The Colditz Story

by P.R. Reid

Colditz was the last stop for prisoners of war in the Second World War. It was to this impregnable fortress that the Germans sent all those prisoners who persisted in escaping from other camps, such as Stalag Luft III (of THE GREAT ESCAPE FAME). Once within the walls of Colditz, the Germans reasoned, escape was impossible. And yet during the four-year period when the castle was used as a prison over 300 men escaped, 31 of whom managed to complete the hazardous journey home through Germany. Prisoners from 10 different countries formed a truly international escape academy. Skeleton keys were made, German passes forged, maps drafted, and all manner of tools and machinery constructed out of whatever the prisoners had to hand. The ingenuity of the escape artists knew no bounds: they tried everything from tunnelling, to hiding in rubbish sacks, disguising themselves as German officers, and leaping acrobatically from the castle walls.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, War, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction, Biography

222 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 1952

About the author

Major Patrick Robert "Pat" Reid, MBE, MC was a British Army officer and author of non-fiction largely based upon his firsthand experiences during World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Reid

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amazing true story of the men imprisoned in Colditz Castle, surely the most impressive prisoner-of-war camp in modern history.

The prisoners sent to Colditz had all escaped before from other camps and were sent there because it was considered escape-proof - ha! The Germans' mistake, of course, was to concentrate all that energy and skill in one place, so the prisoners were not so much concerned with whether they could escape but whether they could beat their fellow prisoners to the draw.

British, American, French, Polish, Dutch and Belgian (and probably others - can't remember if there were any Russians) competed for this privilege and their plans had to be agreed and scheduled by the Escape Committee to prevent clashes and people trying to escape at the same time.

Making uniforms and trying to walk out the gate; cutting through floors to gain access to empty rooms, tunneling into the drains and even building a glider in an attic - their schemes were myriad and ingenious.

The stories, the men's feelings, the upsets, dramas, German searches and the occasional successes; they are all laid out here in glorious detail. You will feel their pain, discomfort, lack of food, as well as their joy over a game of football or their ecstasy after a successful escape.

Pity too the poor German officers and guards, who had the unenviable task of managing hundreds of fit young men, all of whom had nothing to do but plan their escape. They had to try to keep them happy whilst maintaining discipline and trying to keep their Nazi overlords contented; a thankless task that saw quite a bit of understanding and appreciation between prisoners and guards.

This is an exciting, entertaining read and a first hand historical account of a fascinating and concentrated event in history, hence five stars.


This is a shorter version of Pat Reid's book. The full story has recently been published by The Folio Society.

If you get a chance, watch the fantastic BBC series made in the seventies from this book. It stars David McCallum, Robert Wagner, Bernard Hepton, Patrick Troughton and Jeremy Kemp, among many others.

[Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute classic. If you've any interest in WW2 at all then this is compulsory reading.

[Susana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito bom!

O autor esteve preso no Castelo de Colditz, uma prisão de alta segurança para oficiais prisioneiros de guerra durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, depois de ter tentado fugir doutro local.

Este livro descreve as várias tentativas de fuga do próprio e de outros oficiais, recorrendo aos mais incríveis estratagemas. Estas histórias vão sendo contadas com vivacidade e bastante humor, o que torna esta leitura uma experiência altamente recomendável.

[Schwarz V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book, What a wonderful story, it's really deserve 5 stars.
My copy was translated to Arabic ( My native language ).

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think my expectations of this book made it not as good as I hoped it would be. Then again I didn´t quite know what to expect of it. I think there could´ve been lesser people introduced, they all got quite mixed up for me. Then again, it was not that much about the characters, the book. It was about POWs (prisoner of war) during second world war in a castle an a town called Colditz. It was about what had actually happened, it did not feel like a book wanting to tell a great story, but a book that was about the story that happened and how it happened truly back in 1940s.

