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

A Family Pilgrimage

14 May 2015 · Douglas Cunningham Davidson DCM 1943/44

Air Chief Marshall Sir Lewis Hodges

14 Jun 2020 · Sir Lewis Hodges, Sir Lewis, or Bob Hodges, as he was often known, was without doubt one of life’s “gentleman warriors”. Kind, generous, always helpful, approachable, he treated everyone equally. His life…

Albert de Bruin

09 Mar 2020 · A young man suddenly appeared, wearing an FFI armband and pointing a pistol at Albert, who was instructed to ‘walk on’. The man took him to a Resistance group; amongst whom was…

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…

‘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…

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

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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.

Edith Cavell

10 May 2022 · In 1865, in the small village of Swardeston in Norfolk, a lady was born who later was to influence many people on both sides of the channel, particularly Belgium. Edith Louisa Cavell…

ELIZABETH HARRISON MBE

18 Feb 2021 · Elizabeth Harrison was a founding member of ELMS – No3. She became a committee member and took on the role of ‘Helper Liaison’ – keeping the Society in touch with the helpers.…

Eric Milner

12 Mar 2020 · From the moment of landing on the DZ, the guns were in constant action.

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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 designer’s father was an RAF…

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 · Geoff had already successfully piloted a Horsa Glider carrying men of 4 th Air Landing Brigade to ‘Pegasus Bridge’ on D-Day before embarking on training for Operation Market Garden – Arnhem.

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George Millar

14 Jun 2020 · Capt George Millar was was serving as an infantry officer with 1st Battalion The Rifle Brigade in January 1942, when he was compromised and captured while on a reconnaissance patrol inside Libya.…

GEORGES (“GEO”) JOUANJEAN

10 May 2022 · Georges (“Geo”) Jouanjean, was born a Breton, in Carhaix, in 1917. At the outbreak of WW2 he joined the French army, the artillery, and was taken prisoner during the German blitzkrieg of…

Gordon Hand

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

The Hidden Attic

14 Jan 2015 · In 2013, an ‘escape attic’ was rebuilt in the war museum in Hengelo (Eastern part of Holland). The original ‘escape attic’ was built in the home of ELMS member Mia Lelivelt, one…

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Ian English

14 Jun 2020 · Major Ian English was an early member of ELMS, a founder member of the Monte San Martino Trust, also a member of the Army POW Escape Club. He advised the societies on…

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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

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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 Wilkinson

08 Dec 2014 · January – April 1945

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The Long March by R M Marks

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

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

10 May 2022 · Francoise was born in Cahors, France on the 6 th November 1881. A civil servant in the City of Toulouse Technical School Administration; a teacher in private schools in Auch, Carcassonne and…

Maurice Collins

14 Jun 2020 · Maurice Collins, together with his wife Dorothy [Dot], was an early member of ELMS, joining the cause in 1996. Maurice and Dot could be guaranteed to appear at all Annual and Comète…

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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.

Nancy Wake

05 Dec 2014 · George Medal – Legion d’Honneur – Croix de Guerre (3 times) – Medaille de la Resistance – Medal of Freedom – Companion of the Order of Australia

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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 · Sgt – 44 Sqn - Flt Engineer · Lancaster 1 - ME694 KM-L

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Reflections - Rev Owain Williams

10 May 2022 · By The Rev Owain Williams RAFES

Ron Riding

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

Rowland Williams DFM

11 Jun 2020 · A former member of the former RAFES, and a member of ELMS from the early days, Rowland Williams had been a Mustang pilot during WW2. On the night of 17 September ‘44,…

Sgt Bud Owens - The Full Story

21 Dec 2015 · By Warren B Carrah

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 War,…

Stan Hope

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

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 was one of the ‘original’ ELMS members and was the Standard Bearer for the Army POW Escape Club (Northern Branch). He attended the first Reunion at Eden Camp with the…

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Vladimir Peniakoff

14 Jun 2020 · Russian born, former sugar-manufacturer of Cairo, master of five languages, cultured, well-read, and known as Popski.

WO2 H E HOLMES MM

18 Feb 2021 · Eric Holmes was born in Harrogate on 25 June 1920. A member of the Harrogate Red Cross, he was mobilised into the RAMC on 4 September 1939. By 1940, he was serving…