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 Alan
Jeffreys - Imperial War Museum
Alan, who has been a Curator at the Imperial War Museum for fourteen years,
and is a member of The British Button Society, kindly agreed to give a talk
at the AGM, March 2007, on Escape Devices used in World War II.
Escape devices have a large appeal and stories in print are still available.
Colditz was the most successful BBC series ever produced. The Colditz Myth
by S P Mackenzie is highly recommended reading.
Captured service personnel were required to surrender their possessions
and were encouraged to conceal a compass, a hacksaw and a map in order to
facilitate their escape. These items were often sent to bogus prisoners
by MI9. This unit was led by Clayton Hutton (known as Clutty) who was responsible
for the despatch of over 2 million items secreted in cap badges, buckles,
pencils and in buttons.
Gaunt (button makers) produced uniform buttons which unscrewed (left for
the RAF and right for the Navy) to reveal a compass which enabled many serviceman
to reach safety, often undertaking acts of sabotage along the way.
The Wooden Horse escape was famous as a book and a film, modelled on the
Trojan Horse. Oliver Philpott escaped from Stalag and was able to stow away
on a Swedish ship which he located with the aid of a compass made from a
gramophone needle secured by an Officer's stud with a razor blade for magnetization.
It is regretted that there are a considerable number of these and other
compasses at the museum which are not on show, due to a requirement for
them to be locked away in the radiation store owing to the paint used.
Often overlooked are the considerable number of escapes aided by MI9 from
Hong Kong which were particularly difficult to effect.
In 1940 John Bartholomew waived their copyright on map printing to produce
maps printed on silk which did not rustle when concealed. Alan showed us
samples of maps of France which had proved life savers.
Escape Boxes issued to operational air crews in 1940 are often brought into
the museum, these included, amongst other things, Malted Milk and Benzedrine
Tablets, a razor and soap. They fitted into a battle dress uniform pocket
and were proved to sustain for 48 hours.
Waddingtons produced Monopoly Games and Cards at Clutty's request which
were sent by MI9 to the prison camps. Several clever ploys were used including,
if a full stop appeared after Marylebone in the Monopoly Game, it contained
a map of France. If a chess set indicated "Patent Applied For", an escape
device was included.
Following another approach by Clutty, Kent & Sons, producers of brushes,
made shoe brushes whose back, when removed, revealed a wealth of devices.
Alan was also able to show us the only photograph in existence of the glider
built by the prisoners held at Colditz Castle, never used following liberation
in 1945.
Prisoners were encouraged to escape which was considered an important way
to keep up morale. Including liberation staff, 33,000 men escaped during
WWII with the aid of MIS-X for the USA and MI9.
Angela Clark, Secretary.
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