For me it was an eye opener in many ways, I would have thought that prisoners would have been treated worse than what the book made it sound like. An obviously it wasn´t like this for all.. Like always with the subject of world wars, I always find it very hard to believe it actually happened and it wasn´t that long ago, not really. I was amazed by the things these POWs came up with to help people try their escapes. I guess people muster all their abilities possible to use when faced with a situation where trying all one can is the only way to survive. When Pat escaped and was already out of Colditz he realises what has actually happened, and then only understands what it means, and what they all meant to him. If anyone wants to read what it was like in Colditz, or rather about the escape attempts, this does tell you a lot about them! At times I was irritated by not understanding every last word, I felt that to really understand the escapes I should´ve understood all the little things that were happening. Maybe then I could´ve been more excited and thus given the book 4 stars.

I felt like it took really long for me to finish this book, I think I just picked it up at a wrong time. I was actually feeling like something lighter to read. This is a good example that you should never pick up a book if it´s something complete different than what you´re feeling like!



I APPRENTICE

Prologue-III

The prologue made me smile, which has to be a good thing. The book starts before he goes to Colditz.

All this snooping and test escape plans are getting me quite excited! Feel like playing a little escape from colditz! So they are making a tunnel, climbing route did not work.

Finally they escape, but only 3 out of the original 6 get out on the first try. They get caught halfway to Yugoslavia. They learn other 3 had escaped and caught as well. They spent a week back in camp before they were sent to Colditz.


II ESCAPE OFFICER

IV-VI

Does not feel like the quickest read, but that could be just because I don´t really feel like reading. So they arrive in Colditz and they are welcomed by the Poles, who are the majority. They are greeted also by Canadians, some French and Belgian POWs arrive as well. The Germans try to keep them apart, but fail and give up trying.

It´s strange to read about all these activities they had in Colditz. And money! They had money that they used to buy musical instruments and all that. Strange! So they had sports and they had card games and board games and theatre and musicals..

They unlocked the door and unhinged it to be carried around! Hehe..I really like how they are making the German's look stupid. Reappearing to appel after missing one..

VII-IX

They get caught! Damn it. I do sometimes has trouble understanding the little things they are doing to escape, and they should be understood I think, but I try not to let it disturb me.

One of them escape inside a mattres some french pows are taking to town. He gets all the way to Vienna but then has nothing left to stay alive and escape and is caught and brought back. Hmm. I don´t always know who he´s telling about, that annoys me a little.

X-XII

Wow, all the things they can do in there! Brewing liquor! He has spent a lot of time in solitary again and in there he gets a new idea, the theatre. Will this become a successful escape somehow??

XIII-XVI

It´s quite amazing all these things they have come up with! I must say I don´t believe I could´ve. And the boldness it´s taken them! But they used all the chances they found and were given. Just quite unimaginable.


III ESCAPE

XVII-XXI,epilogue

So few of them succeed! And when they do, it is only a matter of days that they can cross the border.

If this were a fiction book, it would not get me that excited.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story of courage, daring and at times damn right lunacy. This is a must for anyone with a passion for history. I loved every nail biting moment of this book, so much so I watched all of the bbc series after finishing the book with friends to try and quench my thirst for more Colditz thrills. I also recently stayed at the castle, now a youth hostel and thoroughly enjoyed coming face to face with the places mentioned in the book.

[Laurence · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, the escape especially was fascinating. The setting, situation and events are incredible, but Reid's writing is not that of a professional storyteller, so the writing is very functional. I'd have like a bit more description, a bit more flesh on the bones, a bit more drama and developed action- there was plenty, often glazed over.

[Hermien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story told in a typically understated English style.

[Stefan Mitev · Rating 4 out of 5]

С изненада установих, че съществува цял исторически жанр, посветен на бягствата от лагери по време на Втората световна война. Малцината, спасили се от плен и завърнали се успешно в родната страна (постигнали "хоумрън" на военен жаргон), обикновено описват своите приключения в книги. Патрик Рийд е офицер от британската армия, който успява да избяга от няколко офлага (офицерски лагери, да не се бъркат с концентрационни лагери, където попадат цивилни жертви).

Рийд въобще не натоварва читателите си с излишни подробности и започва разказа си директно от момента на влизане в първия офлаг (Oflag VII-C, замъкът Лауфен). Не разбираме почти нищо за неговото детство, началото на войната, нито за пленяването му във Франция. Основният фокус на цялата книга е върху плановете и стратегиите за бягство. Рийд не се задържа дълго в Лауфен. Успява да избяга през прокопан тунел, но е заловен на половината от пътя към неокупираната все още Югославия. Изпратен е в най-тежко охранявания офлаг в Райха - замъкът Колдиц в Саксония (Oflag IV-C). В Колдиц попадат само специални и високорискови за нацистите военнопленници - имащи вече опити за бягство от други лагери или със специални "провинения".

