough with him at any time during the interrogations. On the contrary, he said his interrogator was a very human chap who before the war had been a record salesman in South America (Argentina, I think). How bizarre - or perhaps ordinary - is that? It is sometimes difficult to appreciate that the guys on the other side of the fence during the war were for the most part ordinary day-to-day people as well ... The questioning was almost entirely focused on who had helped him and where to find them (presumably the Dumonts). He said that his interrogator would offer him a cigarette at the beginning of the interview but not give him one, saying "but let's get these details sorted out first". He would then proceed to smoke away during the interrogation and in the process continuously blow smoke over my father who, needless to say, was only dying for a fag!  

On the question of being betrayed to the Gestapo, Mark Stafford, the nephew of one the other crew members (air gunner Len Stafford - who did not survive the crash unfortunately) speaks of the surviving members of the crew being "sold to the Gestapo". He quotes his source as being "the secret evasion report on the crew" - which, I suppose could have been the one written by my father. In which case, it is possible that my father was the only person who believed and reported that they had in fact been betrayed. That said, Dad told me that while he was being put up at the Metropole Hotel in Brussels by the advancing Allies, he and another "evader" (could it have been Bodey?) found out where their betrayer was in Brussels (I do not know how) and went around "to see him". When they got there, he had already fled ... I did not have the courage to ask Dad what they would have done had they found him there. I guess I was afraid of what the answer probably would have been ... He was also very consistent in telling me and my mother on different occasions that when he was being debriefed back in London a few days later, the man in question walked in to the office! My father told us that he of course jumped up and pointed him out. To his consternation however, his debriefers took absolutely no notice of what he had said and calmly continued with the interview ... So either they thought he was bonkers, or else the betrayer was a valuable double agent who had to be protected ... or else the whole thing was a figment of my father's imagination. It is true that Dad did have a tendency to be somewhat fanciful but I cannot imaging that he would have written something fictitious in his report, so soon after the event. So while I try to keep an open mind on all these questions, I think my inclination for now is to believe that they were probably betrayed. But who knows ...

Initially, I'd like to thank you for your great work on Conscript Heroes and evaders/escapers/escape lines. It's helped me over the years and tonight. I live in Wellington, NZ, and in the past 10 years have written 3 books on NZ aircrew who flew from Britain in WWII - Night After Night - NZers in Bomber Command (2005), Day After Day – NZers in Fighter Command (2011) and Victory - NZ Airmen and the Fall of Germany (2014). NAN was a big seller here.

Currently I'm writing a newspaper/magazine story on Edwin (Eddie) Worsdale which I hope I can sell here. If you wish I can send you a copy of the finished product in due course. Eddie's 93, lives here in Wgtn and has got all his marbles and more. And quite mobile. The point of this is to let you know that Eddie, who is on your lists, got over the Pyrenees with Lt Cdr Billie Stephens (997) and French Canadian Adolphe Duchesnay (2020), also on your list.

Eddie, a WOp, was shot down serving with 75 (NZ) Sqdn the night of 24/25 October 1942. He and another survivor, Englishman Len Newbold (2471) (also on your lists) walked from near Reims to Switzerland in 18 days. After twiddling his thumbs in Switzerland for 9 mths he worked for the Brits as a cipher officer in Geneva for another 9 mths. He and Colditz escaper Stephens crossed into France on 5 June 44, went to Toulouse (Francoise) and then got over the Pyrenees to Spain and back to England. In Toulouse they met Duchesnay who'd got there unaided from his crash in the Dusseldorf region and the three of them then went on successfully. Stephens and French Resistance people interrogated Duchesnay in Toulouse to make certain he wasn't a German plant. Stephens spoke fluent French.

Just thought you might be interested in this. If you have anything more Duchesnay I'd be delighted to have it. Best wishes, Max.

Best thanks for all of that. Greatly appreciated. Eddie'll be fascinated. He couldn't remember Duchesnay's first name. I think, from your lists, he used Andre which certainly preferable in those times to Adolphe. His parents certainly gave him a swag of names.

I found his comment that he made the journey with Lt Cdr Stephens a little astonishing. No mention of Eddie. Wonder why. In fact it was Eddie who got them over the Pyrenees. He was a determined young man.

Eddie tells me that he and S. were taken to Francoise's flat in Toulouse … then they were taken to a safe house in Toulouse where they stayed several days (4 he thinks). The guide who deposited them with Francoise had taken them all the way from Annecy not far from where they crossed into Switzerland. A French AF corporal next took the now three (and Eddie confirms Duchesnay was very much grilled by Stephens and the Resistance chaps to prove he wasn't a plant) by train to Lourdes and the corporal's house. But the man's wife was not happy about them being there and next morning they were taken east to a village called Izaourt, 2/3km southwest of Barbazan - both are on Google maps. Barbazan pix show the Pyrenees not far distant. They apparently had to get out Izaourt because the corporal had been told the Germans were about to visit the village and take able-bodied men as forced labour. I'm still checking a number of points with Eddie. It was here arrangements fell thru totally. No guide. He'd been paid but didn't turn up. Our 3 were taken out into the countryside near another small village and in Eddie's words “thrown to the wolves". Here's a couple of paras from my story:

The three men sat on a hillside, the Pyrenees clear in the background, and discussed their situation. Worsdale: “The other two, who spoke perfect French [Eddie didn't], had got cold feet. They said they'd go back to the village and return to Toulouse and M'lle Dissart (Francoise), get some help and start again. I told them I was going on. They accused me of being over confident and no doubt I was. But I felt there was no option. They wished me luck and turned back. I'd never felt so lonely in all my life.” Two hours later the pair were back. “Sheepishly they told me they'd learned the Germans were checking closely on trains going to Toulouse. I now wonder if we were lucky again that we weren't picked up on the leg from Toulouse. Anyway, they said to me, ‘we'll come with you.' ”  [Stephens later hugged Eddie and thanked him deeply for insisting on pressing on.] I've got to know Eddie quite well and he is not one telling fibs. I believe every word he says - and I've been a journo for more than 50 years.

Eddie had a good compass he'd bought in Geneva and used it to guide them up to the “pass". Early next morning a helpful French farmer/ shepherd? near the border told them about German patrols who tramped the countryside between two peaks on the frontier on a regular timetable and told them they'd be safe to cross about 12 about 12.30pm. So it proved. They were into Spain.

Thanks again Keith. Indebted to you. Will send you completed story in due course - Best wishes, Max.

Fantastic. So pleased to have Stephens' detailed account which I transcribed for old eyes (mine too) and took over to Eddie's this morning. He's only 6 km from here. Gave him Duchesnay's too. He was most grateful and passes on his thanks and says hello to you too.

Greetings; I am seeking information regarding my uncle, James S Wilschke, who was a 2nd Lt. in the US. 8th Air Corps (bombardier). He bailed out over France on May 17, 1943, and made his way to Spain, via Perpignan, 6 months later. I am trying to find out where his flight originated. Unfortunately, my uncle passed away over 10 years ago, and I am just beginning my research into his story. He appears on your Escaper List as: "Wilschke James S 2/Lt USAAF 305 BG 364 BS (B-17)". I understand he was in the 305th bomber group, and flew in a B-17. I am not sure how to interpret the "364 BS" notation. Any further direction on where to look would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Barbara Wojcik.

