Great Escapes

by Barbara Bond

  British Library

  Waddington Company Archive (4 volumes), Maps C.49e.55.

  D.Survey World War II print record, Maps UG-9-152-H.

  Defence Geographic Centre

  File Svy 2/6330. Fabric Maps Pt I 10-8-44 to 30-9-46.

  Macclesfield Silk Museum

  Brocklehurst Whiston Amalgamated Board Minute Books 1935–1947.

  National Library of Scotland

  Bartholomew Archive, Accession 10222.

  Royal Air Force Museum

  Documents B3227 and DB319.

  THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

  Air Ministry files

  AIR 14/353–61 (9 files), RAF personnel taken prisoner: aids to escape, conduct, etc.

  AIR 14/461–4 (4 files), Prisoners of war instructions and methods of escape.

  AIR 20/2328, Escape aids policy for prisoners of war (file missing).

  AIR 20/9165, Allied prisoners of war: escape aids policy.

  AIR 20/6805, RAF personnel: evasion and escape equipment.

  AIR 40/2645, Stalag Luft III (Sagan): camp history.

  AIR 40/2457, MI9: escape and evasion: post war policy 1944–1946.

  AIR 51/260, Intelligence Section escape aids.

  AIR 76/247/127, Officers service records of RAF, 1 Jan 1918–31 Dec 1919.

  Cabinet Office files

  CAB 79/15/30, MI9 War establishment.

  Special Operations Executive files

  HS 9/771/4, Personnel files 1 Jan 39–31 Dec 46.

  Air Ministry and Ministry of Defence papers accumulated by the Air Historical Branch

  IIIL 50/1/7 (A), Prisoners of war allied escape aids policy.

  Maps and plans

  MF1/2, Maps and plans of NW Europe extracted from files for flat storage.

  Domestic records of the Public Record Office

  PRO 219/1448, Advice to prisoners of war in 1944.

  Treasury Solicitor files

  TS 28/580, Advice of litigation arising from publication of material detailing the invention and manufacture of gadgets 1950–1956.

  TS 28/581, Advice of litigation arising from publication of material detailing the invention and manufacture of gadgets 1 Jan 1951–31 Dec 1960.

  War Office files

  WO 78/5814, Second World war escapers’ maps on fabric.

  WO 165/39, MI9 war diaries.

  WO 169/24879, Records of MI9 organization and activity.

  WO 169/29748, Records of MI9 organization and activities 1941–46.

  WO 201/1417, Prisoner of war escapes: devices.

  WO 208/3242, Historical record MI9 1 Jan 39–31 Dec 45.

  WO 208/3243, Historical record MI9 1 Mar 42–28 Feb 46.

  WO 208/3244, Reports by RAF prisoners of war in Germany.

  WO 208/3245, Reports by RAF prisoners of war in Germany.

  WO 208/3246, History of IS9: Western Europe.

  WO 208/3247, British prisoners of war in Germany Oct–Dec 1939.

  WO 208/3252, Prisoners of war Section E Group Bulletins 1944–45.

  WO 208/3255, Disbandment of IS9 May–June 1945.

  WO 208/3267, Combined operations: particulars of purses March 42–Sept 43.

  WO 208/3268, MI9 Bulletins.

  WO 208/3270, Marlag und Milag Nord: camp history.

  WO 208/328, Stalag XXA Thorn: camp history.

  WO 208/3288, Oflag IVC Colditz 1940–45: camp history.

  WO 208/3297, The Escapers’ Story: a compilation of various escape reports 1940–41.

  WO 208/3298–327 (30 files), Escape and evasion reports.

  WO 208/3328–40 (13 files), Liberation reports.

  WO 208/3431, Lectures to units by escaped prisoners of war June–Aug 1942.

  WO 208/3445, MI9 lectures on conduct if cut off from unit or captured.

  WO 208/3450, MI9 Establishment 1939–42.

  WO 208/3501, Marlag and Milag Nord escaper and evader coded letter traffic.

  WO 208/3502, Oflag VIIC coded letter traffic.

  WO 208/3503, Oflag XIIB coded letter traffic Jan 43–Apr 45.

  WO 208/3512, Distribution of MI9 reports May–Nov 1940.

  WO 208/3554, MI9 special equipment: requirements, approval and supply.

  WO 208/3566, English/German coded dictionary.

  WO 208/3569, IS No 9 West Europe area: history.