Колдиц е разположен на върха на охраняван хълм и е известен със строгия си режим. Във всеки момент пазачите са повече от пленниците, защитните прегради са многобройни. Но въпреки всички мерки има случаи на успешно бягство и "хоумрън" до неутралната Швейцария. Основната част от книгата ни разкрива планирането и изпълнението на опити за бягство. Креативността на затворниците е безкрайна. Освен прозаичните тунели, те изпробват маскиране като общи работници от близкия град или като нацистки офицери (с откраднати униформи), дори се преобличат като жени. Опитват напускане скрити в стари сламени дюшеци и в кутии със стари дрехи. Разузнават цялата канализация на замъка, сглобяват шперцове от подръчни материали, фалшифицират официални документи и паспорти.

Ако търсите реални исторически свидетелства с драматизма на съвременен трилър, това е книгата за вас. Препоръчвам на всички, които се интересуват от Втората световна война.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second reading of this book, I read it probably 20 years ago and just found an old well read 1st edition. I bought it for less than a dollar and as I started to re-read it I realized how fortunate I was!

There was something thrilling about the tenacity and purpose of prisoner of war officers seeing their duty as trying to escape this formidable German prison during WW2. Not only were they using the power of their brains and working together but they were fighting the enemy by needing more and more resources to keep them incarcerated. There were many phenomenal escapes and even in event of failure a attitude of doubling down and never giving up the attempts.

During Covid times this book seemed to speak to my spirit and mind to find new and resourceful ways to escape boredom and complacency, as well as creatively love my family and friends. It made me was to stretch resources and encourage others.

The tenacity as well as the humanity of these prisoners of war was relevant today and inspired and awed me! I love finding old books that speak to current issues and times... really to the human spirit’s need to rise and not be powerless.

[Linda Visman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a long time since I read this book, but I know it was good and that it is invaluable for anyone wanting to know about POW conditions in German stalags during WWII. Recommended.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in October 2009.

The Colditz Story is the tale of the British prisoners of war incarcerated in Oflag IV C, Colditz Castle, which was used to hold officers who had already attempted to escape from other camps by the Germans during the Second World War. Reid, as Escape Officer (co-ordinator of escape attempts) helped organise many escapes and was in an ideal position to document them. The book covers the period from Reid's arrival as Colditz was being set up, to his own successful escape to Switzerland a couple of years later.

The story of the ingenious escape attempts from Colditz are almost as famous as that of The Great Escape, and the book was immensely successful, not just becoming a TV series (which this edition was released to tie in with) but a board game which I remember playing in the seventies. The book used to be in just about every library (including school libraries) in the UK. (I don't know if it is this popular today, but it is noticeable that the public libraries I use still have a Second World War section which is much larger than the rest of history put together, so similar tales continue to hold the imagination of the British public.) This means that it will have been read by any voracious male (it almost certainly appeals more to boys) reader of my age or older, and many more will have seen the TV show (I was a few years too young to see it myself.) The story told by Reid is very memorable, and I found myself remembering details I hadn't read for thirty years.

Reid immortalises a particular kind of heroics, which is also one stereotypically associated with the products of the British public school system. It is all about the battle of wits with the Germans, and the game effectively become more important than the ends. Clausewitz is frequently quoted as saying that "War is the continuation of politics by other means." (It is in fact a slight misquotation.) But to Pat Reid and others like him, usually enthusiastic products of an English public school, it would be more correct to suggest that was was the continuation of the sports field by other means. However, the value of an escape (to anyone other than the escapee) was in the end not in the chess game which led to it.

