THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH, · SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 1949.
Extracts from 'THE WOODEN HORSE,' the most astonishing escape story of all
time
"Haunted by the fear that all eyes are watching us
Police search our train: A lucky escape: We reach a Baltic port and
hunt for a place to sleep
In October 1943, Peter Howard, John Clinton, and Philip Rowe escaped from the German prison camp Stalag Luft III. after digging a 120ft, tunnel through which they crawled to freedom,
Then they separated. Philip Rowe-Fight- Lieutenant Oliver Philpot, D.F.C., M.C.-went on commercial traveller, end alone, posing as reached Sweden and safety.
a
Peter and John were disguised as French eraftsmen. They carried forged papers giving them permission to move to a works near Stettin, a port, on the Baltic coast.
Travelling by train, in stages, they reached the small town of Kustrin, and have just caten their first meal in a German café.
by
ERIC WILLIAMS, M.C. The "Peter Howard" of the story]
we
do
THAT do
Here we go, Peter thought. now?" John ask. He glanced at Jolin, who ent
white-faced and silent at ed. "Better not side. stay here. Let's walk round the town."
But it was worse in the street. Everyone seems to have something to do except us, Peter thought. It is getting on my nerves trying to, look inconspicuous with nothing to do.
They tried looking into shop windows; but all the time the feeling of being watched grew more acute.
"I hate this town," John said. They walked towards the cinema, there was queue, and they joined it.
2115
old
nt
Next to him sat woman. As the men approached
he showed obvious signs panic.
the
Hy the thre
collector ached her she was almost cry- ng with fear,
J
"Tickets, please," the collector shouted,
The old woman fumbled
ber bag. The ticket collector stood walting, She produced a grimy piece of paper. The nan handed it tuck angrily shouted again.
and
She said nothing but con- tinued to offer the grins plece
of paper.
It was not 21 comfortable cd. elnema and most of the seals were broken. Peter found him- self next to a
you soldier
who sat sleeping.
So he, too, fell asleep until John wakened him when it was time to go for the train Stettin.
to
At the station John felt con- the spicuous as he asked for Nekula.
Stettin was a Baltic port, a dangerous destination to ask for.
The papers.
clerk demanded his
"Police!" the collector scream-
TO STETTIN Through barrier
NE of the police shook her roughly by the arm and be- gan to push her down the cor- ridior.
Peter could hear her whim- pered protests as she was rough- ly josiled down the corridor.
The ticket collector turned to John, who handed over their tickets and waited apprehen sively for the demand for their pupers.
The_collector glanced at the tickets and handed Ben-back- without speaking.
"Your permission lo travot" John hunded over his falted letters. These letters, forged in the prison camp,
were his
Peler sat on his bag in the authority as a worker to go to corridor
hat when they his fru's factory at Anklam, gone and broke out in a cold sear Stettuj. He tried to sweat. IIis knees fluttered and imagine he was buying a ticket he felt sick. In England.
The clerk, picked
Arst
woman
They had passed the itp the train check. The old
them had saved them. He prayed that casually. "G" He handed their luck would hold. over the tickets.
papers and glanced at
John took the tickets and his from papers and walked away the ticket offen. He could hardl- ly believe it. It had been as easy as that.
A SCARE 'Tickets, please'
THE train was full, and they THE
had to stand in the corridor, There were no lights and the corridor was so packed that it would have been impossible for a ticket collecter to move down it.
It was a strain to stand, sur- Tounded by Germans, doing nothing, frightened all the time that they were about to discovered.
be
Just before eiglit o'clock they went into the lavatory and made some porridge,
Peter opened his case took out a linen bag of oatmeal and a small tin.
mixed the oatmeal with water
and dry He
the
from the tap and hauted
They walked quickly down the street, past the shells of bombed
buildings, gaunt and erad forbiking in the dark-
ness. There were piles of rubble in the streets, and the pavements were broken where the bombs had fallen.
"Pretty
good mess, what?" Peter sald. wonder if any hotels We are still standing? could sleep in one of these bombed-out houses,"
דיי
were
"Too risky. They raight think we looting. Get shot for that in Germany."
Wils dark and strangely quiet. “I hope there isn't a curfew," Petr said, "We can ex- plain that we've just come off the teain-
can't see though 1
what reason we can Hive for getting, oft here instead of going
raight on to Ank- lame."
