Great Escapes (15 page)
The disposal of the sand that would be taken out was causing the biggest headache, until someone suggested that they close down ‘Dick’ and fill it up with the sand from ‘Tom’. Work started immediately filling ‘Dick’, taking the sand up to the face on the trolley, and as they came backwards taking away the shoring that could be reused in ‘Tom’.
One of the ‘ferrets’, nicknamed Rubberneck, was becoming a real problem and at one point he asked Glemnitz to put all the ‘duty pilots’ in the ‘cooler’. Glemnitz refused, claiming that they would be replaced by others watching from windows and he preferred them in the open where he could see them. One occasion, as he walked into the compound, Glemnitz went up to the ‘duty pilot’, and with a smile on his face told him to book him in. Minutes later he came back and said ‘Book me out’. Then he asked to see the list of who had been in and out. Unable to refuse, the list was handed over. Glemnitz glanced down at it and handed it back. They discovered later that Glemnitz had gone up to Rubberneck and two other ‘ferrets’, and demanded to know why they had left the compound at 4 o’clock when they were not scheduled to leave until 5 o’clock.
Rubberneck was given two weeks extra duty and confined to barracks, whilst the other two were given four days in the ‘cooler’.
Then there was another setback. Because of the worry about a tunnel being dug, the Germans decided to move the trees where ‘Tom’ was heading back another 30yds. They had completed almost 200ft and now, because of the additional tree work, they were another 100ft short. One of the ‘tame ferrets’ told them that another compound was to be built. Digging continued, at a slightly faster rate, but problems about what to do with the sand started to be of some concern. ‘Dick’ was now full to the bottom of the shaft and the escape committee refused to let it be filled to the top because they needed it to store equipment. Roger Bushell came up with the idea of storing the sand in the Red Cross boxes that everyone had under their beds. This was alright for a while, but then one of the boxes was discovered and a thorough search of the huts took place again – once again they found nothing.
‘Tom’ was now 260 feet long, was well under the wire and clear of the searchlights. Still some 40ft short of the trees, it was decided to close it down for the time being. In order to try and divert Glemnitz away from the tunnel fixation that he had, Roger Bushell got hold of one of the German-speaking prisoners. He suggested that the man should talk to Glemnitz, and persuade him that there were no tunnels, and that it was all a ploy to tie the Germans up for weeks on end looking for something that didn’t exist.
It partially worked, that was until one of the ‘ferrets’, who was carrying out a run-of-the-mill search of Hut 123, suddenly got his probe stuck in the crack of concrete close to the chimney. Wiggling to get it free, he saw the outline of a trapdoor and called for Glemnitz. Fetching a sledgehammer, the Germans smashed open the trapdoor to reveal a shaft beneath. One of the ‘ferrets’ crawled down with a torch and disappeared for half an hour, before reappearing with the news that the tunnel was close to the trees on the other side of the American compound.
This was a tremendous blow to the escape committee; all that work for nothing. This was the ninety-eighth tunnel that had been discovered since the camp had been built in 1941. A meeting was called in the camp theatre under the pretext of talking about a forthcoming production. It was decided to shut down the other two tunnels until such time that they thought the Germans had lost interest.
When the Americans were moved into their new compound, the Kommandant, von Lindeiner, refused to allow any form of communication between them and the British. Within an hour of this being announced, Group Captain Massey placed a semaphore signaller in the end room of Hut 120. Standing well back from the window so that the guards could not see him, he started signalling in the direction of the American compound. Minutes later the Americans had spotted him and installed their own signaller. With communications established, a daily dialogue was kept up keeping each other informed of current affairs and the state of play. One of the British prisoners had managed to put together a ‘cats whisker’ radio by bribing one of the young guards to get him the bits and pieces required. With the radio, they were able to listen to the BBC and in turn able to signal information to the Americans on how the war was going.
The summer arrived and the ‘ferrets’ went on alert, because this was the perfect weather for escapees. Then came another setback as the trees outside the west fence were felled in readiness for a new compound to be built. This in effect ruled out using ‘Dick’ as an escape tunnel, its only use now was as a storeroom. This left just ‘Harry’ as a viable alternative and all work was concentrated on completing the tunnel. The escape committee realised that there was no way the tunnel could be used until the following summer, so plans were put into place for the escape to be made then.