So, is is really the duty of every prisoner of war to attempt to escape? Reid takes it for granted that this is the case, so much so that he doesn't even discuss the officers' reasons for making achingly difficult escape attempts (such as carrying out such a convincing simulation of insanity that the escapee risked suffering mental damage as a result). According to Wikipedia's list, there were 37 successful escapees from Colditz, 10 of them British. This is a vanishingly small number among the war's combatants, and it is not likely that any of them would have been so effective individually that their escape would have made a direct military difference to the outcome of the war. (This argument doesn't hold so well for other nationalities, such as the French and Belgians, whose home countries were occupied.)

The only conceivable benefit to the war effort from a successful escape that I can see would be through morale boosting propaganda. I'm not saying that this would be a negligible benefit, but another thing which Reid doesn't mention is what the escapees did on returning home. First British escapee, Airey Neave, went on to work for MI9, the British secret service in charge of aiding resistance movements in occupied Europe, but he was by a long way the most distinguished of the escapees (and probably the best known British inmate with the exception of Douglas Bader). Reid himself was unable to return to Britain until after the war. Others were killed in action, or their escape remained the major event of their war service. Nothing I can see in Wikipedia entries (not necessarily the most authoritative source, but easily accessible) suggests that the British used escapees for propaganda purposes. Compared to the work of SOE, the activities of Schindler, or the dedication of the Bletchley code breakers, POW escapes were extremely unimportant in the history of the War. If it does not serve the overall aim of winning the war in any particular way, it is surely not a duty bound on every prisoner of war.

Compared to many prisoners of war, those incarcerated in Colditz were not particularly ill treated. Food was sparse, but that was something fairly commonplace in wartime Germany - and it should be remembered that the Nazi regime was not a signatory to the international convention which governed the treatment of prisoners of war (and yet the regime at Colditz seems to have respected the convention's rules - they had exercise, access to primitive medical care, and even received parcels from home). The imprisoned officers were not forced to work themselves to death, or used for medical experimentation, or killed in large numbers, as Jewish prisoners were. They were certainly very well treated compared those British soldiers captured by the Japanese. And in more modern times; the Americans who suffered sleep deprivation in the Gulf, or the terrorist suspects waterboarded by the CIA were worse off. So bad treatment was also not a big motive for escape.

Another question which occurred to me that passed me by thirty years ago was whether escapes like those detailed here would be possible now. Reid says at several points that he is suppressing details, so that the same tricks could be reused without the authorities in the camp being aware of them in advance - he obviously expects the inmates to be more clever than the guards in terms of reading between the lines. But a lot has changed in almost sixty years. There was no electronic surveillance; in fact, the use of microphones hidden around Colditz to detect tunnelling was probably the first move in this direction. So there were no cameras, no use of biometrics (it was even possible to use handmade plaster statues to hide the absence of inmates at roll calls), no electronic keys on doors, no automatic closing of doors when alarms were sounded, and so on. However, we have all of these in prisons today, and yet there are still escaped criminals, so perhaps it would still be possible to get out of a POW camp.

Reid is a product of his class and time. There are so many details in his writing which indicate this; one which is symptomatic is the way that, whenever he introduces a new character, he lists the school (invariably a public school, which says something about how the British armed forces chose officers sixty years ago) attended by the prisoner. Where the school is not one of the best known (Eton, Harrow, Rugby, etc), this is not going to tell the reader much unless they also went to a public school.

Reid's style is unpolished, not that of a journalist or novelist. He consistently uses unvarying derogatory slang: the Germans are always Gerries, the guards are always goons, and so on. He is an extremely keen user of exclamation marks, something which I find particularly irritating when reading. But on the whole the interest of the stories overcomes all the difficulties and makes The Colditz Story a good read.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good WW2 story. I think I may have discovered a new favourite sub genre “WW2 escape stories.” The chapters where they were staying hidden on their journey to the Swiss frontier makes for some of the most tense reading ever. Highly recommended.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the horror of WW II and the ingenuity, compassion and bravery of those held prisoner and some of the escapes despite the odds.

[Dhiraj Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Colditz Story by Maj. P.R Reid is a classic escape story of Allied Officers incarcerated by the Germans at Colditz Castle during World War-II. Years back I had read an abstract of this book in Reader’s Digest.

The Colditz Castle was considered escape proof and the Germans had put all their bad eggs in one basket as the officers imprisoned there had previously attempted to escape from other prison camps but had unfortunately been caught. They were from all nationalities, British, French, Dutch, Polish and Americans.