Well, I about fell over when I read what you sent. Thank you! I so appreciate your research. What a story! I am going to share this with my cousins, JIm's 5 adult kids. I'm sure they will recognize their Dad's handwriting. They have some of the information, but the MIS-X document is amazing. His first-person account of what happened! It looks like it was "Top Secret"; do you know when these reports were declassified?

We have a house in a small hamlet close to Arnac Pompadour, which is between Limoges and Brive not too far from Oradour and Beysannac. When we bought the house it was noticeable that in the past (many years before) someone had lived in the roof space, but according to the neighbours a family hadn't lived in the house for many many years. Whilst having a TV aerial fitted the fitter, who it transpired had previously served in the Signals Regiment pointed out that the "fishing rod" attached to one of the roof beams had been a WW2 aerial and on closer inspection we found some writing in English and some numbers. The house is on the edge of the hamlet with paths leading to it from wooded areas. In view of the fact that the resistance was very active in the area and the fact that it is reasonably close to one of the routes used we wonder whether our house has any history.

First I would like to express my very sincere thanks to you for your research and the presentation of the research on this website. I found your site after reading Peter Eisner's book "The Freedom Line" and then going to the Comet Line Remembrance website.

As indicated in the subject line, this message is regarding Bourgogne evaders 2nd Lt Frank McNichol (my father) and 2nd Lt John Vollmuth. McNichol & Vollmuth are MIS-X report #s 766 & 767. Most, if not all, of my knowledge of my father and John Vollmuth's E & E experience was the result of doing my own research and finding John Vollmuth living in West Chester County New York, which provided my sister and I the opportunity to interview him regarding details of their experience. My father had died in 1966 (I was only 7 yrs of age at the time). Mr. Vollmuth described that they were being concealed for several weeks in the Champagne Ardennes region in 1944 before being moved to Paris, then down to Toulouse, then on to Pau before starting their journey over the Pyrenees. I have also obtained a copy of the MIS-X E & E report.

Until finding your website I was not aware of Georges Broussine's Bourgogne escape line. I figured that my father and Mr. Vollmuth were assisted by one of the secondary Comet Lines that had developed by 1944. Naturally I would like to research more details about Georges Broussine's Bourgogne escape line.

My question to you is other than the MIS-X report and "L'évadé de la France Libre", are there any other sources that could provide me with any additional details of my father & John Vollmuth's experience? Specifically I am interested to know exactly the route that they crossed the Pyrenees on after leaving Pau. Also, any chance of "L'évadé de la France Libre" has been or will be translated to English? Sincerely yours, Joe McNichol, Miami, FL.

Mr Janes - Since sending you the message (above) earlier today I have continued to search online sources and now realize that the copy of the MIS-X reports 766 & 767 that I have been referring to for a number of years, was not a complete copy. The complete copy that I have found today has all the handwritten descriptions that were summarized into the typed copy that I had. Now with this complete copy, I have much more of the details about their evasion experience that I did not previously have. The reports describes the assistance of M. Decorne in Aure, Jeanot Fossier in Terron Sur Aisne, Henri Billot in Ambonnay and Camille LaDurelle in Bouzy. By any chance do you know if these individuals were part of Broussine's network or one of the other lines of escape?

Your narrative sounds great Keith, thank you. Attached is a photo of John Vollmuth & I taken in 2002 when my sister & I went to his home in West Chester County NY to interview him. I sure wish I was better prepared for that interview with a full copy of the MIS-X report. I also have a copy of a short story that my sister composed from the audio tape of the interview with John Vollmuth. If you have a Dropbox account I can send you an invite to join a folder that I have posted there in Dropbox that includes a copy of that story. I had a terrific visit to the UK two months ago that included a visit to a memorial to the 457th BG at Glatton, as well as to the U.S. Cemetery near Cambridge where my uncle (392BG) is memorialized on the tablets of the missing. I would love to travel to France one day to travel the same route over the Pyrenees that they traveled in 1944.

I am just started reading a book published here in the U.S. titled "Silent Heroes", author is Sherri Ottis. The book has some good information about George Broussine and as the author terms it the "Burgundy Line", which I assume is the same as Bourgogne Line (?).

Now that I have read Eisner's "Freedom Line" and am reading "Silent Heroes", and I recall how John Vollmuth described how difficult the crossing was for my father. I am curious as to whether one of the Comet or Burgundy crossings were significantly more difficult than the other? Are there any English speaking tour guides in Pau that a curious American can hire to do all or part of the crossing? Many thanks for all the terrific information.

Just found your excellent website. Tricky one this, I'll try to be brief. Researching loss of 408 squadron RCAF Hampden on 28/29 August 1942. I have physical and paper evidence that the aircraft was probably shot down by a nightfighter and came down near the village of Sauville, Northern France. Three crew are buried at Sauville (including a family member). Witnesses state that the pilot stayed at the controls as the aircraft came down in flames to avoid the village, but parachuted out. He was treated for burns to hands and face. I have lots of information relating to 408 Squadron operations, and this pilot flew the thousandth mission for 408 on 26th July 1942. Anecdotal evidence suggests he made it back to England. Almost certainly a Canadian national (the crew were RAF VR) and he spoke French reasonably well. The trail has gone cold, and I am restricted from access to RAF records as a non-relative. Our man is Sergeant Phillip Lindsey Kemp 1076925 RCAF 408 Squadron based at Balderton, Newark, England 1942. Any Suggestions gratefully received. Regards, Lynton Darwent.

Hi Keith, Thanks for replying, everything helps. After an initial silence on the airwaves, I have now received some helpful advice from your side of the pond, and now I can at least find my way round the sources of records ! Regards, Lynton.

Hi Keith, Thanks for that last info - that has to be the ultimate tragic irony. What originated as a sorting out of old family photos has turned into a full blown research project - I have been very fortunate in locating such a lot of  records. As you will probably be aware, it has taken a long time for Bomber Command crews to receive proper recognition here in the U.K. for various reasons, but this is now being addressed.

Dear Keith. I am Australian, and how often at home I have used Google in an attempt to find out more about my mother's work in the Resistance. With no success. Google grants its favours most serendipitously!  I happen to be in Norway right now visiting my daughter, and then back to Paris and the North of France to visit family, before a week in the UK, visiting my husband's family.

My mother, Helene Gill, née Feodossief, died in Sydney on 6th December 2011, at the age of 94, and to the very end of her life she rarely said a word about her work during the war. We know she was first recruited during a holiday in Brittany, when she was asked to act as an interpreter for some hidden British airmen, and she said her work consisted of accompanying men on trains and talking on their behalf. She spoke Russian, French, English and German, all fluently.  She was a British citizen as she was married to a British citizen, and she was interned at the start of the German occupation, but they let her out after about six weeks as she had a baby, born in March 1940. She took her son, Daniel, with her on most of her missions! When she learnt that the Gestapo were looking for her, she dyed her hair and went into hiding with her son in Normandy. The house where she was living also billeted a German officer. She saw the Americans arrive.

I also know for a fact that she was largely responsible for the escape of Andrew Hathaway because Andrew's mother sent her a letter every Christmas until her death, even though Andrew tragically died not very long after the war. I have a photo of Andrew and his bride on their wedding day, and I know they had a son. I believe that Mrs Hathaway was probably the one responsible for my mother being awarded an American Medal of Freedom in 1946. I have the medal.

