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Boldness Be My Friend
'"Escape... escape... escape... by God!"' was his constant exhortation. "Never mind hunger pains, discomfort, or any other agony. Let escape become your passion, your one and only obsession until you finally reach home."'
Shot down over Berlin in 1941, Richard Pape's saga of captivity is a story of courage unmatched in the annals of escape. Four escapes took him across the breadth of German-occupied Europe; to Poland and Czechoslovakia; to Austria and Hungary. Aggressive and impetuous, his adventures sweep the reader along on a torrent of excitement.
Shot down over Berlin in 1941, Richard Pape's saga of captivity is a story of courage unmatched in the annals of escape. Four escapes took him across the breadth of German-occupied Europe; to Poland and Czechoslovakia; to Austria and Hungary. Aggressive and impetuous, his adventures sweep the reader along on a torrent of excitement.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
7 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Richard Pape
9 books1 followerRichard Bernard Pape MM (1916 – 19 June 1995) was a British Second World War escapee, autobiographer and novelist.
Pape was born in 1916 in Roundhay, Leeds, Yorkshire.
During the Second World War adventures, he became a navigator in a Short Stirling bomber. He was shot down close to the German/Dutch border, was twice captured and twice escaped, and was eventually repatriated by the Germans after substituting a sick man's urine for his own. He subsequently suffered a drunken motorcycle accident on the Isle of Man, which led to his being hostpitalised at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, for pioneer plastic surgery under Archibald McIndoe: he thus became a member of the Guinea Pig Club.
After the war, he wrote a book-length account of his adventures, Boldness Be My Friend. The book was brought to Anthony Blond's London literary agency in 1952 by Vanora McIndoe, Sir Archibald's daughter. After being read and approved by Blond's colleague Isabel Colegate, it was published in 1953 by Paul Elek, who paid a £600 advance.
In June 1965, Pape returned his Military Medal to the Queen in protest at The Beatles having been awarded the MBE. He was quoted as saying: "The Beatles' MBE reeks of mawkish, bizarre effrontery to our wartime endeavours."
Pape was born in 1916 in Roundhay, Leeds, Yorkshire.
During the Second World War adventures, he became a navigator in a Short Stirling bomber. He was shot down close to the German/Dutch border, was twice captured and twice escaped, and was eventually repatriated by the Germans after substituting a sick man's urine for his own. He subsequently suffered a drunken motorcycle accident on the Isle of Man, which led to his being hostpitalised at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, for pioneer plastic surgery under Archibald McIndoe: he thus became a member of the Guinea Pig Club.
After the war, he wrote a book-length account of his adventures, Boldness Be My Friend. The book was brought to Anthony Blond's London literary agency in 1952 by Vanora McIndoe, Sir Archibald's daughter. After being read and approved by Blond's colleague Isabel Colegate, it was published in 1953 by Paul Elek, who paid a £600 advance.
In June 1965, Pape returned his Military Medal to the Queen in protest at The Beatles having been awarded the MBE. He was quoted as saying: "The Beatles' MBE reeks of mawkish, bizarre effrontery to our wartime endeavours."
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 11, 2021
I own four books by this author, first buying a couple of his travel books then this POW escapee book and the follow up one. This is the first I have read, because generally I like to read in the published order where possible.
First impressions of this book are that Pape is superhuman. Super intelligent, physically incredible and able to withstand the torture of the gestapo. There is no self depreciating writing going on here. But once you adjust to Pape being the ultimate hero in this book, his story really is incredible.
I won't ruin the story for others, but in a very general outline this RAF navigator was shot down at the Germany/Holland border and with another man made his way through occupied territory to the coast to rendezvous with a submarine, only to be recaptured on the eve of the delayed departure.
He was transported to Stalag VIIIB, where he was imprisoned.
From here he escaped with another man, and travelled deep into Poland before falling ill and being recaptured interrogated and returned to Stalag VIIIB. After he recovered he escaped yet again, crossed Czechoslovakia and Austria, entered Hungary and was again captured.
