"Missing": Three Months In Enemy Territory

by Talbot Bruce, T. Mullen (introduction)

"Missing": Three Months In Enemy Territory tells the true story of Lieutenant Talbot Bruce, an Australian pilot who flew for the United Kingdom during the First World War. After landing with his squadron in German occupied Belgium in the winter of 1917, the engine of Bruce's Sopwith Camel biplane failed to re-start. He set fire to the wood and fabric plane and escaped, aided by Belgian farmers who provided him with clothing and who directed him to safe houses. For 13 weeks Bruce avoided capture as he moved from town to town and safe house to safe house. A seven-foot high electric fence had been erected between Belgium and Holland, making escape difficult. His first attempts at escape failed. Eventually he was able to obtain a forged passport and a pistol and, together with a local man, escaped via Germany despite a serious bayonet-pistol confrontation. Heralded as hero back in England, Bruce attended a private audience with King George, then wrote this bestselling book in 1930, which was reprinted five times.

Because Bruce and his wife were our neighbors in Ireland when I was a boy, my parents read his book and talked about it frequently. Decades later after Bruce and his wife and my parents had passed away, I tracked down this book, followed his route in Belgium, contacted his heirs and obtained the copyright. The book "Missing" is here republished with a new cover, subtitle, map and appendices about Bruce's history, the context of the times, the use of language from a century ago and his route.

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177 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 15, 2023