This to the map used by the
DE 13
two on their sscape It WAS sent from Britain and smuggled Into Stalag Luft III
Kriche autobahn. "First Class Pads
•Kailways
Talanssijamat saamborden:
STETTIN- distance from Stalag Luft 113. 100 miles
KESTRIN—where this work's katabucat begis
FRANKFURT-bere
they changed trołzy
STALAG LEFT OL
be
"You call say that as 11's Sunday tomor- row we thought the factory woul! closed. And we Drouin it would be better to stay here for the week-end and go on to Ankium on Monday."
They stopped out- alde an Imposing stone building with mahogany revolving doors.
John pushed his way 1brough Ute doors. Peter follow- ed, feeling suddenly disreputable n.n d ashamed of his up- pearance.
The carpets were too deep, the air of solid German res- pectability loo strong. He caught John by the arm.
Join Clinton, who in real life is Michael Codner, M.C., now
undergraduate at Oxford
"Let's get out of this," whispered.
ht
He moved quickly towards the swing doors. John, infected by the sudden pante in Peter's valce, moved with him.
UT
"You said that last place was 100 expensive. We can't afford to be choosey,"
"We've got to be choosey. That's just what we've got to be if the place is too cheap it's dangerous because it's llable to police checks-and if it's too dangerous bc- luxurious it's
cause we're conspicuous.
"We've got to find a quiet, In one corner was a box for respectable family hotel." the night porter. Emply.
"I'll go. upstairs," John said.
Peter followed him, not want- ing to be left to cope with his lack of German without Jolin.
*
On the floor above was landing:-Opening-off-the-land- ing were several doors.
One was open. There
were.
TRY AGAIN But no use
they went quickly through the swing
doors bets in the room, beds standing in rows, and orderly, as in a into the darkness of the street.
barrack tuoin.
"This is 1:0 good," suid.
"What the hell's the matter?" Jubn asked.
"I don't know. I don't like it. Let's try somewhere else,"
Peter
He led John quickly down the stairs and out on to with Street.
"For Heaven's sake!" John said. "What was wrong it?"
די
don't know-it seemed wrong somehow. It didn't seem the sort of pinee foreign workers would stay at. Let's try some- where else."
"But we can't walk round all tin to John. "I hope the water's night looking for hotels." John all right," he said: "We should said. have brought tablets.".
some
purifying
Η
the
"What the hell...." John be- nu, but Peter went on gown the street.
.
"That was too cheap," he said. "It was a sort of duss-house." "What if I was? It's a bed and it's day."
"They're likely to ask ques- the tions is a place like that. It's They walked on down streef until they cane to too cheap. They're likely to God smaller building with a dimly have police checks and
read knows what. luminated sign which "Hotel." We'ye
"' the sort of place they look for deserters in. We want
was shivering.
"There's a lot of things we should have brought. We'll get by. It's a cinch now. done half the journey."
John walked in and Peter fol-
and smelled of disinfectant.
John was feeling happy now lowed. The lobby had linoleum inore expensive place."
and full of confidence.
Before long they steamed in-. to Stettin station,
There were more people on traln Ihan Peter had thought, and
two were the
by swept towards the barrier
It was in the trains, when the they could neither speak that they had time to
think.
meve nor
An hour later they stopped at
n Jarge station. Most of the
the crowd.
BOMBED CITY
passengers got out and some 'Pretty good mess'
went to a buffet.
Peter and John were hungry JOHN pushed forward to see it and thirsty, but they stayed in
there was a paper check. He
the darkness of the railway looked buck chrringe rather than brave the rinned. lights of the bullet.
Now the train was less crowded. They were able to sit on their bags in the corridor. and before long they were both asleep.
the
They were wakened by Found of shouting-the typical bullying shouts of o German who has been given authority.
It was the ticket collector, and with him were two of the rallway polico.
nt Peter and
The passengers were handing In their tickets and passing off the platform without showing their papers.
A quick tightening of the stomach muscles as they came under the lamp-a moment's through panic and they were the barrier and free to go into the town,
As they came out of the rall- way station it was raining "We've got to find shellar of some sort. John buttoned the collar of his mackintosh. "Let's tickets ready try the hotels. We'd better get John got the and watched them work their in somewhere before midnight. way down the corridor, In- There may be a curfew for specting tickets as they come. foreigners.
the
In most cases the ticket col- "It's Saturday night." Peter Tector merely handed the tickets was still doubtful. about back to the passengers, but oc- hoteln. "We haven't mucli lope casionally he asked for identity of getting in."
papers, which were examined "We'll have to try," John by the police!
said,
LOW PARTY'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE The Chairman declared the Party stood firm for
a policy of Happiness.