My mother went to the States after the war to see Andrew and his family, and then emigrated to Australia with her son. She married a Frenchman in 1953 and had three more children, two daughters and a son. We all live in Australia.

When I get back to Sydney, I can scan a number of documents I have that you may find of interest: an article from a New Jersey paper about her visit there to see the Hathaways, the citation in the British Times, something about the Medal of Freedom, and maybe something else. I also have her false carte d'identite.

If you can tell me anything more about my mother and her work in the Resistance, I would be very grateful, or point me in the right direction. I have already made a note of Roger Huguen and his book - I am fluent in French.

I am very grateful to you for your site and what I have been able to find so far. I will get I touch again when I am back home and see what I can find for you. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to know. Yours sincerely, Patricia Gemmell

Dear Keith. I am absolutely blown away by the swiftness of your reply, as well as by what you have sent me. I had no idea this information existed at all, and in fact I doubt very much that mother even knew the names of all the men whose lives she saved. I have only had time to read what you have sent me very briefly, but I find it ironic that someone could accuse her of collaboration with the Nazis when her experience of internment was so awful that she disliked the Nazis intensely and this was something that partly motivated her decision to join the Resistance. I think too that she had a strong desire to save lives.  

My mother was a very beautiful woman and men adored her. There are quite a few photos of her as a young woman, and while I cannot be sure that they were taken during the war, they could only have been taken between 1937 and 1946. I will have a look when I get back to Sydney. I don't mind at all if you want to reproduce some of my email on your feedback page. That's the whole point, isn't it - to share information, to enlarge our knowledge, to reshape history into human stories.

I am writing to ask if you have any information or could direct me as to where I could get more information, on my late father who escaped from France in 1940. He is listed on your website as number 3304 356 (F) Sub Cond T.W.P. HEXLEY. I would be very interested in what route he took over the Pyrenees but any information at all would be interesting. Also, how would I find out about conditions in Miranda, and Barcelona.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Many thanks for your very prompt reply to my enquiry. I have had to request copies of my fathers reports as they have not yet been digitised for downloading. I will keep you informed, and if there should be any information you might find of interest, I will gladly provide it.

I just found your site and wondered if there was any additional information I was not aware of above that I have gathered myself regarding my father who evaded capture having been shot down near Beauvais on the night of the 4th/5th July 1944. I have written up his story at http://lancaster-me699.co.uk/home-2/dad/france-july-to-september-1944.html. I am also still looking for any information on the flight engineer from his crew, Sgt William Robinson, who also evaded. Meanwhile I will keep reading your site to see if I can find any references to them.

Many thanks for getting back to me. I had previously been told that the reports for my father and Bill Robinson had not been found so yes, that is great news. Are these IS9 reports ones you can get the NA to scan and send out or do I need to get over to Kew myself at some point? Also, do you know if the Pelletier family, who sheltered my father in July and August 44 were part of an organised escape route?

Good afternoon. I have just finished reading Cruel Crossing (by Edward Stourton) and found your website listed in the book. The book was purchased in England for myself and my husband as a Christmas gift and to share with my father, Gordon Brownhill, RAF, RCAF.

My father, as a member of the RAF, was shot down on a Lancaster bomber mission. He escaped with the help of the underground through the Pyrenees. Reading this book gave me a fresh appreciation of all he endured and undying appreciation to all who helped him. He is still alive at age 94 and it was only recently (last year) that a relative found his name in a museum in England as one who had crossed through on the Comete Line. He didn't even know this is what the routes were called. It was only in latter years that he started to speak about all he had been through.

It is the family of D'Hallendre from Lille that we are now in contact with via Julie Biserte. It was only recently we found out where the crew that perished are buried and this brought great closure to my father who had wondered about it all these years.

I truly appreciated reading the book, and my relatives in England for sending it to us. It was very eye-opening and filled in a lot of pieces for me. Thank you for having the site that you do. I will be sharing it with other family members. Kindest regards, Diane Miller.

Dear Keith. I have been reading your website and note that you invite readers to contribute what they know. My interest is in your website entry regarding Crete, entitled  “Fitzhardinge MLC from Agia Galini – 2 June 1941”.

Having heard about this barge from my father, who was one of the organisers, I have been researching the historical record recently. The official war history on the Australian War Memorial website shows that the effort was initiated by Private Roy McDonald and Corporal J Lee, both of 2/1 Machine Gun Battalion, B Company, 7 Platoon (known on Crete as 16 Platoon, it was the only B Company Platoon on Crete and for some reason was renumbered on from the D Company platoons which were also on Crete).

As you say, there was limited space on the barge and it was very much those who worked on the barge who had first preference. The exception was the crew of the crash-landed South African plane – Dad said they took the whole air crew (I think 3) because they wanted the navigator. Your website refers to a South African pilot, Sgt McWilliam. I think the pilot would have been an officer, and I suspect Sgt McWilliam was the navigator Dad referred to. Certainly it is apparent from the document relating to an award recommendation for him that he and Dad shared the navigation of the craft, although in that document he is referred to as a gunner. Dad had been in the navy for several years and knew how to navigate by the stars.

I hope this information is useful. During my research, I have been heartened to find websites such as yours compiled by people interested in the events in which my father (Roy McDonald) participated. Regards, Jeanette Dall.

I would just like to send a quick email saying how brilliant your website is. I have been doing research on my great grandfather who is an escaper and found him straight away on your website. I don't exactly know much about him but he was James Arthur Sweeten and was a gunner in the RHA. I'm not even sure where about he was captured, all I know is he got captured twice during WW2, after the first time he got sent back to war. Its quite touching when you come across your ancestors names even if it is just a name. Thank you so much, Kerry Sweeten

Thank you so much for this information. I rang my grandad straight away to tell him about what his father did and he was thrilled to hear what you sent me. I am very grateful for all the information. Thank you.

A short note to say how much I appreciate all the work you have done to produce this wonderfully informative web site. A huge legacy. I am researching my father F/Lt Kozubska and am so delighted to read details about his probable route into Spain. The information you record about the locations of the Hotel de Paris etc. will be so useful for me – thank you so much. I am going to try and follow my father's journey if I can. I'd like to try and walk over the mountains – some fitness training will be required! I would be so grateful for any further pointers you can give me about him. I am in touch with Oliver (CB) who has been brilliant and Edward Stourton. Many thanks, Joanna Kozubska.

Dear Sir, My name is Donna Johnston-Boston. My father was Berna L Johnston. He was an American airman on your list. I am attaching his story as he told it to our family historian, Carol Nash, in 2004. He never shared any information about his experience of being shot down and the rest of his time during the War until he told this story to Carol, a niece. He said he was always afraid he would cause some harm or inconvenience to the Diris family (the people who sheltered him). My father passed away in 2009. I know he would have enjoyed reading all the stories about all the people who were involved; about their bravery and sacrifices. I hope you might share his story with any of those people who may still be alive and tell them how very thankful we are for their actions. We are so thankful he came home. He was not a wealthy man and he was not a man with any great connections, however, he was a very good man. Thank you, Donna Boston

My great-uncle was Pilot Officer Ralph Henderson DFM RAFVR, who was the Flight Engineer onboard 83 Sqn Lancaster ED313 with Colonel Allan M Ogilvie (Joe) DFC* OMM CD CdeG MiD when it was shot down over France in March 1943. They subsequently made an extraordinary evasion through France to Spain, I think using the "Pat" line (at least in part), may have been helped by Maurice Pertschuk, and quite probably also met Raoul Laporterie at Boussens on their way to St Girons.