Its’ difficult not to marvel at the prisoner’s ingenuity, perseverance and intelligence to find/dig escape routes/tunnels, the preparations and groundwork done and eventual escape to freedom if they were lucky.

They were surviving on prisoner’s rations with no means of knowing how long they will be imprisoned. Just imagine after all the pain and efforts you get caught just a few miles from the Swiss border, are brought back and put into solitary confinement back at Colditz.

In author’s own words (he successfully escaped in 1942) he would not have survived at Colditz till the end of WW-II i.e 1945 without losing his mental balance or words to that effect.

The escape attempts were filled with adventure, thrill with danger lurking at every corner but you need to read between the lines to understand that this book is a fitting tribute to soldierly spirit, the never say die attitude, the camaraderie and the OLQs (Officer like Qualities) which made these brave men face and survive the extreme odds and still keep on trying to escape from the escape proof Colditz Castle.

This book is a must read.

[Rick Brindle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good first hand account of life at Colditz and of the various escape attempts made by the prisoners there. The stiff upper lip-ness throughout is amazing and humbling at the same time. It has been said that the British were at their best during World War 2, and I believe it. That is not to say though, that it was just the jolly old Brits who were mentioned in the book, and it's fair to say that the supreme courage written about here is most definitely not exclusively belonging to one nationality.

[Veeral · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars, to rate this more accurately. Good story but I personally think that P. R. Reid could have done better by hiring a good editor.

The story feels highly disjointed and it is really difficult even to remember names of most of the characters. Nevertheless, this is a good inclusion to my world war non-fiction shelf.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread; first read many years ago. Exciting and concise. The focus is on escapes and escape plans, you won't find many other details about the people or prison life. I picked it up again after watching the 2005 miniseries Colditz, which had some insight into the difficulties faced by POWs but was totally derailed by a terrible soap opera/love triangle.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

During World War II Allied prisoners of war were sent to the German prison Colditz. Pat Reid was designated as the "escape officer." He made his own successful escape in 1942. This is the story of his attempts.

[Erica Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

PR Reid is an excellent story teller with an exceptional series of stories to tell. I enjoyed this book so much that I had a serious sulk when I misplaced it for an afternoon.


I cannot rave about this book enough!

[Hammonrs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting book about a fantastic adventure. A good shelf-mate to "The Great Escape" and "The Wooden Horse".

[Cerberus Flame · Rating 5 out of 5]

lol do u know that more people escaped from colditz than any other ww2 pow camp(bet that anoyed preim!!) :-) GO PAT REID

[Davina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight this book is! It's one of the best in the genre. His sense of humor is wonderful. A joyful read. "Goon bashing" was quite the sport!

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a amazing book

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of an anthology, so not this specific edition. I've read it twice and vastly preferred it the first time, I suppose because it was more exciting. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest either in POWs in WWII or in prison escape stories.

The first part of the book details how the author and narrator, Pat Reid, escaped from his POW camp only to be recaptured and sent to Colditz, a supposedly inescapable prison, being a castle built into a mountain, where officer POWs who had escaped from other camps were all penned in together. This part of the story was enjoyable but extremely tense because you know going in that the escape is doomed to failure. Once interned at Colditz, Reid became the 'escape officer' of the British prisoners, which meant that all escape attempts had to be run past him and he helped work out the plans and recommend men for the job and generally orchestrate the escapes without being able to escape himself.

The middle of the novel is far more anecdotal and as such quite difficult to just sit down and read because there's no real momentum or much structure to it. Various escape attempts are described, but never in complete detail, supposedly to give future prisoners a chance to use such ideas, which often left me quite confused about what he was talking about. The prisoners were all apparently incredibly skilled craftmen and built amazing contraptions and disguises from seemingly nothing, but again the details on how are very vague. There are dozens of characters, so we never really get to know anyone, it was all just a random list of names, we don't even get to know the narrator very well. Sprinkled throughout this section are various little amusing scenes, which I'm sure were absolutely hilarious at the time and in such a difficult situation, but generally fail to be particularly funny on the page - not helped I think by the way they are just randomly dropped in and then we move on, rather than it all being woven into an actual narrative. Sometimes a character would be mentioned in an amusing anecdote and then never again, which was frustrating as I wanted to know what happened to each man at the end of the war.