M:Mosso favoured · doubling, incomes and prices all round.
so that everybody
could feel rich.
M2 Fusspet said they hand Too much abouUT OUTPUT and not enough about INPUT.
IF wa
were short
of
why didn't
We send D America and buy some?
He
Q
"Then we'd better nok policeman," John said angrily.
"We might do worse than that."
"Don't be bloody silly!"
SLEEP OUT
Town full-up
Cloak And
Youngsters
THRIVE ON
AVO MILK!
Dagger To Politics
SYDNEY.—A ono-time Sunday school teacher who won high awards for cloak and dagger work as a wartime spy In Occupied France, will oppose Dr H. V. Evatt for a Parliamentary seat in the next Federal election.
She is Mrs Nancy Wakos, 34, widow of a Frenchman shot by the Nazis. holder of the Croix de Guerre with Palms and Star Britain's George Medal And Medal of Freedom with Bronze Palm.
An unknown in Australian polities. Mra Wake surprised the nation when she was endorsed as the candidate of the conserva- tive Liberal Party to oppose the
of
UN the former president
elections General Assembly in late this year.
Prewar she worked as a clerk In Sydney. In 1937 she went to England. In 1030 she married' Henry Flocca, a steel company
went to executive, and
Mar- wifles to Jive. When Franco fell, they decided to stay.
•
For two years, the and ker husband risked then lives count- Jess times to smuggle British soldiers and airmen
British England. The gence service sent help, provid- ing her with unlimited
back to Intcill-
money
to buy on the black market. She would shop for hidden nirmen with up to £500
For five months Mrs Wake
in her pocket.
operated the only shortwave transmitter in France. carrying t in emuspiciously bulky suit- euse on trains to different send- in spots.
When i French traitor be- tray the organisation, she and four men jumped from a train for their lives and ran through felds with bullets flying about their cars.
They finally escaped to Eag land, where Mrs Wake heard her husband had been shot.
•
In England the was trained As a saboteur, including instruc- tion in kifling men silently. en parachuted into France. Second time she flew in Lysander plane and the third time, returned as Lieutenast to begin training Maquis.
by
Her George Medal citation of the time reads:
"Lieutenant Wake took part in several engagements with the enemy, and showed the utmost During & bravery under fire. Germun attack due to the of two American arrival officers to help the Maquis, she
com- personally took
a section mand of a
of 10 men whose leaders were demoralis- ed. She led them to within point blank range of the enemy, directed their fire, rescued the two Amerienn officers, and with- drew in good order. She showed exceptional courage and cool- uess_in_the_ince_of_enemy fire.
"Lt. Wnke's organising THEY were both angry now.ablity, endurance, courage and Angry and tired, frightened complete disregard for her own and wet to the skin.
safety earned her the respect and admiration of all. The Angry and bewildered be Maquis
troops, most of thein cause they hadn't nagine trough
and dieult to handle would be like this; angry be cause they were suddenly with accepted orders from her, arid cut a plan.
trente her as one of their own mate officers,"
She gave her reasons for cl- the against polliles
Presently they were walking along the main street towards lering
the centre of the town. They doughty Evatt: "On my return had tried several more hotels, in Australia I've seen but they were all full.
of
exactly sort of things hap- the same pening here as caused all the and Germany in "It's no good," John sald at trouble length. It's Saturday night. Europe." Lel's walk out of the town and She charged that there "was And somewhere to sleep."
Eradunt gathering together of controls, centralisation
of a few "O.K." Peter said it with re-power in the hands
power-hungry fanatics. lief.
that' clainis
"a fcw have ac- In Australia tually set out to rule the coun- try without Parliament, tainly without taking proper notice of the Opposition."
NEXT WEEK We meet the *underground'
London Express Service
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col. Blimp said that Cripps could talk of post-war Recovery,
but if this could only be realised through
Austerity, ha should forget the whole
thing, and
return to
pre-war Conditions
The Communist wing, denounced the food crisis. The Govt, should raise wages and let the workers cat
the capitalists.
WALK-OVER MUDHOUNDS
MT Pinhead,M-B.sáid
we should offer both hands to Moscow, taking cars, of course,
BT them back..
After a little committa "work"
the Conference adjourned for a cool surimi
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