After some recovery, then some torture and more recovery he was sent to Stalag Luft VI where the RAF POWs were held. Here he was invalided back to Britain as the war neared its end, by means of deception.
It is one of those book where the author justifies all this deeds, and his reasoning is provided. There are some aspects which are questionable, but in the circumstances it would be possible to justify many things.
A hard one to rate. Very easy to read, and no doubt Pape was brave and determined.
4 stars.
First impressions of this book are that Pape is superhuman. Super intelligent, physically incredible and able to withstand the torture of the gestapo. There is no self depreciating writing going on here. But once you adjust to Pape being the ultimate hero in this book, his story really is incredible.
I won't ruin the story for others, but in a very general outline this RAF navigator was shot down at the Germany/Holland border and with another man made his way through occupied territory to the coast to rendezvous with a submarine, only to be recaptured on the eve of the delayed departure.
He was transported to Stalag VIIIB, where he was imprisoned.
From here he escaped with another man, and travelled deep into Poland before falling ill and being recaptured interrogated and returned to Stalag VIIIB. After he recovered he escaped yet again, crossed Czechoslovakia and Austria, entered Hungary and was again captured.
After some recovery, then some torture and more recovery he was sent to Stalag Luft VI where the RAF POWs were held. Here he was invalided back to Britain as the war neared its end, by means of deception.
It is one of those book where the author justifies all this deeds, and his reasoning is provided. There are some aspects which are questionable, but in the circumstances it would be possible to justify many things.
A hard one to rate. Very easy to read, and no doubt Pape was brave and determined.
4 stars.
July 24, 2021
"Τόλμη, στάσου στο πλευρό μου", εκδόσεις Bell.
Τι επικό βιβλίο ήταν αυτό! Σύμφωνα με τα κιτάπια μου, το αγόρασα τον Δεκέμβριο του 2015 από κάποιο παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο, έναντι ενός ευρώ. Τώρα, γιατί τόσα χρόνια ούτε που του έδινα σημασία, δεν ξέρω. Χμ, βασικά ξέρω: Με τόσες χιλιάδες βιβλία που έχω στη συλλογή μου, είναι μάλλον λογικό να παραμελώ για χρόνια τα περισσότερα. Τέλος πάντων, ήθελα να διαβάσω μια αληθινή ιστορία του Β' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, και θυμήθηκα το συγκεκριμένο. Πρόκειται για ένα πραγματικά συναρπαστικό, περιπετειώδες και αγωνιώδες χρονικό μιας αιχμαλωσίας και μιας σειράς δραπετεύσεων και συλλήψεων, με τον συγγραφέα να φτάνει ουκ ολίγες φορές ένα βήμα πριν τον θάνατο, γρήγορο ή και βασανιστικό. Ο Πέιπ ήταν αεροπόρος της RAF στον Β' Π.Π. και σε μια αποστολή που συμμετείχε το αεροπλάνο του έπεσε στην υπό Γερμανική κατοχή Ολλανδία. Από εκείνη τη στιγμή αρχίζει μια πραγματικά απίστευτη ιστορία που θα κρατήσει τρία ολόκληρα χρόνια, με τον Πέιπ να αντιμετωπίζει ένα σωρό δυσκολίες, να ανακρίνεται και να βασανίζεται από τη Γκεστάπο, να φυλακίζεται σε στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης και να δουλεύει σαν σκυλί σε καταναγκαστικά έργα (ακόμα και στο Ομπερσάλτσμπεργκ), να συμμετέχει σε αποδράσεις και μετά σε διάφορες αποστολές σαμποτάζ, να γνωρίζει μέλη αντιστασιακών οργανώσεων σε Ολλανδία, Πολωνία, Ουγγαρία, Τσεχοσλοβακία κλπ, να συλλαμβάνεται δυο και τρεις φορές και να γλιτώνει από του Χάρου τα δόντια καμία δεκαριά... γενικά, έζησε τα πάντα. Όλα όσα έζησε, είδε και έκανε περιγράφονται εδώ με γλαφυρό και συναρπαστικό τρόπο, σίγουρα με τη γραφή του ο Πέιπ καταφέρνει να κάνει τον αναγνώστη ένα με αυτόν και όλα όσα τράβηξε, ενώ προσωπικά μου άνοιξε την όρεξη για να διαβάσω και άλλα περιπετειώδη βιβλία σχετικά με τον Β' Π.Π., αλλά και να δω ανάλογες ταινίες. Είναι ένα βιβλίο εξαιρετικά καλογραμμένο και ενδιαφέρον, που πιστεύω ότι οι λάτρεις των πολεμικών ιστοριών και των περιπετειών θα περάσουν εξαιρετικά ψυχαγωγικά την ώρα τους κατά την ανάγνωσή του.
