From Calais to Colditz : a rifleman's memoir of captivity and escape

An autobiography by a British army soldier in which he provides intimate details of his capture, survival and escape from prison camps during WWII. From Calais to Colditz has never been published before but readers will surely agree that the wait has been worthwhile. Author Philip Pardoe was a young platoon commander when his battalion were ordered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to defend Calais to the last man and so distract German attention from the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Forces at Dunkirk. After an intense four-day battle, the survivors were subjected to a grueling twelve day march towards Germany. There followed incarceration in a succession of POW camps during which the author succeeded in escaping twice, both over the wire and by tunneling, remaining at large on one occasion for twelve days. These exploits qualified him for a place in the notorious Colditz Castle, the supposed escape-proof camp. The descriptions of his colourful fellow prisoners, their captors and their extraordinary experiences are as good as any of the previous accounts and in many respects more revealing. How fortunate it is that From Calais to Colditz can now be read by a wide audience.