A WAR EXPLOIT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 301, 1 October 1938, Page 5

A WAR EXPLOIT.

DIGGING THEIR WAY TO FREEDOM. Six men who played an all-import-ant part in one of the spectacular exploits of the war are being sought to attend a reunion dinner in London on July 23, says the “Daily Telegraph and Morning Post.” , They are the orderlies who helped j 29 officers in German captivity to tunnel their way to freedom from the Holzminden concentration camp on July 24, 1918. The digging of the tunnel took them many weary month. . The officers of the Holzminden are easier to find than the orderlies, liecause their names are known. Ten are living in England, and the addresses of most of the others who survive have been found. Of the 29 officers who escaped 20 years ago out of the 150 yards long tunnel, 17 reached England within a few weeks. The others were recaptured. , . ~ Tlie man first out of the tunnel. Mi w. E. Butler, interviewed in his Holburn office, said tbat the reunion would not be complete without the orderlies, the real heroes of the exploit, who ran considerable risks. “I saw one of them, named Collinson, driving a taxi in Birmingham some years ago, but I lost touch with him,” Mr Butler said, “I hope he comes along.” ... “Of the others, one is with a tobacco company somewhere in Newfoundland ; another is an lnsuiance broker in New York; and a third was last heard of in Hong Kong. “We can never forget the trouble we had to escape. Armed with a bread-knife I dug at the end of the tunnel. Earth crumbled away, -and i became smothered in dirt. “At last I got a glimpse of the stars, and I wriggled out into a bean patch. We donned home-made German uniforms, and after hiding by day and walking by _ night we reached the Dutch-frontier. “Air-Commodor Rathborne, who spoke fluent German, went to the local railway station and brought tickets to Holland. He did not forget to send a postcard to the prison commander. . “To avoid detection, only ten men actually took part in the tunnelling, although there were 600 officers and 30 men in the camp. The tunnel was dug with crude tools under the foundations of one of the buildings. Mr L. James Bennett, a member ol the R.A.F. Club, asked all who took part in the escape to communicate with him at the R.A.F. Club, 128 Piccadilly AVI. They include: Captain Bousfield, Hong Kong; Colonel D. B. Gray, Indian Cavalry (retired), living in England; Messrs Cloustou and Grace, Newfoundland; Lieutenant 'Churchill, R.A.F.; Captain F. W. Mardock (late R.A.F.), now in Rio do J anerio; Captain McLeod, fiom a Highland regiment Captain Smith, Dublin; Lieutenant Campbell-Martin, Indian Kegiment (attached to R.A.F.); Captain Purves, from Tasmania ; Captains Sharp, Gascon! be, and Leggatt, attached to the R.A.F.; Messrs Lyon (Australian), Morris, Paddison, and Robertson (Canadian).