Τι επικό βιβλίο ήταν αυτό! Σύμφωνα με τα κιτάπια μου, το αγόρασα τον Δεκέμβριο του 2015 από κάποιο παλαιοβιβλιοπωλείο, έναντι ενός ευρώ. Τώρα, γιατί τόσα χρόνια ούτε που του έδινα σημασία, δεν ξέρω. Χμ, βασικά ξέρω: Με τόσες χιλιάδες βιβλία που έχω στη συλλογή μου, είναι μάλλον λογικό να παραμελώ για χρόνια τα περισσότερα. Τέλος πάντων, ήθελα να διαβάσω μια αληθινή ιστορία του Β' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, και θυμήθηκα το συγκεκριμένο. Πρόκειται για ένα πραγματικά συναρπαστικό, περιπετειώδες και αγωνιώδες χρονικό μιας αιχμαλωσίας και μιας σειράς δραπετεύσεων και συλλήψεων, με τον συγγραφέα να φτάνει ουκ ολίγες φορές ένα βήμα πριν τον θάνατο, γρήγορο ή και βασανιστικό. Ο Πέιπ ήταν αεροπόρος της RAF στον Β' Π.Π. και σε μια αποστολή που συμμετείχε το αεροπλάνο του έπεσε στην υπό Γερμανική κατοχή Ολλανδία. Από εκείνη τη στιγμή αρχίζει μια πραγματικά απίστευτη ιστορία που θα κρατήσει τρία ολόκληρα χρόνια, με τον Πέιπ να αντιμετωπίζει ένα σωρό δυσκολίες, να ανακρίνεται και να βασανίζεται από τη Γκεστάπο, να φυλακίζεται σε στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης και να δουλεύει σαν σκυλί σε καταναγκαστικά έργα (ακόμα και στο Ομπερσάλτσμπεργκ), να συμμετέχει σε αποδράσεις και μετά σε διάφορες αποστολές σαμποτάζ, να γνωρίζει μέλη αντιστασιακών οργανώσεων σε Ολλανδία, Πολωνία, Ουγγαρία, Τσεχοσλοβακία κλπ, να συλλαμβάνεται δυο και τρεις φορές και να γλιτώνει από του Χάρου τα δόντια καμία δεκαριά... γενικά, έζησε τα πάντα. Όλα όσα έζησε, είδε και έκανε περιγράφονται εδώ με γλαφυρό και συναρπαστικό τρόπο, σίγουρα με τη γραφή του ο Πέιπ καταφέρνει να κάνει τον αναγνώστη ένα με αυτόν και όλα όσα τράβηξε, ενώ προσωπικά μου άνοιξε την όρεξη για να διαβάσω και άλλα περιπετειώδη βιβλία σχετικά με τον Β' Π.Π., αλλά και να δω ανάλογες ταινίες. Είναι ένα βιβλίο εξαιρετικά καλογραμμένο και ενδιαφέρον, που πιστεύω ότι οι λάτρεις των πολεμικών ιστοριών και των περιπετειών θα περάσουν εξαιρετικά ψυχαγωγικά την ώρα τους κατά την ανάγνωσή του.
