Articles
Deep dives into the lives, operations and legacies of those who made the escape lines possible. Written by ELMS members, historians and descendants, these articles bring archival research to life with personal testimony and fresh discoveries. Every feature below links straight to the full article.
Research Archive
Annual Commemoration of F Section, SOE, Valencay, France
The story behind the Valencay memorial service honouring the 104 agents of SOE’s F Section who never returned.
Captain Peter Baker
A newsletter tribute charting Peter Baker’s life, service and post-war support for ELMS.
Dentist to the SOE
An unexpected link between London’s Hunterian Museum and clandestine work for Special Operations Executive.
Donald Darling
Profiles the MI9 officer who quietly organised hundreds of exfiltrations from neutral Spain and Portugal.
The Dutch-Paris Line
Kurt Ganter recounts how Jean Weidner’s network shepherded aircrew, Jews and résistants across occupied Europe.
ELMS Tribute to Ken de Souza
A commemorative journey in Italy honouring navigator Ken de Souza and the families who sheltered him.
Escape from Stalag IV A
Geoffrey Spencer of the Royal Hampshire Regiment recounts his capture, repeated attempts and final breakout from Dresden.
Escape from France
Freda Moggridge’s first-hand memoir of fleeing Paris, internment and the long road to freedom through Spain.
Frit Denmark
How Danish helpers created one of the war’s most effective escape lines after the 1940 invasion.
German Resistance
An overview of opposition movements inside Germany and their connections to Allied evasion efforts.
The Glider Pilot Regiment
Examines the elite aviators who flew Horsa and Hamilcar gliders and fought alongside airborne troops.
Golpak
A newsletter feature on the clandestine operations of the Golpak network and its post-war legacy.
Hidden Nazi Archives
Reveals how caches of Gestapo records came to light and what they told us about escape-line infiltrations.
Honoured for Ever
Covers international ceremonies recognising wartime helpers for their sacrifice to the escape lines.
“Ici Londres”
Explores the BBC broadcasts that signalled missions, relayed coded messages and boosted morale across occupied Europe.
Jungle Escapes
Tales of survival from Burma’s jungles where downed aircrew relied on indigenous guides and sheer resilience.
La Maison d’Alphonse
Roger Stanton revisits the clifftop safe house that anchored the Shelburn sea lifts from Brittany.
Le Rhône
Charts the dramatic exploits of HMS Fidelity and her crew in support of escape-line operations.
The Long March
A look at the forced marches into captivity endured by Allied prisoners in the summer of 1940.
Miranda de Ebro – The Spanish Concentration Camp
Describes conditions inside the notorious Spanish camp and the route many evaders took through it.
Monopoly
Elizabeth Harrison traces the famous board game’s role in smuggling escape aids to Allied prisoners.
Nancy Wake – The White Mouse
Recounts the exploits of the SOE legend whose courage and guile made her one of the Gestapo’s most wanted.
One Day in the Life of a Typhoon Pilot
Bob Barckley’s vivid account of close air support over Europe and the dangers faced by RAF Typhoon crews.
One Day in Ravensbrück – “Create or Quarantine”
An eyewitness reflection on the women’s camp and the medical experiments imposed on prisoners.
Operation Frankton
Retells the “Cockleshell Heroes” mission in Bordeaux and the escape-line support that followed.
Oradour-sur-Glane – A Vision of Horror
A sobering visit to the martyred French village and the lessons it carries for modern commemorations.
PG 49 Fontanellato – 60 Years On
Remembers the Italian POW camp, its dramatic breakout and the anniversaries that continue to honour it.
Spain’s “Historic Memory” and Links with WWII
Former diplomat Geoff Cowling explores how Spain remembers wartime neutrality and clandestine aid.
Tangled Web
A detective-style dive into overlapping escape lines and the personalities who connected them.
Tea in the Blitz
A home-front story capturing the resilience and humour of Londoners under bombardment.
The British Resistance
Introduces the Auxiliary Units and the secret preparations for guerrilla warfare across the UK.
The Caterpillar Club
Explains the origins of the famous club for aircrew whose lives were saved by parachutes.
The Escape
Remembers The Escape pub in London, gathering place and informal museum for RAF evaders and helpers.
The Florentino Memorial
The mayor of Hernani recounts how Florentino Goicoechea’s bravery is remembered in the Basque Country.
The Forgotten Years – British Army Aid Group
Charts the Hong Kong-based organisation that assisted POW escapes and cared for liberated prisoners.
The Last Post
A primer on the bugle call’s history and its enduring role in remembrance ceremonies.
The Late Arrivals Club
How a light-hearted name in Cairo became a fellowship for Allied airmen who escaped capture.
The Men Who Never Forget
Newspaper headlines from 1954 sparked this look at veterans who kept the escape-line story alive.
The Poles
John A. Neal examines Poland’s clandestine contribution to Allied escape networks.
The Polish Escape Routes
Roger Stanton documents the lines that carried servicemen across occupied Poland and beyond.
The School that Fell from the Sky
Fred Hargesheimer’s return to Papua New Guinea leads to a school built in gratitude for his rescuers.
The Shelburn Escape Line
Roger Stanton recounts how Lucien Dumais and Ray Labrosse organised the Brittany sea evacuations.
The Two Pennies
A Dutch family’s keepsakes reconnect a modern reader with a wartime evader’s story.
The Wartime Escape Network Called Comète
Raymond Itterbeek details the Belgian-led line that moved Allied aircrew from Brussels to Spain.
Explore More
Nancy Wake
Profile of SOE agent Nancy Wake, with links to the full personal story.
Read moreA Jersey Escape
Jack Douay MBEIn the early days of the war, as in all the later ones, fate played an important role in favouring an escape, or bringing it to an unhappy end. Time was an important factor. With as litt…
Read moreAnnual Commemoration of F Section, SOE, Valencay, France
On the 6th May every year since its unveiling in 1991, a ceremony takes place in the town of Valencay in the department of Indre in France. The ceremony is held at a memorial which commemorates all th…
Read moreCaptain Peter Baker
Newsletter No43 – 2017 Captain Peter Baker – MC, Croix De Guerre, Savoy Cross, Medaglia D'Oro WW2 took its toll on many of the nation's soldiers when they returned home. Many were restless; mental pro…
Read moreThe Catalan Contribution to the Chemin/Pat O'Leary Lines and the work of MI9
Many visitors to this site will probably be aware of the major role played by the Comete line in returning Allied evaders/escapers to the UK. What may not be so well known is the significant part play…
Read moreDonald Darling
MI9 ESCAPE Lines 1940 – 1947 There were many unsung heroes in WW2, working unseen to help the Allied cause. People who quietly, secretly and in personal danger assisted allied evaders. Many were based…
Read moreDentist to the SOE
When ELMS members Clare and Steve Campbell were invited to visit the Hunterian Museum, a medical museum, in Holborn, London, where their friend Sam is Director, they had not bargained on it having lin…
Read moreThe Dutch Paris Line
A Hard Mirror – The Dutch Paris Story By Kurt Ganter, Chairman, Weidner Foundation Archives ( Thanks to Sherri Greene Ottis , “Major Escape Routes Through France, 1940 1945.” from her book, Silent Her…
Read moreELMS Tribute to Ken de Souza
NEWSLETTER 15 2008 ELMS pays Tribute in Italy to Ken de Souza By Ian de Souza As the pilot pulled the throttle back, the engines roared, and the Jumbo charged down the tarmac of Cologne Airport, then…
Read moreEscape From Stalag IVA Dresden
The following was written by ELMS member Geoffrey Spencer, 2 Royal Hampshire Regiment. Captured by Rommel’s Africa Corps in North Africa and following incarceration in POW camps in Italy and Germany,…
Read moreESCAPE FROM FRANCE
Freda Moggridge The story I am about to tell covers a period of nearly 18 months, from my flight from Paris in June 1940 until my arrival in Spain at the end of October 1941. It was a time for me of v…
Read moreFrit Denmark
NEWSLETTER 13 2007 By Roger Stanton At 4am, on the 9th April 1940, without warning, German troops crossed the Danish border and invaded the small country of Denmark. They also landed by ships at strat…
Read moreGerman Resistance
NEWSLETTER 6 2005 By Roger Stanton Members may be aware that Resistance to the Germans within Germany was particularly difficult. The Nazis had an intelligence system second to none. Much of the resis…
Read moreThe Glider Pilot Regiment
There are a variety of methods for inserting soldiers into battle in modern warfare, and some of these were developed during WW2. The Parachute Regiment was formed in 1940 on Churchill’s orders, and t…
Read moreGolpak
NEWSLETTER 5 2005 NEWSLETTER 22 – 2010 Golpak \"Number One Friend Belong Australia True\" & \"The School That Fell From The Sky\" By Roger Stanton It all began on the 3rd Nov 1943. Bill led his Squadr…
Read moreHidden Nazi Archives
NEWSLETTER 12 2007 By Roger Stanton After over sixty years of being hidden away, a long secret German Archive is now open to the public. The archive houses a mass of information regarding 17.5 million…
Read moreIci Londres
‘Ici Londres’ In Early December 2014, members of ELMS gathered in London for their ‘Ici Londres’ Dinner. The title does not represent the location of the meal but is a commemoration of the ‘Messages P…
Read moreHonoured For Ever
NEWSLETTER 13 2007 By Ron Riding This article, by ELMS member Ron Riding, appeared in the Daily Mail Newspaper on 27 th March 2007, in response to letters to that newspaper commenting on the recent re…
Read moreJungle Escapes
Burma The priority in WW2 was Europe, and regrettably those who fought in the jungles of Burma considered themselves the ‘Forgotten Army’. Their task was tough, not only did they have to fight the Jap…
Read moreLA MAISON D’ALPHONSE -THE HOUSE OF ALPHONSE
NEWSLETTER 4 – 2004\ \ \ \ By Roger Stanton The House of Alphonse is well known by the Brittany Resistance and by former veteran members of the Shelburn Escape Line in Brittany. The house was situated…
Read more‘ICI LONDRES’
ICI LONDRES was the BBC life line to our friends in occupied Europe. Helpers, Resistants and SOE agents would huddle around their covert radio sets in the evenings, expectantly awaiting their special…
Read moreLe Rhone
HMS Fidelity WW2 created many anomalies, mysteries and intrigues amongst the unusual organisations, agencies, individuals, Special Forces and private armies that evolved at that time. Records have bee…
Read moreThe Long March
The Long March into Captivity– Summer 1940 In June 1940, after the withdrawal from Dunkirk, British troops left in France to cover the rearguard were the 51(Highland) Division, 1 Armoured Division, to…
Read moreMiranda De Ebro - The Spanish Concentration Camp
\ \ Daily Life At Miranda Del Ebro Concerntration Camp \ \ By Maurice Chauvet (This is a reproduction of an article first published in Newsletter 3 in 2004) The arrival in Spain of an evader or escape…
Read moreMonopoly
Elizabeth Harrison Starting in 1941, an increasing number of British Airmen found themselves as involuntary guests of the Third Reich as POWs, and the Military Intelligence Services were looking for w…
Read moreONE DAY IN RAVENSBRUCK – CREATE OR QUARANTINE
NEWSLETTER 3 2004\ \ \ \ By Miarka (Prisoner no 46889) I escaped work. A morning ahead of me: to hide anywhere, to wash continuously, to be somewhere, or perhaps go on soup duty. That, in any case, I…
Read moreOne Day in the Life of a Typhoon Pilot
NEWSLETTER 15 2008 By Bob Barckley On the 2nd June 1943 I was asleep in my room in the Officers Mess at RAF West Malling in Kent. At 0600hrs I was awoken by a shotgun like blast followed by a cacophon…
Read moreOPERATION FRANKTON
NEWSLETTER 2 2003\ \ \ \ By Roger Stanton This was one of the most daring raids of WW2. On the night of 7 December 1942, ten RM Commandos, commanded by Major ‘Blondie’ Hasler, were launched, in total…
Read morePartisan Group Roti Italy 1943-44
This is a photo which purports to show the 'English' members of the group in late 1943. Three have been identified. Can anyone help with any of the others? !P1020055 Those identified are: Front Row, l…
Read moreOradour Sur Glane – A Vision of Horror
NEWSLETTER 5 2005 By Roger Stanton Many evaders in France were given help and shelter in small villages hidden in the triangle of roads linking Limoges, Angouleme, and Poitiers in the area of Limousin…
Read moreSpain’s “Historic Memory” and Links with WWII
Geoff Cowling HM Consul General Barcelona 2002/5 (retired) In October 2007, the Spanish Parliament passed a controversial law “to recover Spain’s historic memory”, specifically aimed at researching an…
Read morePG 49 – FONTANELLATO, ITALY – 60 Years on
1943 2003 Recalled by the late Ian English MC+ 2bars It was in May 2002, during The San Martino Freedom Trail, which was based on the Europa Hotel in Sulmona, that Tony Woods came up to me at the bar…
Read moreTangled Web
Tangled Web Newsletter No21 By Elizabeth Harrison This is the story of three generations of Frenchmen in the Lebé family from St Girons in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Andre Lebé is the curator of t…
Read moreThe British Resistance
Newsletter 5 2005 Roger Stanton A number of years ago I came across, by chance, information on what was a British Resistance organisation, set up to counter the anticipated ‘Operation Sea Lion’ the Ge…
Read moreTea In The Blitz
ELMS Newsletter 16 Dorothy Wakeley FANY / SOE In the summer of 1940, a stick of bombs was dropped near my home in an outer suburb of London. There were casualties. As an Air Raid Warden I was busy tak…
Read moreThe Caterpillar Club
NEWSLETTER 3 2004 By Roger Stanton Many members will have noticed that some aircrew evaders wear a gold caterpillar badge. The badge indicates that the wearer is a member of an elite club The Caterpil…
Read moreThe Escape
Overview of The Escape pub exhibit and a pointer to the full story in the personal stories collection.
Read moreThe Forgotten Years – British Army Aid Group
NEWSLETTER 8 2006 RogEr Stanton Of those who have served in Hong Kong since WW2, many will retain good memories of Tiger Balm Gardens, the Star Ferry, The Peak, Nathan Road, and tabbing around the hil…
Read moreThe Florentino Memorial
Newsletter 9 2006 By The Mayor of Hernani An Official Declaration of Recognition from the Hernani Town Council, Hernani, at the unveiling of the Memorial to Florentino and the members of Comète in Spa…
Read moreThe Last Post
Rog Stanton In years gone by the British Army relied on a system of bugle calls for communication. Each soldier had to identify all calls otherwise he was in danger of getting into trouble or going hu…
Read moreThe Late Arrivals Club
Rog Stanton The Late Arrivals Club was formed in Cairo in 1941 by Sqn Ldr George Houghton who, in a PR story, wrote about evaders and referred to an aircrew evader who had returned late to his base as…
Read moreThe Men Who Never Forget
THE MEN WHO NEVER FORGOT During the first week in March in 1954, this was a headline that appeared in most British newspapers, both national and local, and as far afield as South Africa and Northern E…
Read moreThe Polish Escape Routes
THE POLISH ESCAPE ROUTES Rog Stanton There were Oflags and Stalags situated in Poland during WW2 from which many soldiers and airmen escaped. The Colditz escapers, and the Great Escape from Stalag Luf…
Read moreThe Poles
Newsletter 20 – 2009 By John A Neal Sixty five years ago, I landed in France due to the attack of a German Fighter Pilot named Heinz Philipzig. For the following five months, while I waited to be resc…
Read moreTHE SCHOOL THAT FELL FROM THE SKY
Very few people will have heard of The Airmen’s Memorial Primary School at Ewasse Village, in the Bialla District, West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, but for the people of the Bialla District, wartim…
Read moreThe Shelburn Escape Line
NEWSLETTER 4 2004 Roger Stanton On the 11th October 1942, a number of evaders had gathered at a deserted villa at Canet Plage near Perpignan. They were waiting for a rendezvous [RV] with a fishing boa…
Read moreThe Two Pennies
After reading an article about an evader’s wartime story in a national newspaper a Dutch lady, living in England responded by ringing the newspaper, and asking for the name and address of the writer.…
Read moreTHE WARTIME ESCAPE NETWORK CALLED COMETE
By Raymond Itterbeek Comète In spite of the existence of the Treaty of Non Aggression, German troops invaded Belgium on the 10th May 1940. The Belgian army tried valiantly to defend their country, but…
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