I'm doing some family research into Ralph in general, but particularly his service career, which has a special interest for me as I am serving in the Royal Navy. At the moment I have become fascinated by the journey through France and Spain and have been trying to piece together some of the clues left in Ralph's small escape diary - a copy of which is held in the RAF archives in Hendon.

You mention on your excellent website that there are MI9 reports from both Henderson and Ogilvie which can be viewed at the National Archives, but tantalisingly you seem to indicate that you may know more, particularly from your footnote about Maurice Pertschuk (Eugene) and the SOE which I was not aware of.

Thank you so much for coming back so quickly - and with such an astonishingly detailed and revealing account!  I stumbled across your website almost by chance this afternoon and was engrossed with the tantalising leads that it provided. I shall certainly seek out your friend Oliver's book - I assume it is available on Amazon?  I am based in the Falkland Islands at the moment which does not have fantastic internet access - expensive and a limit on monthly upload / download - but we do have the luxury of being able to order VAT free from Amazon!

I have a transcript of Ralph's diary from which I have been steadily trying to decode the many names and places, and your short extract will move me on enormously. There is no doubt that since becoming aware of the "Freedom Trail" it is now on my list of things to achieve over the next couple of years. Who knows - maybe I will meet you there! But I doubt it will be before 2015 as we are stationed in the southern hemisphere until then, which makes it a bit tricky!

The information about Sort prison also tallies with the diary - a place which Ralph describes as "Hell on earth. Heads cropped close. Greatly helped by Ron.???? (unclear what the name was here)". Interestingly I have recently been in contact with Joe Ogilvie's son who now lives in Canada, and who has promised to send me copies of his father's notes and memoirs about the whole piece. That may again fill in some of the blanks. Is that from Josep Calverts book? As far as I can see online it is only available in French!

Ralph had only been on the front line 83 Sqn for 6 days since graduating from the Heavy Conversion Unit - he was along on the night acting as Flight Engineer just to gain combat experience. A baptism of fire without doubt! I'm not sure how many missions he flew when he rejoined his Sqn and before being fatally shot down in November 1943; on my next visit to the National Archives I will need to pull the squadron logs again and work through.

Finally, I'm intrigued by the footnote reference "All the Luck in the World". It seems to indicate that it is a book, but I cannot find any reference to it? Any clues ?

I have ordered a copy of RAF Evaders on Amazon now and they inform me it has been shipped already. With any luck it will find its way down here to the Falklands before Christmas. It makes sense now that "All the Luck in the World" is Joe Ogilvie's book - I think that the CD that his son Steve is sending me may well be much of the text of the book, hopefully with some additional notes or pictures. I know you understand that this is forensic work and that every snippet or clue leads you on to somewhere else more interesting.

Finally, of course I am happy for you to use (an edited version of) our correspondence on your Feedback page - the more people that are involved, inspired and contribute, the better for those of us who are researching. Without dedicated people like you (and Oliver) the story of Ralph and many others may never be recreated for the generations of our family to come, which would seem to be a terrible shame. If I can encourage others to share their story in some small way, then so much the better.

Dear Keith, While researching information for my new website (www.fallenheroesofnormandy.org) I was pleased to come across your excellent website and find mention of my uncle *Hepworth D Cpl 7 Bn Royal Norfolk* who was taken prisoner in France in 1940. I was wondering if you had any further information about him. The reason for my request is that I will be dedicating my new website to my relatives who served in the Second World War. Sadly, they have all passed on now, and I wish to publish a memorial page to each of them. I will be happy to provide you with photographs and further information about my uncle for your own archive and, of course, a link to your website.

We are hoping to get our website ready for a beta version release in Dec 2012/Jan 2013. In the meantime, progress can be followed on the temporary development page at www.fallenheroesofnormandy.org or on FACEBOOK at www.facebook.com/fallenheroesofnormandy or TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CarlShilleto

Just one last question - would you know of any sources of information detailing any prisoners of war who died and were buried in Normandy during WWII. Thank you for taking the time to read my email and request.

Thank you for the email and very interesting reply. I will add the MI9 report to my 'to do' list next time I head down to Kew. I see from your records that you have had contact with my cousin Martin Hepworth. I will call him tonight to discuss. I passed on the service records for my uncle to Martin many years ago. It is great to see that he has done further research on his grandfather. You are right about the being fit for active service. When my uncle got back to the UK he was transferred to the Military Police and shipped off to India for the rest of the war.

Thank you very much for your time - as someone who spends much time replying to enquiries myself, I fully appreciate your dedication. If there are any questions I can help you with, with regards Normandy, please feel free to ask. With my very best wishes, Carl

I am researching prisoners of war and evaders of the 6th Airborne Division. Your website has been a great help with listing all the evaders from the 6th Airborne Division and has helped me find great information in Kew archives.

I am looking to get in touch with veterans, or family members of veterans, of the 6th Airborne Division who were taken prisoner in Normandy, the Ardennes offensive and Operation Varsity. I am interested to hear how, when and where paratroopers were captured. I am also interested in how the paratroopers were treated and what conditions were like in POW and working camps. Any stories or photos would be a great help.

I have been trying to research a family myth regarding my uncle Gunner Neil Isaac. He joined the RA before the war started and was a best in regiment gun-layer (setting the gun to target) and involved in training gunners. When war broke out he ended up in Gibraltar at Buena Vista Barracks, possibly training members of the Gibraltar Defense Unit - later the Regiment. He met and married a local girl and on his wedding day they shipped his wife out in one of the evacuation convoys to England.

The myth is that he swam behind the boat waving to his new wife. This was at night and the harbour current swept him down the coast. He swam to what he thought were the lights of Gibraltar but when he made the shore, he was greeted by a group of Spanish gentlemen in uniform and was initially charged with being a spy. He apparently spent time in a Madrid prison and somehow returned to England, worse for wear, and met up with his wife in London. He could not explain his story to the family in detail as he was shipped out to Italy and killed near Casino in 1944.

I managed to speak to the oldest surviving sister of Neil Isaac about his exploits in Gibraltar and Madrid prison. Neil had married a Maria Gomez who was evacuated from Gibraltar on the same day they were married and his unplanned arrival in Spain in about 1943. Maria had two brothers living in the mountains in Spain, north of Gibraltar. My aunt (Neil's sister) informed me that after 12 months, they managed to spring him out of Madrid prison (how I cannot imagine) and smuggled him back to Gibraltar. When I go to Spain in July, I am going to find some of Maria's family and see if the story lives on as a Gomez family myth.

Little is known of Neil's subsequent activities or postings other than that he is recorded as being killed near Naples on 23 June 1944, serving with the 205 Training Regiment, Royal Artillery. I can find no evidence of his unit being posted overseas as they seem to have been recorded as remaining stationed in the UK and listed as the 205 Field Artillery Regiment.

I now await his army records and hope to have some answers. If anyone can shed any light on his expoits in Buena Vista Barracks, Gibraltar, Madrid or Naples in Italy, I would be very grateful as his son William is the second and very keen researcher. Richard Isaac, Brisbane, Australia.

