Page 39 - OM Newsletter 2022-23

Peter (right) with Captain Van de Heuval and Sub-Lieutenant Kruimink
“If ever a a a man deserved to to escape from Colditz it it was Lt Peter Storie-Pugh ”
Ron Baybutt
He was first taken to the German military hospital at at Bapaume where he he he he he recuperated until such time as he he he he he and another Prisoner of War (PoW) were ready to try an an an an an escape which they did by climbing out of an an an upstairs window and shinning down the wall Peter was quickly recaptured and sent to Spangenburg Castle in in the the Harz Mountains Here he he he he he teamed up with two others and planned another escape: by hiding in in in the the the the the shadows after roll call and then cutting through the the the the the the perimeter wire they dropped into the the the the river Peter’s two colleagues were immediately recaptured whilst he he ran towards the nearest rail station Peter himself was recaptured on
on
1st 1st November his 21st birthday and he he arrived in in in Colditz on
on
the 4th December 1940 He was to be be involved in in in in in over 20 escape activities including the the famous Canteen Tunnel of o Spring 1941 and another involving the the Dutch officers Captain Van de Heuval and Sub-Lieutenant Kruimink
There was then a a a a a a a a “scatter-brained” (Peter’s words) Polish plan to to sling a a a a a a a a rope from the the the frighteningly high roof of of the the the the PoW quarters to to to a a a a a a a a disused attic on
the the the the German side giving access to to the the the the outer wall A false chimney was constructed for the the the rope slinger to work behind but alas an arc light floodlit a a a a a a a crossing Polish PoW during a a a a a a a gale Whilst he never actually escaped himself Ron Baybutt
in in ‘Camera in in Colditz’ wrote “If ever a a a a a a a man deserved to to escape from Colditz Colditz it was Lt Peter Storie-Pugh ”
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