  WO 208/3572, MI9 re-organization.

  WO 208/3574, Inter-service escape and evasion training: A19 lecture papers.

  WO 344/260/2, Liberated prisoners of war interrogation questionnaires.

  PRIVATE PAPERS

  Imperial War Museum

  Typescript of the original draft for Foot and Langley MI9: Escape and Evasion, 1939–1945, includes the unpublished footnotes, Miscellaneous Document 2744

  Parliamentary Archives

  Airey Neave’s personal papers, accession number 1907, deposited 1979. General files AN 598–627, Business files AN 628–37, Literary files AN 638–71, War and post-war files AN 672–707.

  Second World War Experience Centre

  John Pryor’s memoirs, Reference SWWEC RN/Pryor J.

  PUBLISHED SOURCES

  Exploring the published literature on MI9’s escape and evasion mapping programme has proved to be a considerable challenge as there is a very real paucity of published sources on the subject. While there is a vast array of published sources relating to the activity of escape and evasion, very little of it mentions maps and, even sources that do, make only passing mention of the subject. Some of the primary published sources proved to be of crucial importance. The key one among these is undoubtedly that written by Christopher Clayton Hutton, Official Secret, published in 1960, and it is discussed fully in Chapter 9.

  In 1969 Airey Neave published his second book, Saturday at MI9, the title of which reflected his own codename (Saturday) in MI9. Neave acknowledged in the preface to his book that it was not possible at that stage to write an official history of MI9, that he was writing rather about his personal experiences working in MI9 and that his was the first to be written ‘from the inside’, a somewhat curious statement since Hutton’s own book had been published some nine years earlier. However, there is no mention in Neave’s book of Hutton or of any aspect of the escape aids programme on which he worked. Neave concentrated rather on the work done in support of the escape lines and their organization. While the book is of general interest and describes, albeit in a limited way, some of the educational and training aspects of MI9’s work, it is largely not germane to the subject of this study.

  The single most comprehensive published secondary source which describes the whole story of the creation and operation of MI9 is undoubtedly Foot and Langley’s magnum opus, MI9 Escape and Evasion 1939–1945, published in 1979. Maps are certainly mentioned in the book, particularly in relation to Hutton’s escape aids, and the authors highlight the extent to which he quickly realized that maps were an indispensable aid to successful escape. However, it is clear that their source for this information was Hutton’s own book and not a primary source such as the War Office (WO) files relating to MI9’s activity. Indeed, they highlight the fact that many WO files were withheld from them, estimating the number at some 250 in all, and emphasized the likelihood that there may well have been genuine operational reasons for not making such files publicly available until 2010 since there is no point in advertising clandestine methods that might be used to national advantage another time.

  During the 1980s and 1990s a number of relevant, illustrated articles appeared in professional publications and the national press. The most notable ones were those produced by the author as a result of her early interest in the subject when working in the Ministry of Defence. The first of these appeared in 1983 and stirred some considerable interest in professional cartographic circles. This was followed a year later by a much more detailed article resulting from a lecture invited by the British Cartographic Society. These have been widely used, quoted and referenced in other articles on the subject. In 1988 John Doll quote
d in detail from Bond’s published work, as did Debbie Hall writing over ten years later in 1999. Additionally, there were some short articles in the press, often recounting the escape stories of (by now) elderly men, who had been prisoners of war.

  There is a plethora of literature which serves to set the general context of escape in World War II and the background against which MI9 was operating. Many tell the tales of heroic exploits and derring-do but sadly do not contribute to the story of the escape maps. Not even the engagingly titled Silk and Barbed Wire proved to be directly relevant since it is a collection of personal reminiscences of captured members of Bomber Command, who had fallen into enemy hands after parachuting from doomed aircraft: the ‘silk’ of the title related rather to their parachutes and not escape maps, which received no mention at all. There is, however, one book which opened up an intriguing aspect of MI9’s mapping programme and that is Julius Green’s fascinating insight into the codes operating between the potential escapers in the camps and MI9 in London, From Colditz in Code. It was Foot and Langley who highlighted the existence of the coded contact and they used extracts from Green’s book to illustrate the practice.