Keith, My daughter and I have just been to Goriano Valli. We were successful almost beyond my hopes. At the very first house we tried, immediately below the earthquake-damaged church, Enea and Sofia Liberato knew exactly what we were talking about, though Enea is from down the valley and Sofia had not been born. Sofia's mother came from next door and became deeply emotional – she had been about seven at the time, and her mother Concetta had been one of those who fed the fugitives. "Zio Silvio", actually a cousin, came with us to the church and then to the village cemetery. He had been 17, had heard the shots, had total recall of the incident – how there was a woman making it her business to pass details to the Fascists, how the officers were going to leave the next morning and had gone hastily up to the hut through the snow with no shoes on, how the body was brought down on a ladder by four men and then carried up to the church by another four. The only difference to what the parocco wrote to the ICRC was that it was not Germans but fascisti who shot him – we think the priest knew he had to live with all his flock thereafter. On the spot where the body was buried before exhumation and reburial in Moro River CWGC cemetery there happened to be growing iris, daisy, violets – the names of my grandmother and two of her sisters who also lost sons in WW2. We went to Moro River the next day, beautifully  laid out and kept up. Best wishes, Charles Gordon-Clark.  

Dear Keith, I stumbled across your excellent website whilst researching an old family friend who died in 1994. His name was Matthew (Matty) Downey and he served as a private with 1 Btn Green Howards. As he lived with my grand-parents for some time I frequently had the opportunity to talk to him about exploits during the war, particularly his experiences during the Norway campaign in May/June 1940. I have recently been given some of his papers which confirm the stories he told me. Within his papers are a letter from the Green Howards Association dated 1959 with a translated letter from a gentleman named Sigurd Moen - a butcher from Fosnavag in Norway. The letter mentions that Mr Moen sheltered Matty and three of his 1 Btn Green Howards comrades (Pte Whitehurst, Pte Archer and L/Cpl Barnard) until all four men could be repatriated to the UK by fishing boat. I wondered if you or any of your contributors had come across these four evaders? I know from your website that the MI9 files contain details of three other 1 Btn Green Howards soldiers who successfully evaded capture in Norway, but Matty isn't amongst them. Any information that you are able to share would be extremely welcome.

I checked with the MI9 files in the National Archives and drew a blank I'm afraid. I did however manage to make contact with the son of Sigurd Moen in Fosnavag - his aunt remembers the soldiers well and was given a Green Howards cap badge by one of them as a souvenir. Any further help that your contributors may be able to offer would be extremely welcome. Kind regards, Neil Macknight.

Dear Sir, I've read through your website and would like to ask if you have ever come across a soldier by the name Lieutenant (possibly Captain) Robert James Taylor? He was my grandfather and I think from searches so far conducted that he was part of SOE or MI9. We know he operated in France and Germany and he spoke only briefly of being party to collecting soil samples on the Normandy beaches before D-Day, missing a submarine pick-up, evading SS troops and many parachute drops in the dark before that. He always just said that he was in Intelligence and never spoke of his missions (maintained opsec until his dying day!). Trouble is, I can't find any record of him in various searches I've done to date. Unfortunately my grandmother has thrown out all of grandad's stuff (as he passed away over 10 years ago) including anything with his army number on. His medals are for campaigns in Africa and France and Germany. Grandma thinks his parent company was either Royal Engineers or the Royal Cambridgeshire Regt. Other than this we know very little about what he did in the Second World War. Appreciate not a whole lot to go on, but any help (or steers to people who may know) will be very much appreciated. Best regards, Simon Moisy.

The Army Air Forces Historical Association (AAFHA) based in New Jersey USA, was formed in 1993 and is an historical and educational non-profit organization. The association participates in air shows, historical retrospectives, educational programs and seminars, providing static displays of World War II Army Air Forces memorabilia. We are historians who explain and re-tell the tales of the experiences of the World War II veterans. Our motto is simple: Remember, Respect and Honor.

On 6 June, we unveiled a new display at the Reading Pa. WW II Weekend : POW Monopoly Behind The Wire. Painstakingly recreated from our research, including an original silk escape map, we have made a near perfect reproduction of the famed British Monopoly POW escape kit as produced by Waddingtons Limited. The entire game board and all period correct pieces were reproduced using modern printing techniques. To our knowledge, we are the first to present such a display, and the reaction we have received by the public was more than enough encouragement to continue our mission and expand and share our knowledge, wherever it takes us. My ultimate goal is to move beyond the scope of the role the Monopoly game played, and to expand our research into the entire experience of the allied POWs.

I am seeking any possible documents, oral histories or contacts with people who have knowledge of or have experienced any of the MIS-X or MI9 created devices as described by Lloyd R Shoemaker in his book "The Escape Factory". Of particular interest would be anything relating to hidden items within the game of Monopoly or other type of games. Any relevant information you may have no matter how small, I would be most appreciative.

If anyone can help Sgt Pavlisko, they should contact him via the AAFHA website at http://www.aafha.org/

I came across your site late this evening and found a reference (Butters F Pte 2 Bn Seaforth Highlanders) that I have been looking for for a very long time. Can you please tell me if the above name of F. Butters is actually Frank Butters, born 1913 in Angus Scotland, the youngest sibling of twelve children with the eldest being William Mitchell Butter 1889-1974, my Grandfather; or is it possible that you have or can obtain any further information about the above person, also reported as being awarded the MM? Kind regards, Erik James Buttars, Queensland, Australia.

Dear Keith. Thank you so much for your prompt reply; this certainly sounds like the person I have been looking for, word had it that my Frank Butters joined the Southern Highlanders at age 17 therefore your 1940 interview is spot on. The address at the time of Invergowrie-Dundee is also very probable as it is approximately five and a half miles south-west of where Frank was born. Perhaps we have all found from time to time that finding such information leads to more and more questions. I guess this is part of the power of the internet and the breadth of contact that it creates. For your information and interest, I will include an overview for your consideration:

Frank Butters, born 29 October 1913 - Old Baldragon Farmhouse, Mains of Strathmartine, Angus, Scotland. Died; County of Sussex, England in March 1992 aged 78.

In 1945 not long before the war in the Pacific ended, Will Buttars received a ships cable (via telegram) from his brother Frank; informing him that his ship would be visiting Sydney and could they meet? Somehow, my Grandfather obtained a permit to travel by train to Sydney and did meet with his brother. While in Sydney, Will and Frank were interviewed by The Sydney Morning Herald 'Brothers meet after 19 Years'. I have as a teenager read the original clipping that my Aunt had kept (Jessie McGregor Buttars) and many years later transcribed the text, which I still have. Where the original clipping has gone I do not know as Jessie passed away five years ago.

My Grandfather told me many years ago about his trip to meet Frank; he said Frank had told him that he had joined the Southern Highlanders at age seventeen and since then had served in many parts of the world prior to WW2. Going on what I was told Frank was captured by the German troops after landing at Dunkirk; Frank told his brother Will that he had escaped back to England, via France and Spain, not once but at least twice, having been again recaptured on the continent. On his second return to England, he signed on to the Merchant Navy as Gunner and this is how he came to be visiting Sydney. I can also remember talk of Frank Butters receiving the MM; how true this is, I do not know?

My dad was Fusilier Richard Hulme (488) of the 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victorias). He was in the rear guard at Dunkirk and was captured on the 15th June 1940 at Routot east of Le Havre and imprisoned in a chateau. On the 21st June 1940 he escaped and made his way to Hauville where he was sheltered for 6 weeks on a farm before going on to Romorantin in November where he lived for 6 weeks in a house in the woods. On the 24th December 1940 he reached a village near the Demarcation Line where a farmer sheltered him for the night and drove him across the DML. He was soon arrested and taken to Chateauroux then on to Marseilles. On the 1st January 1941 he arrived at Fort St Jean. On the 8th January 1941 he was transferred to St Hippolyte du Fort.

My dad didn't talk much of his experiences through the war. I know through my own investigations that he served at Cassino in Italy and on the 2nd December was Mentioned in Despatches for distinguished service. Sadly my dad passed away some 10 years ago, a frail but very proud man. I look back and find it hard to believe the bravery of thousands of men just like my dad.

I would be grateful if you could post my message as any information from anyone who remembers my dad from his war days, especially the gentlemen who escaped with him, or their relatives, would be fantastic. The website is superb and a great source of information. I got great pleasure reading the stories of others as it was like reading my own dad's exploits. Many thanks, Colin Hulme.

My name is Philippe Mourand and I am the webmaster of web site http://www.xn--armes-dsa.com/. I transcribed and translated a few escape reports – fascinating work. These reports can be found here: http://www.xn--armes-dsa.com/rapports-evasion/index-en.htm. I am currently investigating a crash that occurred a mile or two from where I grew up at La Frenaye (Seine Maritime). I have the escape reports of the two British airmen : F/Lt E H E Hearn and Sgt W Johnson. I can email them to you if you wish. However I failed to get the escape report of the Canadian airman: F/Sgt Arthur Robson Meredith. I saw on your web site that Meredith was hidden till the liberation. Could you get a copy of his escape report? Can you email it to me?

My uncle, Captain Roger F Lawrence RA, was captured in Tunisia on February 26 1943 in the battle of Sidi Nsir - he was part of 155 Battery, the "VC Battery", though no-one got the VC because so many were captured or killed. He was imprisoned in one of the camps near Piacenza, and when the Italians pulled out of the war in September, he escaped.

Roger was presumably free for about four months, and like so many other escaped Allied soldiers, must have been sheltered by ordinary Italian folk. He was trying to make his way south to where the Allies were advancing and must have covered an impressive distance. In January 1944 he was on the run with another British soldier. On the 15th the Gestapo surprised them in a barn. Roger made a movement and was shot out of hand. The other Briton froze, was recaptured, and survived to tell the tale. After the war ended Roger was buried in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in the Commune of Ortona, in the province of Chieti. It's near the Adriatic coast of Italy, in Abruzzo, something like 500 kilometres south east from Piacenza.

My mother had papers giving more detail, and after her death in 1975 I passed them to her other brother; they seem to have been in a safe which was stolen from his house, and this is all that I can remember. I would dearly love to know who was with him when he was killed, and whether further details survive. If you can help me I should be so grateful; as the years pass - I am now three times the age he was when he died - I find the memory of his sacrifice more not less poignant. Yours sincerely, Charles Gordon Clark.

Dear Keith. Since we corresponded I have received from ICRC in Geneva a lot more details about my uncle. He was first in hospital in Caserta, then at a holding camp (PG 66) at Capua, and then from 13 May 1943 at PG 49, Fontanellato, which of course has been written about a lot.

He and another RA officer, 220601 Lieut. P G King, were at a remote village called Goriano Valli, some 20 miles south east of L'Aquila, when they were discovered by the Gestapo. The parish priest wrote later in the year to the Red Cross that Roger had been "vilmente assassinato dagli sgherri tedeschi" and that his death had been "un grave lutto per la popolazione di questa frazione", which makes me think that he and King had probably been in the area some time. The Germans reluctantly gave permission for him to be buried in the cemetery of San Georgio at Goriano Valli, and many people came to his funeral. Over the next few months, before he was exhumed and taken to the war cemetery at Ortona, his "povera tomba" was often visited by the parishioners visiting the cemetery, and whenever there was a funeral they said prayers at his grave "intendendo così di rappresentare i parenti lontani".

I find this incredibly moving and it's a great joy to have got so far. What you kindly put on your website now of course needs amending. It would be wonderful to be in touch with the family of Lt. King; or with anyone still alive from Fontanellato who might remember him; and I really intend to go to Goriano Valli, next year I hope, to see if there is any old villager who remembers the episode. Best wishes. Charles Gordon Clark

I am hoping to find a little more information on Pte Robert Joseph Banham who I believe may have escaped from the Hartsmandorf camp in Germany. I have a letter from Bernhard Radtke from Chemnitz dated the 20th Aug 1946 in which he also mentions a Mr F Brown and a Mr C J Curtis. The letter came amongst some personal effects of Robert Banham and having spoken to one of his family, she had the story that he had escaped from this camp and was helped by the family as their son was a deserter from the German army. The letter is only short and asks about Robert and the other two men. Do you have any information on any of the above or how many men escaped from this camp ? Hope this is not to much trouble.

I am currently a Military Training Leader with the 381 TRG at Vandenberg AFB. A fellow co-worker and myself have been tasked with finding a 381st hero to dedicate our new student learning center to, which is currently being built. After searching the net, I came across an article you wrote called Tragedy in the Pyrenees - The High Cost of Freedom. I was intrigued to read about a fellow member "Francis E. Owens" of the 381st being a hero. I wondered if you could send me any historical data that could assist me in possibly dedicating our new learning center in Sergeant Owens name. The package process is a lengthy one and the more facts I can get, the better we can tell his story.

I have just discovered your website and I have some information on one of the people listed : 3327 3061(-) F/Lt John W Symington - 148 Sqn Halifax - FTR SOE mission Aug 44 - sheltered by Polish partisans until liberated.

His plane was shot down while trying to deliver supplies to the Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising. The other crew members were captured by the Nazis, but he managed to evade them. He stayed with my grandparents for four months. Their names were Tadeusz and Maria (Wielopolska) Halpert-Scanderbeg. They owned an estate called Jeleniec near the town of Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski. If there is any way to contact the family and hear if they have any stories of this time I would be happy to be given this information. Regards Richard Halpert-Scanderbeg

Thank you very much for the information. I will try to contact the family. Of course I have no objection to your posting my information on your feedback page. There are quite a lot of people in Ostrowiec who are curious about what happened to the British airman. If you come across any more information about Lt Symington please let me know. Likewise I will send you whatever comes my way. I've attached the certificate of gratitude that my grandparents received from the British Government for sheltering one of its citizens.

Re: Zane Kirk writing about his father F/Sgt Aubrey Charles Kirk on 28 May 2010 (see below)

Chester was first captured in April 1941 and by 1944 when your father met him he had in fact been in many POW camps - he escaped four times and like many people during that time had seen rather too many of his friends die. Therefore, during his time in the resistance perhaps he did not come across quite as our family knew him.

I have inherited his alias identity papers (in which he wears his monocle), POW memoirs and a number of photos from this time but not yet taken the opportunity to research his experiences during the war outside of this family archive. In fact I was only prompted to google his name + POW association this morning because a stranger I met on a plane last night encouraged me to find out more and tell Chester's story. I would be very interested to find out more about Chester's time in either in POW camps or the resistance from people who knew him and thank you in advance for your interest in helping me fill in some of the gaps.

I am not sure how to correspond on this forum (sic) with Mr Kirk so please could you clarify do I need to check back on the forum for posts, or would you share my email address with Mr Kirk directly? Many thanks for your assistance in helping us make these links. Best wishes, Charlotte James.