November 19, 2011
A good read. Were it not for the fact, I'm sure, that the author's story and claims could be, and probably have been, thoroughly investigated and authenticated, one might be forgiven for thinking that some 'lily gilding' had occurred in the telling of these accounts. That being the case, I have to say the story is fascinating, raw, and disturbing in no small measure. I can only conclude that the author is an extremely fortunate man to have been able to 'live to tell the tales'. A strong and courageous fellow, without a doubt!
October 3, 2016
I lived next door to Richard Pape in Port Moresby from 1969 to 1973. I use to do his lawn for pocket money. He gave a 1955 edition which he autographed on 30 November 1969. He wrote some nice words to me. He was a good man.
January 27, 2019
This should be required reading for Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, although a word of warning for Donald, it does contain quite long words and it will take a few hours to read. But they will glean from the pages is that no matter what you do through incarceration, torture and starvation, you can't defeat the human spirit and the desire to be free. 'Boldness' is a fantastic book, to my mind the best 'escape' book I have ever read. It is interesting that author Richard Pape made many attempts and did eventually succeed in escaping from the Nazis, but I won't be a spoiler and reveal how it happened. My assessment - recommended reading, which will grab and hold your attention from start to finish.
June 30, 2021
I always thought that the Germans treated allied prisoners of war reasonably humanely, in keeping with the guidelines of the Geneva Convention – at any rate in comparison with the Japanese, who beat, starved and abused Allied prisoners of war and forced them to work as slave labour – in clear violation of the Geneva Convention. However, reading Richard Pape’s ‘Boldness Be My Friend’ made me aware that the Nazi’s regard for British and American airmen shot down over Germany, could be anything but humane.
Richard Pape was a navigator in the crew of an RAF Stirling bomber, whose target on the night of September 6th 1941 was Berlin. The plane didn’t make it home, coming down on the Dutch/German border on the flight back to Britain. Pape survived the crash and with the help of Dutch resistance fighters he almost escaped on a British submarine. But before the weather was calm enough to get aboard the sub, Richard and Jock - his fellow escapee - were arrested by the Germans and subsequently despatched to Stalag VIIIB in East Germany near the border with Poland, which was known as the ‘hell camp’.
Showing exemplary guts, resilience and tenacity, he spent the years between 1941 and 1944 trying to escape from German Prisoner of War camps. In my copy of the book, there is a map of the routes he took as a POW – from Holland, through Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary, before finally making it to neutral Sweden and getting back to his homeland near the end of the war.
From Stalag VIIIB, he was sent as a slave labourer to the nearby Hohenzollern coal mine in Silesia. He writes: ‘I dripped sweat alongside Russians, Frenchmen Cypriots, Slavs and Rumanians, all recruited as slave labour.’
In contrast to their treatment of British and American POW’s, the Germans conducted a policy of particularly savage brutality towards the Soviets – starving them and working them to death. Their warped racial ideology depicted slavs as sub-humans. Richard Pape recalls that ‘the Russians bit the black dust with the greatest frequency because they were forced into the most dangerous warrens to extract the smallest pockets of coal.’ The Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia prompted some of the most bestial behaviour in the history of warfare, and ‘Boldness Be My Friend’ pulls no punches in recording it.
Pape ultimately escaped from Stalag VIIIB, but he had to give up with the onset of pleurisy while in Poland. He was recaptured, sent to a political prison in Cracow, and subsequently put through a brutal interrogation by the Gestapo - in the hope he would ultimately divulge the names of resistance fighters who aided his attempted escape from Holland. To encourage a confession, he was publicly flogged twice and mercilessly tortured with a knife.
During Richard’s years as a POW, German cities were being reduced to rubble by British and American bomber squadrons, with unfortunate consequences for captured airmen. He was abused and tormented not only by camp commandants and Gestapo sadists, but also by civilians who had lost loved ones through allied air attacks.
