ESCAPE IN ITALY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25085, 26 December 1944, Page 6

ESCAPE IN ITALY

SERIES OF ADVENTURES

aucklander returns

A thrilling series of escapades, which included being on board a torpedoed prison ship and being recaptured twice following his initial escape from an Italian prison camp, preceded the arrival in Switzerland of Corporal I. A. St. George, son of Mr and Mrs H. J. St. George, of 74 Waiatarua Road, Remuera, who returned to Auckland on Sunday. In company with two other New Zealand soldiers, Corporal St George spent seven months in Italy in his endeavours first to travel south and join the British forces and then to reach the Swiss border. Leaving New Zealand with the Third ISohelon, Corporal St. George was taken prisoner at El Alamein in July, 11)42. The ship, which was taking him and about 500 British, Australian and New Zealand prisoners to Italy was torpedoed by a British submarine and about half the prisoners lost their lives. Corporal St. George was picked up with other survivfim by a German ship and taken first to Greece and then to Italy, where Jie spent ten months in a large camp at Tjdine. Chase Through Woods About three months after leaving IJdine to go to smaller camps of working parties of about 50 men, Corporal St. George and nine other prisoners escaped by sawing through the liars of tlipir hut about a week before the armistice with Italy. He and two companions, Private G. V. McLeod and Gunner R. H. Ryan, of Christehurch. both of whom returned to New Zealand with Corporal St. George, decided to make their way south, but a Fascist, a village postman, disclosed their identity to the Germans and after a chase of an hour and a-half through woods, over ditches and streams they were recaptured with a group of about Hi prisoners by soldiers of the Afrika Korps, who were engaged in a systematic search for escaped men. Bound for Germany, the.v were subsequently placed under guard on a train carrying civilian and military passengers.

The train pulled into Verona on an Italian holiday. While the prisoners were being takqn olf from one side of the coaches Italian civilians thronged in from the other side in a wild rush to secure the vacant seats. Guards and prisoners were overwhelmed by the rush and in the general confusion the three New Zealanders saw their opportunity. Clad in New Zealand uniforms thev slipped into the crowd, walked through the platform ticket barrier, where they received a friendly nod from the Italian officials, past Nazi officers and left the station by the main entrance. Escape from Train

Tliey left Verona and swam the Adigi River, which flows through the Brenner Pass, and made for the mountains. For the next few months the three men tramped on, stopping occasionally to do odd work op their way. "We received help from a few Italians, mainly from the mountain women, but the men, with rare exceptions, would do nothing for us," Corporal St. George said. At times they went without food for several days, although some days they had more than enough. The leader of an Italian partisan band of guerillas with whom the New Zealanders spent a short time fitted them out with .suits of civilian clothes and paid for train tickets to Verona. At Milan they boarded a train heading for the Swiss border. Ncaring the end of the journey, they had decided to alight at the next station to make their way across the border surreptitiously when Fascist officials appeared to inspect passengers' passports. Having no passport they found themselves in prison for live days. Their cell, which thev shared with five others, measured 7ft' hv 3ft.

German guards collected the prison party of 21, which consisted of Yugoslavs, ' Free French, English, Greeks and five New Zealanders, and locked them in a wooden luggage van on a train, the guards occupying a carriage in front of the van. They were again bound for Germany. Not to be outdone so easily, the prisoners kicked a hole about two feet in diameter in the back of the van and jumped from the train between stations. Swiss Border Crossed Linking up once more, the three companions made for the hills. For eight days they tramped at a rate of about 25 to -*0 kilometres a day over rugged, rough mountains, the highest they crossed being a few feet higher than Mount Cook. It took them 17 hours of continuous walking to cross this particular mountain. Waist-deep in snow at times, the men wore two of every article of clothing they could and were still cold. Wine which they were carrying froze in the bottle. Finally they crossed the Swiss border at 0 a.m. on February 16 last and reported in at Campocologna. They all contracted malaria after their arrival in Switzerland. They spent seven months in two different camps before leaving for France last September to embark at Marseilles.

Corporal St. George has two brothers who are serving with the forces overseas. Due, Lieutenant (A) C. St. George. R.N.Z.N.V.R., who has been in the Fleet Air Arm for three and a-h alf years, was mentioned in despatches for good service in attacks on enemy shipping last July. The other is Sergeant V. 1). St. George, who is on service in the Pacific.