The Colditz Story by P. R. Reid

Author:P. R. Reid
Language: eng
Format: epub

The Colditz Story

CHAPTER X

JUST TOO EASY

The summer months were passing—slowly enough for us—yet too fast for all our plans. Whiter, relatively speaking, is the escapers’ ‘close season’, though the Second World War was to see many time-hallowed rules of this nature broken.

There was a long curved room over the canteen where a batch of our British contingent slept and passed much of their time. Roughly speaking, two sides of this room backed on to the German section of the Castle, and these two walls always attracted our attention as holding out possibilities. A door in the end wall, in the very early days, had been opened by Niki, who had been beyond into a deserted attic. He could describe no more than that. The doorway had promptly been walled up. Although efforts were made to break through the wall, this had been constructed with such tough cement that noise gave us away and the Germans calmly replastered our puny efforts. This is possibly where they planted one of their microphones, which they later had everywhere.

The second wall, according to the officers who slept near it, backed on to German lavatories.

Tommy Elliot (Lieutenant, Durham County Light Infantry) and Ted Barton announced to me one day that they had started a fair-sized hole which was making good progress. In a matter of a couple of days they were practically through. Listening carefully, they established by sounds from the other side that the hole was near floor-level and appeared to be close to a lavatory bowl. A pinhole was made through the plaster face from the inside, and it was confirmed that the opening would be just off centre and below the seat of a porcelain water-closet.

No time could be lost—the Germans appeared unconscionably quiet and they might start a series of searches any day. The opening was not well concealed on our side and any search would have revealed it. I had my own misgivings, too, concerning the hole, but without evidence I could not withstand the enthusiasm of my fellow-officers for the venture.

The plan was simple. Towards late evening on the coming Sunday, when the German quarters would be at their quietest, the hole would be broken through and twelve officers at five-minute intervals between pairs or individuals would pass through in civilian attire and make their best way out. In effect, the entry into the German quarters would be only the beginning of their troubles, for they would still have to find their way to the exits of the German side of the Castle, then brave the various gates or, more probably, disappear into the wooded playground below the Castle and climb over the main wall under cover of trees.

Sunday arrived and the tension grew apace. The escapers appeared for a passing-out parade. Civilian attire was checked and in some cases altered or substituted by articles of civilian clothing supplied from the private hoards of willing helpers.

At this period of our captivity, escape equipment was becoming organized. Although every officer

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