From a Hard Place to a Rock

by Timandra Slade

Cousins, Captain Chris Waters of the Royal Engineers and Captain Jimmy Johnson of the Royal Welch Fusiliers were with the British Expeditionary Force in the defence of Dunkirk. In late May 1940, Jimmy (son-in-law of Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Keyes) was shot and captured near the Belgium border. Chris was captured after his regiment, which was attached to the 51st Highland Division, was forced to surrender at St-Valéry.   Both men managed to escape their German captors and, accompanied by fellow officers, began separately to work their way through France into Spain. Having crossed the Pyrenees they were both re-captured but by an extraordinary coincidence met up in Barcelona.   Chris and Jimmy recorded their escape in journals with Jimmy also writing many letters home from internment in France. Eventually the escapees, now in a large group, were released and arrived in Gibraltar. It was not the safe haven they had hoped for. One last cruel twist of fate would deny some of them a return home.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 28, 2022

Reviews

[Read for Pleasure · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating read covering the escape of four soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force from their German captors during the Second World War. I was struck by the painstaking research, combined with the author's skill in conveying the events in an easy to follow and vivid style. You also can't help but be moved by the first hand accounts of the escapees, including the dangers they faced and the people who risked their own lives to help them return home through supposedly neutral Vichy France and Spain.

I'd recommend this to anyone interested in non-fiction POW escape stories.