He made yet another escape which took him through Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary, prior to being recaptured again and returned to Stalag VIIIB. In September 1944 he feigned illness to secure repatriation and finally got back to Britain via neutral Sweden.
‘Boldness Be My Friend’ is an amazing story - a story of courage, endurance, determination and survival in the face of massive odds. In his Foreword to the book, the legendary RAF leader, Lord Tedder, describes Richard Pape’s book as ‘packed with far more real life thrills than any novelist packed into a best seller thriller’ - an ultimate incentive to read it if ever there was one.
Henri Charriere’s book ‘Papillon’ – chronicling his escape from the French penal colony on Devils Island – has been described as ‘the greatest true story of escape and adventure ever written.’ If that’s so, I would suggest Richard Pape’s ‘Boldness Be My Friend’ comes a close second.
Richard Pape was a navigator in the crew of an RAF Stirling bomber, whose target on the night of September 6th 1941 was Berlin. The plane didn’t make it home, coming down on the Dutch/German border on the flight back to Britain. Pape survived the crash and with the help of Dutch resistance fighters he almost escaped on a British submarine. But before the weather was calm enough to get aboard the sub, Richard and Jock - his fellow escapee - were arrested by the Germans and subsequently despatched to Stalag VIIIB in East Germany near the border with Poland, which was known as the ‘hell camp’.
Showing exemplary guts, resilience and tenacity, he spent the years between 1941 and 1944 trying to escape from German Prisoner of War camps. In my copy of the book, there is a map of the routes he took as a POW – from Holland, through Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary, before finally making it to neutral Sweden and getting back to his homeland near the end of the war.
From Stalag VIIIB, he was sent as a slave labourer to the nearby Hohenzollern coal mine in Silesia. He writes: ‘I dripped sweat alongside Russians, Frenchmen Cypriots, Slavs and Rumanians, all recruited as slave labour.’
In contrast to their treatment of British and American POW’s, the Germans conducted a policy of particularly savage brutality towards the Soviets – starving them and working them to death. Their warped racial ideology depicted slavs as sub-humans. Richard Pape recalls that ‘the Russians bit the black dust with the greatest frequency because they were forced into the most dangerous warrens to extract the smallest pockets of coal.’ The Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia prompted some of the most bestial behaviour in the history of warfare, and ‘Boldness Be My Friend’ pulls no punches in recording it.
Pape ultimately escaped from Stalag VIIIB, but he had to give up with the onset of pleurisy while in Poland. He was recaptured, sent to a political prison in Cracow, and subsequently put through a brutal interrogation by the Gestapo - in the hope he would ultimately divulge the names of resistance fighters who aided his attempted escape from Holland. To encourage a confession, he was publicly flogged twice and mercilessly tortured with a knife.
During Richard’s years as a POW, German cities were being reduced to rubble by British and American bomber squadrons, with unfortunate consequences for captured airmen. He was abused and tormented not only by camp commandants and Gestapo sadists, but also by civilians who had lost loved ones through allied air attacks.
He made yet another escape which took him through Czechoslovakia, Austria and Hungary, prior to being recaptured again and returned to Stalag VIIIB. In September 1944 he feigned illness to secure repatriation and finally got back to Britain via neutral Sweden.
‘Boldness Be My Friend’ is an amazing story - a story of courage, endurance, determination and survival in the face of massive odds. In his Foreword to the book, the legendary RAF leader, Lord Tedder, describes Richard Pape’s book as ‘packed with far more real life thrills than any novelist packed into a best seller thriller’ - an ultimate incentive to read it if ever there was one.
Henri Charriere’s book ‘Papillon’ – chronicling his escape from the French penal colony on Devils Island – has been described as ‘the greatest true story of escape and adventure ever written.’ If that’s so, I would suggest Richard Pape’s ‘Boldness Be My Friend’ comes a close second.
