Personal Stories

First-hand accounts from helpers, escapers, evaders and their families—personal testimonies that bring the escape-line story to life through individual voices. Use the themed directories below to explore the collection.

Want to contribute a story? Email the ELMS archivist with scans, audio or written material so we can add your family’s history.

Personal stories

‘B’ JOHNSON BEM - THE COMÈTE LINE

10 May 2022 · Albert Edward Johnson, known as Albert Jonion in France, or simply as ‘B’, was born at Farringdon, near Alton in Hampshire in 1908. His father was Arthur George Johnson from Grantham in…

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'Dick' Timmers

10 May 2022 · Dick Timmers Verhoeven was the son of a former officer in the Dutch Royal Navy. He was brought up in Brussels.

A Family Pilgrimage

14 May 2015 · Douglas Cunningham Davidson DCM 1943/44

Air Chief Marshall Sir Lewis Hodges

14 Jun 2020 · ---

Albert de Bruin

09 Mar 2020 · 630

Andrée Dumon (Nadine)

04 Oct 2025 · Lieutenant ARA SRA ‘Luc-Marc’ & Comète Officier de Ia Ordre de la Couronne – Officier de l’Ordre de Leopold II – Chevalier de l’Order de Leopold, avec palms, et deux glaives croises…

Campo De Concentration de Miranda De Ebro August 1941 - March 1943

31 Jan 2017 · Campo de Concentration de Miranda de Ebro

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Charles West - Airman with the SAS

18 Feb 2021 · WW2 was a breeding ground for unusual and Special Units and the birthplace of many Special Forces of today. Nearly all were army, but they were often reliant on other arms for…

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Christine Granville OBE

18 Feb 2021 · CHRISTINE GRANVILLE OBE GM CROIX-DE-GUERRE

Edith Cavell

10 May 2022 · ---

ELIZABETH HARRISON MBE

18 Feb 2021 · Rog Stanton

Eric Milner

12 Mar 2020 · 1

Flight Sergeant Arthur White

18 Feb 2021 · This is a shortened version of Arthur White’s personal account of his evasion in Denmark following the ‘downing’ of his plane in 1944. If you would like a copy of the complete…

Following in his Father's Footsteps

08 Mar 2016 · In His Father's Footsteps 72 Years Later

Geoffrey Thompson

12 Mar 2020 · Formerly · South Staffordshire Regt & Royal Artillery · Glider

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George Millar

14 Jun 2020 · ---

GEORGES (“GEO”) JOUANJEAN

10 May 2022 · Roger Stanton

Gordon Hand

16 Mar 2020 · May 9th 1944 · Sgt RAFVR – 432 Sqn - Air Gunner · Halifax – LW594 Q0-G

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Ian English

14 Jun 2020 · ---

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Ian Hewitt

16 Mar 2020 · 23rd April 1942 · 35 Sqn - RAF Linton–on-Ouse / RAF Kinloss · P/O RAF – Navigator

John Morrison

12 Mar 2020 · 28th April 1942 · Sgt RAFVR - W/Op, Air Gunner · 35 Sqn, RAF Kinloss

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Jon Hommes

12 Mar 2020 · 320 (Dutch) Squadron RAF · Mitchells · Supporting airborne troops - Arnhem

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Les Hood

12 Mar 2020 · 28th June 1944 · 582 Sqn [8 Group] · RAF Little Staughton [Nr Bedford]

Les Laws - Slovenia

18 Feb 2021 · Les Laws DCM [From Les Laws’ memoirs, with the permission of his daughter, Patricia Palmer]

MARIE LOUISE MARTHE “FRANCOISE” DISSARD<br>PAT O’LEARY LINE

10 May 2022 · Roger Stanton

Maurice Collins

14 Jun 2020 · ---

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Memorial to Gabrielle Petit and the UN Partisan Forces in Korea

14 Mar 2016 · National Memorial Arboretum From 1100hrs 02 April 2016.

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Not To Forget by Marina Olivieri

12 Jan 2017 · Following the visit of the Italian students of class 5EL from the Instituto D'Instruzione Superiore 'Augusto Capriotti' to the ELMS Annual Reunion in April 2016, Marina Olivieri wrote about their experiences on…

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Owain Williams

09 Mar 2020 · 11th September 1944 · Sgt – Flt Engineer · HALIFAX lll LL584 LK-E

Pilot Officer Kevin McSweeney

02 Dec 2015 · P/O Kevin McSweeney was the pilot of Lancaster LL276 on the night of 22/23 May 1944. He and his crew were on a mission to Braunschweig in Germany. During the flight to…

Raymond Worrall

09 Mar 2020 · • 25 th July 1944

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Reflections - Rev Owain Williams

10 May 2022 · By The Rev Owain Williams RAFES Date : 11th September 1944.

Ron Riding

09 Mar 2020 · 14th/15th June 1944 · F/O – 69 Sqn – Pathfinder Force – 2TAF · Wellington XIII MF231

Rowland Williams DFC

11 Jun 2020 · ---

Sgt Bud Owens - The Full Story

21 Dec 2015 · By Warren B Carrah This article is reproduced by kind permission of Warren B. Carah Brighton, MI USA wcarah@livingonline.com. Information assembled from Escape & Evasion Reports, IDPF reports, and personal interviews with…

Sgt Ronald Shoebridge RAF

24 Apr 2016 · (The figures in brackets refer to footnotes which can be found at the end of the article)

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Sister Olga Baudot de Rouville (1891 – 1979)

04 Dec 2015 · : A Most Remarkable Woman” is one description that has been used about Sister Olga Baudot de Rouville (1891 – 1979). A Red Cross nurse in German Occupied France during The Great…

Stan Hope

09 Mar 2020 · 8th December 1944 · Flt/Sgt – Navigator - 504 Sqn · Mosquito

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The Evaders Garden

24 May 2015 · John Everiss, the son of Stan Everiss (who was a Burgundy Line evader) has been awarded a Silver medal at the Chelsea Flower show. Stan Everiss, the designers father was an RAF…

The Hidden Attic

14 Jan 2015 · By Roger Stanton

The Hidden Attic – Mia Lelivelt Dutch Helper

15 Aug 2016 · By Roger Stanton

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The Long March by Henry Owens

08 Dec 2014 · The Long (Baltic) March - Account 3 by Henry Owens, 51st Highland Division

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The Long March by Jonathan Wikinson

08 Dec 2014 · Route map unavailable: the original illustration will be reinstated once the archive image is recovered.

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The Long March by R M Marks

08 Dec 2014 · The Long March - Account 1 by R M Marks

The Story of Ken de Souza

14 Jan 2015 · By Ian de Souza As the pilot pulled the throttle back, the engines roared, and the Jumbo charged down the tarmac of Cologne Airport, and lifted through the clouds into the clear…

The Story of Sgt Bud Owens

21 Dec 2015 · Bud Owens, a brave young man from Pittsburgh, died in 1943 in the snowy Pyrenees Mountains at the end of a desperate trek to escape occupied France into Spain after being shot…

TOMMY WELLS – LEGION D’HONNEUR

18 Feb 2021 · Tommy Wells

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Vladimir Peniakoff

14 Jun 2020 · ---

WO2 H E HOLMES MM

18 Feb 2021 · Eric Holmes