The Escape Artists

by Neal Bascomb

  He shared the: December 12, 1916, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM. Lyall Grant kept a wonderful diary through his years of captivity, a Monty Python–esque daily accounting of his life.

  “I wish I had”: June 2, 1916, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  some eight hundred: Report by Lieutenant Russell, TNA: FO 383/275; Phillimore, pp. 44–49; Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043.

  Gray remained desperate: Crefeld Secret Inquiry, Winchester, Appendix II.

  With Crefeld only: Winchester, pp. 104–5.

  “evading your fate”: Caunter, p. 7.

  In the months: Unpublished memoir, Papers of J. Dykes, IWM; January–May 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM; Caunter, pp. 27, 38; Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043.

  Of late, Gray: Phillimore, pp. 45–49; Harvey, pp. 124–28.

  After a long: Winchester, pp. 105–16.

  Something was afoot: May 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  sorry to lose them: Ibid., May 20, 1917.

  Early the next: Ibid.; Report by Captain Hudson, TNA: WO 161/96; Report by Walter Haight, TNA: WO 161/97; Flesherton Advance, February 6, 1919; Caunter, pp. 45–64.

  “mouldy atmosphere”: Harvey, p. 117.

  “Cannon fodder”: Caunter, pp. 53–57.

  “thanked his god”: May 26, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM; Unpublished memoir, Papers of G. Gilbert, RAF; Phillimore, pp. 51–54.

  Finally they came: Report by J. A. L. Caunter, TNA: FO 383/271.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Jim Bennett scanned: Bennett and Tullis Interview, LJB.

  Three months before: Keegan, pp. 329–53.

  Leonard James Bennett: Author Interview with Laurie Vaughan.

  After his twenty-first: Record of Service, LJB.

  A little over: Jerrold, pp. 1–40.

  By spring the: Author interview with Laurie Vaughan; Record of Service, LJB.

  “There it is!”: Bennett and Tullis Interview, LJB.

  Laurence pushed his: Ibid.; Bennett, “A Little Introduction Speech,” LJB.

  “As you see”: Letter from Bennett to his Mother, May 30, 1917, LJB.

  From Bruges: Ibid.

  He shared the: Schwarmstedt Report, BARCH: R 901/8443; Letter to Mrs. Harvey, August 27, 1917, Papers of F. W. Harvey, GA.

  “I’m sorry”: Report by C. V. Fox, TNA: FO 383/271; Phillimore, pp. 53–54; Harvey, pp. 134–35.

  That Friday morning: June 8, 1917, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  The prisoners knew: Report by Alan Wilken, TNA: WO 161/96; Clausthal Camp, Diary and Comments, SCHA: FP-CH 15/7/5.

  After a short speech: News clipping, undated, Papers of H. Needham, IWM.

  “There is only”: June 8, 1917, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  Schwarmstedt had a: Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043; Unpublished memoir, Papers of J. Dykes, IWM.

  For the run: Phillimore, p. 42. This method recounted by Phillimore was one of several ways the prisoners engineered compasses on their own. Another way was to cut a razor blade and repeatedly run a magnet along the edges.

  Seventy-five miles: Evans, p. 41; Clausthal Report, BARCH: R 901/84348.

  Commandant Wolfe: Clausthal Report, BARCH: R 901/84348; Statement by Lieutenant Anderson, Papers of F. Mann, IWM; Knight, p. 71. Some accounts give the Clausthal commandant as Wolfe; others give Puttenson. There are similar discrepancies between reports and prisoner memoirs at many of the camps.

  “Cut up their”: Clausthal Camp, Diary and Comments, Papers of W. Chance, LIDD: AIR-72.

  The prisoners made: Unpublished memoir, Papers of A. Martin-Thomson, IWM.

  Compared to their: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B; Money, p. 128.

  It began with: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B; Report on Visit to Detention Camp at Clausthal, TNA: FO 383/270.

  One of the: Series of undated newspaper clippings, HPA.

  “Are all Canadians”: Spectator, December 5, 1966; Series of undated newspaper clippings, HPA.

  One day, in: Knight, pp. 78–81.

  A squadron mate: Tullis, Unpublished memoir, JKT.

  Blain and Kennard: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B.

  The punishment wielded: Garrett, p. 85.

  “subject to the”: Lewis-Stempel, p. 239.

  “restriction of privileges”: Morgan, p. 95.

  commandant was aided: Report on Visit to Detention Camp at Clausthal, TNA: FO 383/270.