  This review would be incomplete without at least a brief mention of a book published in 1921, The Escaping Club. A. J. Evans’s book describes his personal experience of capture and subsequent escape during World War I, providing both an insight into the changing military philosophy with regard to prisoners of war and also the personal ingenuity and forward planning of professional soldiers, and their families, should they fall into enemy hands. It is a remarkable book in that it provides the background and explanation for the role which Evans subsequently played in World War II as a member of the staff of MI9, and their choice of escape routes, (see Chapters 1 and 6).

  Only recently has there appeared any kind of detailed review of the mapping of World War I. Peter Chasseaud’s timely and masterly publication Mapping the First World War was published in November 2013. In it he plots the course of British military mapping through the passage of the war years and shows that maps went far beyond the simple visual image and, together with the increasing use of aerial photography, allowed for the development of sophisticated artillery target plans. They were designed for a clear military purpose. The only equivalent publication for World War II, to date, was the War Office’s own authorized publication Maps and Survey. However, published in 1952, it was clearly intended to serve as the official historical record for internal departmental use since it was classified RESTRICTED. It was not declassified until some twenty years later and there are, therefore, very few copies in the public domain. It was one of a series of volumes, compiled by authority of the Army Council, the object of which was to preserve the experience gained during World War II in selected fields of military staff work and administration. It covers just about every aspect of the operational mapping produced by the Geographical Section General Staff (GSGS), with the single notable exception of MI9’s escape and evasion mapping programme. It is not surprising to discover this omission since MI9 did not involve the military mapping authority in their work until very late in the proceedings.

  PRIMARY PUBLISHED SOURCES

  Churchill, Winston S. London to Ladysmith via Pretoria. Longmans, Green & Co. London. 1900. Connell, Charles. The Hidden Catch. Elek Books. London. 1955.

  Durnford, H.G. The Tunnellers of Holzminden. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 1920, 2nd edition 1930.

  Evans, A. J. The Escaping Club. The Bodley Head. London. 1921.

  Evans, Michael. ‘PoW tells of escape maps printed on secret press.’ The Times. 23 June 1997.

  Evans, P. Radcliffe. ‘The Brunswick Map Printers.’ Printing Review, Special Cartographic Number, Winter 1951–52.

  Green, J. M. From Colditz in Code. Robert Hale. London. 1971.

  Hutton, Christopher Clayton. Official Secret: the remarkable story of escape aids, their invention, production and the sequel. Max Parrish. London. 1960.

  —. ‘Escape secrets of World War II.’ Popular Science. Vol. 184, No. 1, pp. 69–73, 200.

  James, David. A Prisoner’s Progress. William Blackwood, Edinburgh and London. 1947. Originally published as ‘A Prisoner’s Progress’ in Blackwood’s Magazine, December 1946 and January/February 1947. Reissued as Escaper’s Progress. W. W. Norton. New York. 1955.

  Langley J. M. Fight Another Day. Collins. London. 1974.

  Marks, Leo. Between Silk and Cyanide. A Codemaker’s War 1941–45. HarperCollins. London. 1998. Neave, Airey. They Have Their Exits. Hodder and Stoughton. London. 1953.

  —. Saturday at MI9. Hodder & Stoughton. London. 1969.

  SECONDARY PUBLISHED SOURCES

  Books

  Bickers, R. Townshend. Home Run – Great RAF Escapes of the Second World War. Leo Cooper. London. 1992.

  Cantwell, John D. The Second World War: a Guide to Documents in the Public Record Office. PRO Handbook No.15, 3rd edn. London. 1993.

  Chasseaud, Peter. Mapping the First World War. Collins in association with the Imperial War Museum. Glasgow and London. 2013.

  Churchill, Sir Winston S. The Second World War. Abridged one-volume edition. Cassell. London. 1959.

  Clarke, W. An Introduction to Textile Printing. Butterworth. London. 1964.

  Clough, A. B. Maps and Survey. The War Office. London. 1952.

  Clutton-Brock, Oliver. Footprints on the Sands of Time: RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany, 1939–1945. Grub Street. London. 2003.

  —. RAF Evaders: The Complete Story of RAF Escapees and Their Escape Lines, Western Europe, 1940–1945. Grub Street. London. 2009.

  Collins, Louanne. Macclesfield Silk Museums – a Look at the Collections. Macclesfield Museums Trust. 2000.

  Collins, Louanne, and Stevenson, Moira. Macclesfield: The Silk Industry. Chalford. Stroud. 1995.

  —. Silk – 150 years of Macclesfield Textile Designs (1840–1990). Macclesfield Museums Trust. (no date).