Roger Bushell was still the subject of suspicion for the Germans, mainly because of the number of times he had escaped and caused them problems. The Gestapo had ordered a watch on him, but Wally Valenta, who was the escape committee’s Intelligence Officer and the eyes and ears of the camp, also had the ear of the guards. He very slowly and surreptitiously put the word to the German guards that Bushell was a reformed character and was prepared to sit the war out in the camp. So convincing was he, that Glemnitz reported back to the Gestapo saying that Bushell was no longer a threat.
Despite the setback with the tunnels, prisoners were still encouraged to put forward other plans for escape. Going through the wire was the most popular way and anyone putting forward a reasonable plan would be supplied with the necessary documents and wire cutters.
The cutters were a perfect example of ingenuity. Made from the tie-bars taken from the walls of the huts, they were joined in the same manner as scissors by a rivet in the crossover section. Heating them until they were red hot, grains of sugar were sprinkled on to the edges. The metal was then re-heated so that the carbon in the sugar was absorbed into the metal. They were then plunged into cold water and ready for use.
A number of unsuccessful attempts were made which diverted attention away from the tunnel. Some welcome additional equipment was ‘acquired’ when the Kommandant had some loudspeakers mounted in the compounds so that the prisoners could listen to German propaganda radio broadcasts after the fall of Italy. Two drums of cable that were being used mysteriously disappeared and were dumped down ‘Dick’. In all there was over 800ft of wire, and that was later to be used to provide electric light when digging started again in ‘Harry’.
At first it was thought that there might be some reprisals regarding the theft, but fortunately the workmen were so embarrassed at losing the wire, they failed to report it.
One amusing incident occurred when a pompous German general visited the camp in his shiny new Mercedes. He entered the compound to carry out an inspection and, despite warnings from the Kommandant about leaving his car in the compound with just the chauffeur to guard it, went on a walkabout. The prisoners crowded around the car and despite his protestations, the chauffeur was unable to stop items disappearing. Among the items was a ‘so-called’ secret military handbook. The Kommandant had a private conversation with Wing Commander Harry ‘Wings’ Day, asking for the return of the book saying that they would ignore the rest of the items as long as the book was returned. It duly was, but with a stamp, that had been made out of a rubber heel, across the cover that said, ‘Passed by the British Board of Censors’.
As the year progressed and heavy snow falls and the intense cold deterred the prisoners from going outside, work still continued on making escape equipment. The ‘stooges’ who kept watch constantly, now became very apparent and the ‘ferrets’ knew that something was going on. One of the ‘ferrets’, given the name of Adolf because of his tiny moustache, was particularly alert and would constantly be on the prowl causing the forgers and equipment makers to hurriedly put their materials away.
At Christmas the prisoners had a party drinking wine distilled from raisins and for a while the whole world was a little happier. Prisoners stayed indoors for most of the winter and the guards who would check the huts welcomed the chance to sit down with some of the prisoners and have a brew of tea.
With the New Year came new hope and the committee met with regard to opening up ‘Harry’ again and finishing the tunnel. Two weeks into January the tunnellers were back at the face digging. The disposal of the sand had been a problem, but it was decided to dump it under the stage of the theatre. The first day the tunnel was extended a further 10ft and was illuminated by electric light. The electric lights could only be used at night, during the day the tunnellers had to work by fat lamps.
As the tunnel progressed so did the heightened anticipation of freedom. But sand slips inside the tunnel, where a couple of the tunnellers found themselves buried and having to be dug out, soon brought everyone back to reality. Unknown to anyone in the camp, an order had been issued by Field Marshal Keitel, stating that any British or American officers who escaped and were recaptured, were to be held in either civil or military prisons until the High Command decided what to do with them. Their recapture was to be kept secret.
The ‘ferrets’ kept up their usual routine of surprise visits and searches, but most of the time they spent drinking tea and smoking the prisoner’s cigarettes. It was these visits by the ‘ferrets’ and the ‘friendships’ created that kept Wally Valenta supplied with information.
Then Kommandant von Lindeiner called Massey and other senior British and American officers to a meeting and told them to put a stop to all thoughts of escape. He explained that he had been called to a meeting with members of the Gestapo, who told him that there would be harsh consequences for those who escaped and for those who were left behind. What von Lindeiner didn’t tell them was that SS General Mueller, the Berlin Gestapo chief, had issued the
‘Kugel’
(Bullet) Order which stated that other than the British and Americans, all other nationalities were to be taken in chains to Mauthausen Concentration Camp and executed by either gas or shooting.
Respite came when the prisoners heard that the ‘Ferret Rubberneck’ was going on leave for fourteen days. This was the impetus the tunnellers needed, with him away they knew that the ‘ferrets’ remaining would not be so thorough and would take the opportunity to relax. In the following nine days the team dug another 100ft making ‘Harry’ 348ft long, and by their calculations there was only another 20ft to go. It was when they reached that point that the team started to dig upwards and create another shaft. Then at the end of the shift, they noticed tree roots and realised that they were nearing the surface.
Keeping the excitement under control was difficult, and became almost impossible when on 14 March one of the tunnellers came back shaking with excitement and a huge grin on his dirty face. He had pushed a rod through to the surface and realised that there was only 6in of soil between them and freedom.
It was now that a timetable had to be created for the escape. Plans had to be drawn up as to how many were going, what civilian clothes were available, documents and permits had to be arranged, up-to-date train timetables acquired – in short, 1,001 things had to be organised. This was not the time for mistakes of any sort. The dates set for the escapes were 23 and 24 March, depending of course upon the weather. It was estimated that 230 prisoners would be able to make the breakout. It was now the escape committee’s job to select those who were to go.
Seventy of those who had done the most work were chosen, including the German speakers as they would have the best chance of making it. The remaining 130 places were drawn from a hat. That left twenty places and Roger Bushell selected those most deserving that hadn’t been drawn from the hat. For every ten escapees a ‘marshal’ was designated and it was his job to help them get what they needed once they were out of the camp. All the men attended a series of lectures regarding German behaviour and customs and train times for those travelling by rail. There was enough money in the kitty to supply forty escapees with train fares, the remainder of the men would have to walk.
Finally, 23 March arrived and there was an air of expectancy around the camp, but with snow still on the ground there was reluctance to move for those who were waiting. An emergency meeting of the escape committee was held the following morning and it was decided that the longer they waited the more chance there was of them being discovered. It was decided they would go that night.
The atmosphere throughout the camp was electric, and all those who were going started their meticulous preparations. The whole camp was on tenterhooks and it was a miracle the guards did not pick up on the tension that was running through the camp. Preparations got under way for the 230 men to be transferred from hut to hut, and for them all to get out through ‘Harry’. The ‘stooges’ were placed on red alert and extra ones brought in. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong at this crucial point. Extra lights were placed inside the tunnel and the trolley was fitted with a flat board for the men to lie on.
Then at 6.55 p.m. the first of the men said his goodbyes with the usual banter, walked to Hut 104 and was ticked off the list. He was told to wait until they were ready for him and he settled down. One heart-stopping moment occurred when the door of Hut 104 opened and a jackbooted German officer strode in. One of the German-speaking ‘stooges’ went to head him off before he realised that the German officer was in fact a Polish officer named Tobolski, who was going out as a German officer. The uniform was almost perfect and would have fooled anyone seeing him.
At 8.30 p.m., the tunnel crew announced all was ready and the first of the men slipped down the shaft and onto the trolley. When the first seventeen men were in position underground, John Bull, one of the tunnellers, opened up the last 6in of dirt and felt the cold, fresh air. Poking his head through the hole, he got the shock of his life – they were not in the trees, they were at least 10ft short of the tree line and just 15yds away from a guard tower in which he could clearly see the helmet of the guard. For one year, 600 men had worked tirelessly in shifts to dig this tunnel and they were now 10ft short.