  Shooting Sam: Clausthal Camp Diary and Comments, Papers of W. Chance, LIDD: AIR-72.

  “court-martialed”: Lewis-Stempel, p. 188.

  failed “to rejoin”: Ibid., p. 189.

  Undaunted, Blain: News clipping, undated, Papers of E. Leggatt, RAF; Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Swamp Camp was: Note Verbale, TNA: FO 383/273; Unpublished memoir, Papers of G. Gilbert, RAF; Unpublished memoir, Papers of J. Dykes, IWM; Report from Captain Harrison, TNA: FO 383/272; June 27–29, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  “one of the bravest”: Harvey, p. 144.

  Life at Schwarmstedt: Report by Captain C. V. Fox, TNA: FO 383/271; Report by J. A. L. Caunter, TNA: FO 383/271; June–July 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  On July 9, Dr. Rudolf: Schwarmstedt Report, BARCH: R 901/8443; July 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  “there has never”: Schwarmstedt Report, BARCH: R 901/8443; Report on Visit to Officer Prisoner’s Camp at Schwarmstedt, July 11, 1917, TNA: FO 383/270.

  After Römer left: “Draft of an Agreement Between British and German Governments,” July 1917, TNA: CAB 24/19/39.

  The inmates: Report by Captain C. V. Fox, TNA: FO 383/271.

  Although physically: Harvey, pp. 170–71.

  “The wearisome sameness”: Lewis-Stempel, pp. 117–18.

  “Laugh, O laugh”: Harvey, “Prisoners,” GA.

  He copied a: Harvey, pp. 146–47, 159.

  Looking for: Thornton, pp. 183–84.

  “cad”: Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399; Notes on Holzminden, Papers of M. Pannett, IWM.

  The root of: Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399; Auckland Star, March 22, 1919; “Torture of Our Officers,” news clipping, undated, Papers of R. Milward, Leeds: POW-046.

  “had been enough”: Hanson, p. 74.

  On his first day: A series of “Memorandum for Communication to the Netherland Minister,” Strohen Report, BARCH: R 901/84455.

  “Los! Los!”: Report by Gerald Knight, TNA: FO 383/272; Report by Captain Harrison, TNA: FO 383/272.

  “I had nothing”: Report by Lieutenant Insall, TNA: FO 383/272.

  “making the best”: Letter from Bennett to his Mother, July 25, 1917, LJB.

  Since arriving at: Bennett, “A Little Introduction Speech,” LJB.

  Niemeyer knew well: Grinnell-Milne, p. 217.

  Knight had been: Knight, pp. 112–15.

  Bennett and his fellow: Report by Roy Fitzgerald, TNA: WO 161/96.

  on the front lines: Bennett, “A Little Introduction Speech,” LJB.

  “What is it like?”: Report by J. A. L. Caunter, TNA: FO 383/271.

  Then he returned: Ibid.; Report by Captain C. V. Fox, TNA: FO 383/271.

  The guards permitted: Phillimore, pp. 109–12. Solitary confinement within the 10th Division was fairly standardized. This account, drawn from fellow prisoner Phillimore, illuminates the deprivation Gray would have suffered.

  Guards led him: David Gray, ICRC.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Charles Rathborne: Report by Charles Rathborne, TNA: FO 383/399; Report by Samuel Ellis, TNA: WO 161/96. The exact arrival date of the Karlsruhe contingent, the first at Holzminden, was left unreported in most accounts. Ellis provided the most accurate timeline, as he arrived two days afterward from Schwarmstadt.

  Founded in 1245: Mitzkat, pp. 1–80.

  “prisoner’s Mecca”: D
urnford, p. 15.

  They had no way: Letter from Barlow to his parents, September 26, 1917, Papers of A. Barlow, LIDD: POW-002.

  on April 14: Wise, pp. 274–75.

  After the bombers: Rathborne Account, TNA: AIR 1/7/726/129/1.

  “the face of”: Cook, p. 176.

  Private-school-educated: “The First Great Escape?,” Cross & Cockade International (Spring 2016), https://www.crossandcockade.com/uploads/Great_Escape.pdf.

  “keen”: Rathborne Service Record, TNA: ADM 273/2/18.

  As a POW: Rathborne Account, TNA: AIR 1/7/726/129/1; Report by Rathborne, TNA: WO 161/96.

  It was after: Durnford, pp. 18–21; Hargreaves, p. 193.

  The former infantry: Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399; Unpublished memoir, Papers of R. Gough, LIDD: POW-029.

  “glad to see”: Durnford, p. 19.

  “bedroom candles and”: Ibid.