Hi Keith, I was very grateful for the email, it was certainly a surprise. You never know who's out there searching for things. Again, I appreciate your help. The book is still coming along. I am in regular touch with Danny Dunbar and Kevin & Ben Norris whose fathers were with Dad in the maquis. Danny sent me some of his father's scribblings which made for interesting reading and provided some very useful background information concerning his and Ben Norris's escape after their crash landing. I am also still in touch with Kate Beaumont whose grandfather swapped identities with Chester Williams. I still have some research in France and the UK to finish off so at this stage I am planning to be over there at the end of the year at the latest. Thanks again for your help and forwarding on the new information. I really appreciate what people like you are doing for people like me. It makes life so much easier. Regards Zane

Hi Keith, My grandfather was James Smith. I wanted to get in touch with you as my brother and myself are still very curious about this time. My father discovered your website fairly recently and he felt that James' story should be expanded upon. I do know that he'd kept quiet after the war because of some of the people in his cell had fraternised with the Nazis as part of operations. After the war he'd still kept in touch with some of his French compatriots. I've also spoken to the son of one of my Grandfathers compatriots in Buckie and know that he'd suffered and had not recovered, for years he had not apparently taken off his shirt after football practice or after a match (during his time as a referee) because of the blowtorch burns he'd suffered as a result of his capture and interrogation.

My brother and I are extremely curious about this time, as we feel that we'd understand a lot more about our family. I feel his story should be expanded on. We are proud of what he did as a hero.

Talking to an Italian friend of mine about my grandfather he recalled a similar story from his family with the after effects of the war. His relations had fought in the resistance in northern Italy/Yugoslavia area and we compared stories. We'd both heard stories about disrupted sleep, acting out dreams that recalled missions. My grandfather at one point didn't sleep in the bed with my grandmother as he'd woken up one night with his hands round her throat. Which may well be another reason why my grandmother had not wanted his past dug into. My friend had a similar story about his relations. I do wonder how often this happened within families after the war. I remember speaking about a decade ago to co-worker in IT when I worked at Conoco called Ken Coutts, his father knew my grandfather quite well.

I had heard that in life my grandfather was a surprisingly charming man with the gift of the gab. Reading the Gardiners feedback (see 11 April 2010 below) I also recall a tale about the French family Dortmound who after the war came for a visit. Other stories after the war told about the fact that my grandfather kept his distance after the football and never took his shirt off. Later the blowtorch burns healed a bit better after he'd got bad sunburn on his back on holiday in France. I know he was a devoted father to his daughter, and had issues with his son.

I remember one tale about after the war, on my grandmothers honeymoon they stayed in a hotel in Paris, which turned out to be a brothel (one way to get the airmen out) but my grandmother didn't realise until later.

My father has heard the story of how he'd escaped the prisoner column and hid in France for a while. It was an imprisoned professor (at Fresnes) who taught him to speak French like a Frenchman. You should also get my father to tell you about the medals as I believe they've put the wrong name on them.

James was a very intelligent and brave man. I got the impression that he'd gone a bit native and (when he was arrested) was scared he'd be shot and killed as a spy. I think he was a hard act to follow and in terms of his immediate family rather difficult for them to understand and empathise with. I suspect the affects of what happened to him affected the mental health of not just him but his family. I'm proud that he did what he did, but I also feel that it must have been rather hard for my grandmother and my uncle on occasion.

I do feel his story should be told. So much about him and others are already being lost as the people who were involved in the war pass on.

Dear Sir, I publish a monthly local history/nostalgia magazine [The Nipawin Bridge] at Nipawin, Saskatchewan, Canada. I would appreciate receiving any details available about the escape of Sgt Alvin Clinton Turner after his aircraft was shot down in March 1943. He is referenced on your site as 3313 1273(-). Mr Turner was raised at Codette, SK, six miles from Nipawin. After the war he was frequently asked to describe his escape ordeal/adventure, especially to fellow war veterans at Legion gatherings. He did so, but no transcripts or other records have been found by his family or others. Unfortunately Mr Turner passed away in 1958 at age 39; his wife also died at a young age and their only daughter died in February 2011, at age 54. Each November [Nov 11 is Remembrance Day in Canada] we devote most or all of our magazine to stories/photos meant to honor our military service people. It's my hope that Mr Turner's escape story may yet be told. His daughter had tried to help me locate info, but found no diary/memoirs/ speech notes etc. and because she was just two years old when her father died, she never heard him tell his story. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Oren Robison Editor/publisher, The Nipawin Bridge magazine, Nipawin, SK, Canada

I have now stumbled upon a photo of RAF Flt/Sgt J Couper, who died in the crash of 646. Accompanying info shows his crewmates to include Sgt A Turner and F/Sgt D Scowen, both of the RCAF. It noted Turner was an "evader" while Scowen became a PoW. This opens up another fascinating possibility: Alvin Turner was from Codette, a village 6 miles from Nipawin. A Nipawin RCAF member who became a PoW and endured the forced marches near war's end was Don Scowen. Could they have been crewmates? Scowen wrote letters home from PoW camp, but I've never previously encountered any hint that he and Turner may have been aboard the same aircraft! I also Googled Oliver Clutton-Brock and see that he has a book about all the PoWs. If you would pass this tidbit on to him I'd be grateful, for that and for any verification that the two "Nipawinners" were crewmates. Must confess that at the moment I'm in a euphoric state over info received already. Please express my thanks to Oliver as well. Best, Oren

Dear Sir. I recently found your website, which will probably take me months to take in, the detail and depth of information is quite incredible. I wonder if anyone can assist with information on an RAF airman escapee; I can't promise to give anything back as I haven't got much to give. However if I can, I will. Information - absolutely anything - would be appreciated on (and apologies for the total lack of detail, I have none I can confirm other than his story as related to me in 2007 shortly before his death aged 90):

Denis Abrams, joined the RAF c.1938 (under-aged!) as an AC1. Transferred to aircrew as Air Observer and flew with 50 Squadron probably as a sergeant. Aircrew at Lindholme, Swinderby/Waddington then Skellingthorpe on Hamdens. Believe shot down in a Hampden (possibly 1940/41 but an educated guess) and spent some 11 months in 'Europe' believed returned via Spain. Denis joined a Tempsford Squadron (again do not know which) on his return (now as Aircrew Officer, Navigator) and survived the war. He was awarded the DFC - again I do not know what action this was for, or when and perhaps more significantly, the Croix De Guerre which I believe to be of French issue but again can't be sure. The Croix also has an additional Bronze Palm Leaf. If I can get ANY information on Denis Abrams I may be able to expand a little on what I do know. To explain further, his surviving family know virtually nothing of what he did in the war as he was very secretive and I have no wish to intrude as his passing is still recent.

In 2007 Denis and I met and he told me his sadly brief but incredible story. Incredible to me that is until now as through reading your pages it is plain that many, many other 'ordinary' people performed 'extraordinary' acts of selfless courage on a daily basis. Checks of various lists and web sites fail to turn up any trace of Denis DFC Croix, as if he had never existed. In addition, his obituary on the 50 and 61 Squadron Association (of which Denis was a founding member and leading light) website 'Veterans Album' tells a story slightly different to mine regarding his escape which is why I'm reticent to describe it in case it's ME that has got it wrong! I would appreciate any help however small it may seem.