  Cooper, Alan W. Free to Fight Again: RAF Escapes and Evasions 1940–45. William Kimber. London. 1988.

  Deacon, Richard. A History of the British Secret Service. Granada. London. 1969.

  Dear, Ian. Escape and Evasion – Prisoner of War Breakouts and the Routes to Safety in World War II. Arms & Armour Press. London. 1997.

  Dear, I. C. B., and Foot, M. R. D. The Oxford Companion to the Second World War. Oxford University Press. Oxford. 1995.

  Duncan, Michael. Underground from Posen. William Kimber. London. 1954.

  Foot, M. R. D. Resistance: European Resistance to Nazism 1940–45. Eyre Methuen. London. 1976.

  —. SOE: The Special Operations Executive 1940–46. BBC Books. London. 1984.

  Foot M. R. D., and Langley, J. M. MI9: Escape and Evasion, 1939–1945. Bodley Head. 1979.

  Gaddum, Anthony H. Gaddums Revisited. Amadeus Press (‘for private circulation only’). Cleckheaton. 2005.

  Gardiner, Leslie. Bartholomew, 150 years. John Bartholomew & Son Ltd. Edinburgh. 1976.

  Harley, J. B., and Woodward, David. The History of Cartography. Volume Two. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago. 1994.

  Haynes, Alan. Invisible Power: The Elizabethan Secret Services 1570–1603. Alan Sutton. Bath. 1992.

  Hinsley, F. H., Thomas, E. E., Ransom, C. F. G., and Knight, R. C. British Intelligence in the Second World War. Vol. 1. HMSO. London. 1979.

  Hinsley, F. H. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. Vol. 2. HMSO. London. 1981.

  Hinsley, F. H., Thomas, E. E., Ransom, C. F. G. and Knight, R. C. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. Volume 3, Part 1. HMSO. London. 1984.

  Hinsley, F. H., Thomas, E. E., Simkins, C. A. G., and Ransom, C. F. G. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. Vol. 3, Part 2. HMSO. London. 1988.

  Hinsley, F. H., and Simkins, C. A. G. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Security and Counter-Intelligence. Vol. 4. HMSO. Lon
don. 1990.

  Hinsley, F. H., and Howard, Michael. British Intelligence in the Second World War: Strategic Deception. Vol. 5. HMSO. London. 1990.

  Kain, Roger J. P., and Oliver, Richard R. The Tithe Maps of England and Wales: a cartographic analysis and county-by-county catalogue. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 1995.

  Keene, Thomas Edward. Beset by Secrecy and Beleaguered by Rivals: the Special Operations Executive and Military Operations in Western Europe 1940–1942 with special reference to Operation Frankton. Unpublished University of Plymouth PhD thesis. 2011.

  Nichol, John, and Rennell, Tony. The Last Escape. The untold story of Allied prisoners of war in Germany 1944–45. Viking. London. 2002.

  Report of the Committee on a Military Map of the United Kingdom together with the minutes of evidence and appendices. War Office. London. 1892.

  Ryan, Cornelius. A Bridge Too Far. Hamish Hamilton. London. 1974.

  Seymour, W. A. A History of the Ordnance Survey. Wm. Dawson & Sons. Folkestone. 1980.

  Singh, Simon. The Code Book. The Secret History of Codes and Code Breaking. Fourth Estate. London. 2000.

  Storey, Joyce. Textile Printing. Thames and Hudson. London. 1974.

  Teare, D. Evader. Air Data Publications. 1996.

  Walley, Brian. Silk and Barbed Wire. Sage Pages. Warwick, Western Australia. 2000.

  Wallis, Helen, and Robinson, Arthur. Cartographical Innovations. Map Collector Publications, Tring. 1987.

  Watson, Victor. The Waddingtons Story. Northern Heritage Publications. Huddersfield. 2008.

  West, Nigel. Secret War. Hodder and Stoughton. London. 1992.

  Yee, Cordell D. K. ‘Reinterpreting Traditional Chinese Geographical Maps’ in The History of Cartography, Vol. 2.2, pp.35–70. Chicago University Press. Chicago. 1994.

  Articles

  Balchin, W. G. V. ‘United Kingdom Geographers in the Second World War: a Report’. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 153, No. 2, July 1987, pp.159–80.

  Baldwin, R. E. ‘Silk escape maps: where are they now?’ Mercator’s World, Jan/Feb 1998, pp.50–51.