  They were divided: Letter, June 16, 1918, Papers of L. Nixon, IWM.

  In the morning: Rathborne Account, TNA: AIR 1/7/726/129/1.

  The prison was: Spectator, May 19, 1928; Unpublished memoir, Papers of R. Gough, LIDD: POW-029; Ackerley, p. 78; October 14, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM; Notes, Papers of M. Pannett, IWM; Hanson, pp. 43–45.

  At morning roll call: Durnford, pp. 19–21; Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399.

  “you wouldn’t get”: Warburton, p. 96.

  “You damn well”: Recollections of L. J. Bennett, Oral History, LIDD.

  On September 20: September 14–20, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM; Warburton, pp. 92–93.

  As the guards: Harvey, pp. 210–11.

  The following day: October 14, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  He had his route: Phillimore, pp. 104–5.

  “rob you of vitality”: Harvey, pp. 152–56.

  The other Schwarmstedt: Warburton, pp. 94–95.

  “Bury your notes!”: Durnford, p. 17.

  “meaningless now”: October 14, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM; Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, LIDD: POW-043; Unpublished memoir, Papers of A. Barlow, LIDD: POW-002.

  Harvey arrived: Harvey, pp. 219–21.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “mad keen”: Letter from Blain to Hugh Reynolds, August 28, 1918, CWB.

  “Confidential Liar”: MacDonald, p. 136.

  “Utterly Hopeless”: Continental Times, July–September, 1917.

  Blain’s time in: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B.

  Dressed in civilian clothes: Ibid.

  The rain had: Ibid.; Winchester, pp. 62–65; Letter from Leggatt to Family, November 30, 1917, Papers of E. Leggatt, RAF.

  “Wohin gehen si?”: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B.

  The policeman examined: Letter from Blain to Hugh Reynolds, August 28, 1918, CWB.

  Over the course: Durnford, pp. 18–25.

  Prisoners practiced: Thorn, p. 65. In his memoir, Thorn offers a compelling portrait of the early escape at Holzminden described here, not to mention of life in the camps. Well worth a read.

  Both of the: Unpublished memoir, Papers of R. Gough, LIDD: POW-029; Durnford, pp. 52–60; September 28, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  Thorn and Wilkins: Thorn, pp. 66–68; Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, LIDD: POW-043; Rathborne Account, TNA: AIR 1/7/726/129/1; Garland.

  Back at the: Rathborne Account, TNA: AIR 1/7/726/129/1.

  “had left the”: Thorn, p. 87.

  A great cheer: Ibid., pp. 87–88; Hanson, pp. 15–52.

  The commandant who: Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT.

  Knight, who had: Report by Gerald Knight, TNA: FO 383/272.

  Another gang tried: Harding, p. 113.

  Another scheme, led by: Grinnell-Milne, pp. 212–18.

  Although his previous: Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT.

  After almost three: Bennett, “A Little Introduction Speech,” LJB.

  CHAPTER TEN

  October 1, 1917: Durnford, pp. 24–25; Report by A. E. Haig, January 20, 1918, Papers of A. Haig, IWM.

  “barbarians”: Report by Captain F. B. Binney, TNA: WO 161/96; Report by Samuel Ellis, TNA: WO 161/96.

  “the penalty for”: Precis of part of interview between Major Wyndham and General Hänisch, TNA: FO 383/399; Letter in Code Despatched from Holdminden, October 9, 1917, TNA: FO 383/275.

  “Baralong!”: Durnford, pp. 29–30.

  In his office: Report by Samuel Ellis, TNA: WO 161/96; Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399.

  In some of: October 1917, Diary, Papers of J. Chapman, RAF; Letter in Code Despatched from Holdminden, October 9, 1917, TNA: FO 383/275; Horrocks, p. 21.

  “Three more out”: Harvey, p. 221.

  Harvey was glad: Boden, p. 199.

  For almost two: November 5, 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM.

  There were others: Papers of J. Whale, IWM.

  “It is not”: Harvey, p. 222.

  In Cell 5 at: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B.

  An ace of: “Lieutenant H. W. Medlicott (1895–1918),” Medlicott Family History, http://www.fam.medlicott.uk.com/HEM_files/7_HWMedlicott.html; Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT; Hare, p. xx.

  One time: Cook, p. 151.

  “For this”: Winchester, p. 68.

  Medlicott was sent: Blain, unpublished memoir, IWM-B; Letter from Blain to Hugh Reynolds, August 28, 1918, CWB; Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT. Blain left two similar versions of this remarkable escape narrative in his unfinished memoir. All quotes and details come from these two sources, but are also corroborated in Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT.