Thanks very much for your response and time spent in looking. The problem here - and it's a big one - is that I have absolutely no detail at all to fall back on. I may also be guilty of commiting the ultimate sin of making assumptions and guesses. Any dates I have mentioned are my guess as Denis did not state any such detail. Indeed if you check on the 50 and 61 Squadrons Association website http://50-61squadron.com in the veterans album in Denis's obituary the story is that Denis was already on a Tempsford squadron when he evaded.

It may help to put my meetings with Denis in some brief perspective. I was 'researching' the history, specifically of RAF Skellingthorpe. I chanced to meet Denis at the 50 and 61 Squadron Memorial Rooms in Birchwood, Lincoln around 2007 and it was while asking about RAF Skellingthorpe's physical layout and genesis at the time Denis was stationed there that he told me of his evasion. I was not expecting anything like this and was quite taken aback. I also made NO notes of the conversation and my intention was to ask him 'later' to confirm the story but time got the better of both of us I'm afraid. He was in any case reluctant to talk further about this subject as it was obviously a great emotional strain. I believe his family also knew very little of these events at the time of his death, although they may have a better idea now, I can't say. I do not really feel I can ask them however as I don't want to cause distress. What I'm saying is that I believe in the events implicitly (the evasion) but now worry that I have misinterpreted the timescale and some of the events before and after the evasion.  This is why I'm really just asking if anybody knows of Denis's evasion - or even of him - so I can set the record straight. Just to muddy the waters further, I'm told today that the CdG Denis won is a Belgian CdG. There's a picture of the medal on the squadron's website.

I see that ACI Jacob GEWELBER 33 Sqdn RAF is listed on your website as an escaper. I am seeking information on this man as part of our researches into men missing from the records of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. See www.infromthecold.org. I have a copy of this man's death certificate which says that he died on 31.05.41 in Crete. From your records it seems that this may not be so! Have you any further details on this man?

Just found your Conscript Heroes website whilst digging into my Grandfather's Bomber Crash/Evasion story - most impressive, indeed - a real eye-opener into a world that has been (for me) something of family folklore!

I wonder if you might be able to help me with my research, with copies of MI9 reports, if possible? In particular, numbers: 3309 795 – MI9 Report, Sgt John Beecroft, Operation Bluebottle and 3309 796 – MI9 Report, Sgt Henry Hanwell, Operation Bluebottle.

These would hopefully help clarify details of their evasion exploits from their departure from Switzerland back through France, to the pick-up off Lyon by submarine (Hanwell's daughter is also most intrigued - she wasn't aware that such reports existed, and would like to "wrap-up" that aspect of her father's story).

My Grandfather (Sgt J P Love, Observer) has written a full account of his life in the RAF 101 Sq before and after the crash-landing, detailing their 'walk' to Switzerland, the crossing by Beecroft & Hanwell, the sad drowning of radio-op' Sgt S Bradley as he attempted to cross the river, and the subsequent capture of my Grandfather and the tail-gunner, Sgt Alec Crighton, but it ended with his repatriation to England at the end of the war. (I wonder - would there also be MI9 Reports from their debriefing? If so, could you please point me in the right direction for them?).

What he didn't know (until I started researching for Squadron/Aircraft facts & figures in 1990, when he wrote the story) was that Beecroft & Hanwell had in fact survived the war (they became instructors upon return to England), and even better, were still alive in 1990! It took some serious digging into other archives and then telephone directories, but I traced them, and we organised a reunion (covered by Anglia TV News, a copy of which is available).

I asked the gentlemen if they would be kind enough to write their continuation story to add to my Grandfather's story, they generously obliged ... and a short while after, I passed the MSS to Grandfather for approval, only for it to be mislaid, believed lost altogether! Finally, after much uprooting, I have uncovered it, and I am in the process of transcribing his hand-written work, ready for publication (I hope!).

Sadly, Henry Hanwell passed away, in 1993 I believe, and my Grandfather also in 1997 (hence the disappearance); I have yet to ascertain whether John Beecroft is still with us (I doubt it now - he was stooped and frail when we met, he was about 70yrs old then), but as I now have his address, I will write to see.

I came across your web site this evening. My father was named James Sprott Donaldson. This name is contained in your list of escapers from prisoner of war camps in World War II. My father was born in Baillieston, Scotland on May 26, 1920. He died in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, on April 10, 1989. He was captured in North Africa in 1941 by Rommel's Afrika Korps. At that time he was a member of the Highland Light Infantry, part of the British 8th Army. He was sent to a prison camp in Italy. I do not know the name of the camp. I only know the name of one other person who was in the same camp, Winston Snow, from Newfoundland. Mr Snow died about 3 years ago. My father subsequently re-enlisted on his return to the U.K., and joined the Parachute Regiment, serving with both the 1st and 9th Battalions in France and Germany from 1943 to 1945. He demobilized in 1946, with the rank of Sergeant. He then joined the Wiltshire Constabulary. He emigrated to Canada in 1949.

You mention on your site that you sometimes have more information about the individuals listed therein. Do you have any further information on my father?

Thank you for your exceedingly prompt reply to my query. The detailed information that you have provided about my father's escape has heretofore been completely unknown to me. I am very grateful for this information, and will be able to share it with my 5 younger brothers and sisters. My father had not previously discussed the precise details of his escape with any of us in any great detail. As an aside, my father learned to speak Italian while in the camp. There were many people of Italian descent in Nanaimo, B.C., where we lived as children, and my father conversed with them fluently in Italian. (Evidently their only complaint was that he spoke Italian with a Scots accent).

The only thing I know about Mr Winston Snow is that he was from Newfoundland. Prior to 1949 (when Newfoundland joined Canada as its 10th province), Newfoundland was a British territory. Accordingly, Mr Snow was in the Royal Navy, rather than the Royal Canadian Navy. He and my father met in the prison camp. They never met in person again after the war. My father was at a Royal Canadian Legion convention in the 1980s in Ottawa, when someone asked him about his war service. He mentioned his time in the Italian prison camp, and that there were a number of men from Newfoundland also in the camp. My father mentioned the surname "Snow" and the person to whom he was speaking said that he knew a Mr Winston Snow who lived in Newfoundland who had been in an Italian prison camp. This other person (name unknown to me) evidently gave Mr Winston Snow my father's address (in Nanaimo, B.C.), and I believe that they corresponded by mail. I shall ask my mother, now 90, if she knows whether any correspondence remains. Again, my sincere thanks to you for providing this information. It opens a new window into my father's war service, prison camp sojourn, and eventual escape.  

I am writing to you after discovering your conscript-heroes website. I live in Fillièvres, a small village in Northern France. During the WWar II, our area was intensively bombed because there were six V1 launching sites around! Several American, British and German aircraft crashed in this region. We have formed an Historical Association to narrate these facts of war. We try to write about all the crashes and also the stories of airmen who were sheltered by French Patriots in our small village before they tried to evade. We ask many questions of the older men and women to preserve the memory. We distribute freely to our population the studies which are documented with photographs from this period.

Whilst preparing this story we found details of Patriot's action in stories written by Mr René Guittard of Frévent (a town near our village). In your site (http://www.conscript-heroes.com/ResistanceTernoisINTRO.html) Mr Guittard has written an excellent study of different actions of “Bordeaux-Loupiac” and “BOA”.

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