The final section is about after Reid steps down from being the escape officer so that he can actually try escaping himself. The book's finale is his own escape from Colditz halfway through the war, which again has more of a narrative to it and is therefore much more compulsively readable than the main part of the book. Slightly annoying that it ends basically by just saying 'now read the sequel'.

So I definitely think this book could have been improved by being written more like a novel than a memoir, but it is intriguing nonetheless.

[Jack London · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um verdadeiro manual sobre como fugir de uma prisão, cuja narrativa é dedicada quase exclusivamente a esse intento.

Este enredo, verdadeiro, passa-se no castelo de Colditz, uma prisão de alta segurança na segunda guerra mundial para onde eram enviados os oficiais aliados, presos por nazis e que já tinham fugido de outras prisões e foram capturados.

Apesar da sua aparente inexpugnabilidade houve muitas fugas com sucesso - conseguiram sair da Alemanha - e nem todas pelos tradicionais túneis escavados e algumas delas dignas de um filme hollywoodesco como por exemplo a de Mairesse-Lebrun.

O que me surpreendeu foi o inegável bom tratamento que estes presos tinham, ao contrário de outras prisões nazis, onde de facto funcionava a Convenção de Genebra em toda a sua plenitude. Não sei se isto aconteceu por serem oficiais ... Quem por exemplo leu o relato de Primo Levi numa prisão Nazi fica estupefacto por este inusitado comportamento que nem o proprio autor teve consciência desse sortilégio .

Não foi dos livros que gostei mais sobre o 'ambiente prisional' mas é sem dúvida um bom livro.

ps tem uma curiosa descrição de como faziam cerveja artesanal e com relativo sucesso, inclusive sem levedura

[Benedict · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colditz is a castle in the German town of the same name, best known for being a POW prison housing captured Allied officers during World War II. It had a reputation for being inescapable, so of course this is a story about escaping the fortress.

It's not really a spoiler to reveal that author Pat Reid eventually escapes Colditz, but this retelling is a fascinating look into life at the prison, and the many failed escape plans that fell through before his success in 1942. It's jovially told; it almost sounds like boys on a bizarre camping trip, with how much mischief they get up to and how many privileges they seem to be privy to considering their prisoner status. Though it does sober up when the task of actual escape is at hand. They were in real danger and they knew it, but otherwise the cast seem like a merry band of regular folk in a strange set of circumstances.

It's entertaining and engaging, the audiobook version well narrated and making for a jolly good listen. A bit of ol' history, hip hip!

[Davidg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a trip down memory lane. I read this, along with numerous other WWII books back when I was a teenager, plus the BBC series at around the same time.

This time, I read it alongside the new book by Ben MacIntyre. Comparing the two, it is clear how limited Reid’s view of the place was. Of course, Reid would not have access to the prison’s records, so he wouldn’t give the German point of view, or other nationals come to that. However, he doesn’t mention the class system or the other ranks who did all the work but who weren’t allowed to escape or mix with the other prisoners.

It is what it is a Boys Own escape adventure. And it still works well as that, even though it doesn’t have the same impact on a more cynical 60-something.

[ben c]

Brave souls. 40 years after the board game, I finally got around to this first-hand account by the author, successful escaper and OC about this ’WW2 camp for allied POW’s. This and ‘The latter Days’ are both very readable, when compared to the German version of events by captor Hptm. Eggers. It’s a tale of mental escape and resilience, while suffering from poor nutrition. Mind over matter - luckily as officers they mattered. Some sections are very dark particularly the bits about tunneling, and I was glad to move on. A recent documentary on the glider, indicates work required on aerial escape, evidently.

[Leani · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the risk of sounding like reviews on a back cover: "an adventurous romp, thoroughly entertaining". This is the only WW2 book - probably the only war book - I've read that avoided both cruelty and futility. Those surely existed at Colditz too, though maybe less than elsewhere because it was an officers' POW camp. Most of the credit, however, must go to Reid. It is a great spirit who can resist sharing its burdens, telling only the uplifting parts - and that with relish! I couldn't help grinning.