  Throughout October: Letter from Bennett to his mother, October 17, 1917, LJB; Report on Holzminden, November 22, 1917, TNA: FO 383/275; Report by A. E. Haig, January 20, 1918, Papers of A. Haig, IWM.

  “Look at these”: Horrocks, p. 26; Auckland Star, March 22, 1919; Durnford, pp. 16–23; Unpublished memoir, Papers of A. Barlow, LIDD: POW-002; Warburton, pp. 91–97; Sydney Mail, August 6, 1919. The behavior depicted here was typical of Niemeyer as recorded in a number of memoirs relating to prisoners’ arrival at Holzminden.

  Once they had: October 1917, Diary, Papers of D. Grant, IWM; Letter in Code Despatched from Holdminden, October 9, 1917, TNA: FO 383/275; Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Get up!”: Unpublished memoir, Papers of R. Gough, Leeds: POW-029.

  Since arriving: Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043; Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399.

  “Cost price”: Durnford, p. 37.

  Gray found that: Harvey, p. 228. As with his depiction of most elements of prison life, Harvey writes eloquently of the torturous amount of time the men spent merely waiting.

  The small tyrannies: Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043; Report by Lieutenant Purves, TNA: FO 383/399.

  when a more: Harvey, p. 227.

  Theft was pervasive: Notes on Holzminden, Papers of M. Pannett, IWM; Letter from Nixon, Papers of L. Nixon, IWM.

  Across Germany: Herwig, pp. 232–39, 255, 285–89.

  “I guess, you”: Report on Conditions of Officers’ Camps in Xth Army Corps, TNA: FO 383/399.

  For no reason: Letter to Nixon family, Papers of L. Nixon, IWM.

  “Time drags slowly”: Coombes, p. xx.

  In late October: Report on Holzminden, November 1917, BARCH: R 85/4337; Unpublished memoir, Papers of L. McNaught-Davis, Leeds: POW-043; Garland, “My Dashes for Freedom.”

  The barricades in: Hanson, pp. 167–68.

  The Holzminden inmates: Newsclip, “Bucks Officer’s Adventures in Germany,” undated, Papers of J. Shaw, IWM.

  “You see, gentleman”: Durnford, p. 50.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Shorty Colquhoun: Ackerley, p. 78.

  Scoutin
g the camp: Recollections of L. J. Bennett, Oral History, LIDD; Durnford, pp. 71–75; Hanson, pp. 183–85; “The Holzminden Tunnellers Want to Meet Again,” Answers, June 11, 1938.

  Colquhoun recruited: Letter from Bennett to Lyon, May 13, 1938, LJB.

  “Will you join”: Beyond Colquhoun and Ellis, the founding members of the tunneling team that November are rarely mentioned in sources. In his memoir, Harvey states that Rogers, Mossy, and the Pink Toes were there from the start, and given their experience, they were ideally suited for the engineering of the trapdoor. Note Harvey, pp. 239–40. The timing of David Gray’s participation is slightly more elusive. Durnford, the best firsthand chronicler of the tunnel, states unequivocally that Gray was the “Father of the Tunnel, and in every way one of the most important personages concerned.” Note Durnford, p. 119. Further, according to the Otago Daily Times, November 23, 1918, written with the aid of Lieutenant John Bousfield, only one of the originators of the tunnel eventually made the successful escape through it. Given that, by their own admissions, the others had all come to the tunnel later, this leaves Gray.

  First they would: Recollections of L. J. Bennett, Oral History, LIDD; Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT.

  The next day: Ackerley, pp. 78–79; Recollections of L. J. Bennett, Oral History, LIDD; Tullis, unpublished memoir, JKT. Although this critical scouting mission was clearly recorded, the individuals responsible remained unmentioned in all accounts. Given the intricate engineering of the the slide panel, and the demonstrated capacity of the Pink Toes, namely Mossy and Rogers, to create such a contraption, the author surmised these two were responsible.

  Willing accomplices: Holzminden Tunnelers 20th Anniversary Dinner, Attendee List, LJB. The names of the orderlies who aided the tunnel effort were never mentioned in Durnford’s memoir, nor in almost any other chronicle. Only in Bennett’s papers did I find mention of them; Bennett wrote them letters thanking them for their assistance and also invited them to the anniversary dinners.

  “It’s a case”: Winchester, p. 147.

  One of the: New Zealand Herald, August 27, 1938.

  A bribe of: Hanson, pp. 194–95.