March 6, 2021
A Yorkshire man , a Kiwi and a Pole..........
A true story of truly unbelievable guile and grit..
A fascinating tale of world war two heroism and near disaster.
A book to be read and favoured.
A true story of truly unbelievable guile and grit..
A fascinating tale of world war two heroism and near disaster.
A book to be read and favoured.
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March 6, 2023
4.5 stars
August 26, 2018
As other comment mentioned, one just can't stop thinking how real this 'true story' is. In the 1950s, when was this book written, Pape didn't have to worry about any 'fact-checkers' debunking his story. German officers are caricatures with monocles and 'hysterically shout', a German solider half-kills a Dutch woman in public for almost no reason and then laughs over her lifeless body.. let alone authors super powers to withstand many Gestapo interrogations. All that sounds more like a film than reality.
One detail stayed in my mind. When Pape works as a demolition worker in Czechoslovakian border region, he finds and takes two (wedding?) rings and other jewellery hidden behind a beam of an empty house. As an obvious notion - that Czech/Jewish family hid their jewels before their deportation - wouldn't sound good, author goes on to say a thief hid it there. He joyfully wishes to 'see thief's face when he finds the empty hiding spot'.
One detail stayed in my mind. When Pape works as a demolition worker in Czechoslovakian border region, he finds and takes two (wedding?) rings and other jewellery hidden behind a beam of an empty house. As an obvious notion - that Czech/Jewish family hid their jewels before their deportation - wouldn't sound good, author goes on to say a thief hid it there. He joyfully wishes to 'see thief's face when he finds the empty hiding spot'.
July 6, 2014
A reissue of war memoirs first published in 1954. A straight forward narrative of the author's experiences as a POW in Stalag VIIIB and his attempts to escape. It is interesting, readable and the prose is remarkably clean.
The most interesting bit was the letter to Charles McConnell who was collecting the biographies of members of 609 squadron in 1972. Unsurprisingly, after his war-time experiences, Richard Pape found it difficult to settle down and maintain relationships. His first marriage ended in a divorce after four months. Eventually, after meeting Leonard Cheshire, he discovered a cause, moved to Papua New Guinea, helped to found a home for mentally and physically challenged children, and married.
The most interesting bit was the letter to Charles McConnell who was collecting the biographies of members of 609 squadron in 1972. Unsurprisingly, after his war-time experiences, Richard Pape found it difficult to settle down and maintain relationships. His first marriage ended in a divorce after four months. Eventually, after meeting Leonard Cheshire, he discovered a cause, moved to Papua New Guinea, helped to found a home for mentally and physically challenged children, and married.
August 9, 2016
I really enjoyed Pape's "First Person" account of being a member of an air crew in a British Bomber during WWII. He was shot down and while a POW was able to escape. It was a courageous journey for Pape. I served in USN Patrol Squadron VP-68 and while my life never took the course as daring as Pape's I can appreciate what he did and can say this was a very brave man in my opinion.
The story is well told and it did cover a remarkable time in Western History. I really recommend anyone that could enjoy a "historical novel" to dive into this one.
The story is well told and it did cover a remarkable time in Western History. I really recommend anyone that could enjoy a "historical novel" to dive into this one.
September 8, 2012
One of the better escape memoirs to come out of the Second World War.
August 6, 2012
A stunning true story from an amazingly brave chap.
I first read it 30 years ago & always look out for any second hand copies to pass onto friends.
I first read it 30 years ago & always look out for any second hand copies to pass onto friends.
January 18, 2013
Brilliant true story and although a war story it wasn't written in such a way that a female reader loses interest.
February 27, 2013
I'm sure that Mr. Pape has embellished aspects of his ordeal for dramatic effect. Nevertheless, this is a bit of a page turner. Lost interest towards the end though.
August 3, 2016
A tale of human determination survival in adversity. When reading this you need to keep remembering these events actually happened within living memory!
June 13, 2015
Fantastic book about a POW, definitely worth a read
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews