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Old 27th Dec 2016, 10:52
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Geriaviator
 
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THE PARKHOUSE MEMOIRS – Part 18



The memoirs of Sqn Ldr Rupert Parkhouse, recorded in 1995 – Part 18. First post in this series is #9775 on page 489 of this thread.

THE NEW block at Barth was completed about March 1941 and I moved there with Alistair Panton, John Bushell who eventually became our ambassador to Vietnam, and Robin Beaufair who was one of the strongest men I ever met. He and Panton had been together at Bedford School and as soon as we went to that block, which was about 20ft from the wire, we started digging tunnels. I think Wally Floody, the Canadian mining engineer and Spitfire pilot who engineered the three famous tunnels from Stalag Luft III in 1943, had joined us and was directing digging operations by three teams in three tunnels.

We had a very elementary trapdoor over the gap of about one foot between the hut floor and the ground level. It was bitterly cold, but we used to go down naked except for a loincloth and as well as digging I was in charge of the fat lamps by which we were able to see. These consisted of a little Marmite tin filled with fat and a wick, the outside being a glass bottle with the top and bottom cut off, topped by a wooden top and a handle. We used to dig in 30 to 45 minute stints, I can't remember the tools but I think we used knives and we put the spoil into the aluminium bowls which we used to wash in. Eventually the tunnel progressed beyond the wire and about May it was ready to break.

I was drawn number 7 to go out with a chap called Newman. We had been saving up food for the journey and we had rudimentary maps copied from various atlases. It was a great night, the tunnel broke and I think the first out was Sqn Ldr Lockett who had commanded 226 Battle squadron. The fourth man was discovered and shots rang out. Four got away I think, five and six came back and the first thing I knew was when ammunition boots hit my head and we all did a smart retreat along the tunnel calling 'Back-back-back' and covered it up. Then we ate all the food we had saved, we had a grand meal for 20 minutes until the Germans arrived and ordered us out of the block so they could search it.

I don't think there were any successful tunnels from that block and the four were all recaptured. The Germans found sand on my clothing and I was given 10 days' solitary confinement, which I looked upon as an intense relief. One was quiet, one could read and one's comrades sent over special cottage pies and things to eat.

There's an interesting corollary in this one which shows the differences in morale and determination between various people. I was quite happy really to stay there, I didn't think of escaping from the cooler because I considered it escape-proof. The odd thing is that the next chap in the cooler was Flt Lt Harry Burton who had also been caught with sand, and over the next 10 days he unscrewed the bars, scooped his way under the wire, made his way to the harbour, boarded a Swedish boat and got home, to be awarded the DSO. I can't help feeling that I was a bit wet, but there you are, one has to live with it, but he was older and more experienced than I was.

NEXT POST: Rupert is sent to Stalag Luft III, where grim experiences and prison life boil over when the Germans murder 50 RAF officers following the Great Escape.
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