Only English (not
Americans) as in The Great Escape Movie
This account by Rick Danby was sent to Warplane Heritage Museum
on April 6, 2018 about the Great Escape.
The Great Escape (untouched for almost seven decades), the tunnel
used in the Great Escape has finally been unearthed. The 111-yard
passage nicknamed “Harry” by allied prisoners was sealed by the
Germans after the audacious break-out from the POW camp 'Stalag Luft
III in western Poland.
Despite the huge interest in the subject encouraged by the film
starring Steve McQueen, the tunnel remained undisturbed over the
decades because it was behind the Iron Curtain and Soviet
authorities had no interest in its significance.
But at last, British archeologists have excavated it ~
discovering its remarkable secrets.
Many of the bed boards which had been joined together to stop it
collapsing, were still in position. And the ventilation shaft,
ingeniously crafted from used powdered milk containers known as Klim
Tins, remained in working order. Scattered throughout the tunnel,
which is 30 feet below ground, were bits of old metal buckets,
hammers and crowbars which were used to hollow out the route. A
total of 600 prisoners worked on 3 tunnels at the same time...named
Tom, Dick and Harry ~ and were just 2 feet square for most of their
length. It was on the night of March 24, 1944, that 76 Allied airmen
escped through Harry. Barely a third of the 200 prisoners, many in
fake German uniforms and civialian outfits and carrying false
identity papers, who were meant to slip away, managed to leave before
the alarm was raised when escapee number 77 was spotted.
Only 3 made it back to Britain. Another 50 were executed by firing
squad
on the orders of Adolf Hitler, who was furious after learning of the
security breach.
In all, 90 boards from bunk beds, 62 tables, 34 chairs and 76
benches, as well as thousands of items including knives, spoons,
forks, towels and blankets, were squirrelled away by the Allied
prisoners to aid the escape plan under the noses of their captors.
Although the Hollywood movie suggests otherwise,
NO Americans were involved in the operation.
Most were British: the others from Poland, New Zealand, Australia
and South Africa.
All the tunnelers were Canadian personnel with backgrounds in mining.
Harry was originally concealed under a stove in Hut 104.
Watching
the excavation was Gordie King (now 91) an RAF radio operator who was
140 in line to use Harry ~ and therefore missed out. Said he:
This brings back such bitter-sweet memories,” as
he wiped away his tears.”I'm
amazed at what they found.”
Another tunnel called George was never used ~ as the 2,000 prisioners
were
forced to march to other camps as the Red Army approached in January
1945.
(Many thanks, Tom, for submitting the foregoing to me.)
In post war-time, Mrs. Irene Graham delighted an audience
with her reminiscence of the German Prisoner of War who was weekly
sent
to tend to her garden. “Repatriated in 1945, he'd always seemed a
nice friendly chap.
When the crocuses came up in the middle of our lawn in February,
1946,
they
spelled out Heil
Hitler!”
Actual
Announcements of London Tube Drivers to Passengers
Ladies and Gentlemen: I do apologize for the delay to your
service. I know you're all dying to get home, unless, of course, you
happen to be married to my ex-wife in which case, you'll want to
cross over to the Westbound and go in the opposite direction.
Your delay this evening is caused by the line controller suffering
from E & B syndrome, not knowing his Elbow from his Backside,
I'll let you know any further information as soon as I'm given any.
Let the passengers off the train FIRST ~ (a long pause) ~ Oh, Go
on, then, stuff yourselves in like sardines! See if I care ~ I'm
goiing home.
We can't move off because some idiot has his hand stuck in the
door.
Please move baggage away from the doors. (Pause) Please move ALL
belongings away from the doors. (Pause) This is a personal message
to the man in the brown suit wearing glasses at the rear of the
train. Put the pie down, Four Eyes, and move your bloody golf clubs
away from the door before I come down there and shove them up your
bum sideways.
Britain's
Dumbest Criminals
(a few from a book loaned to me by Rosemarie)
These are based on stories from police officers and county court
clerks around the UK.
Gormless
Golfer:
A customs officer beckoned over a visiting German golfer as a
'routine check' at Dover ferry port. The man was well dressed and
explained he was looking forward to 'a spot of golf'' between
business meetings.he'd arranged in Kent. Being a keen golfer
himself, the official inquired into the German's handicap. But he
was perplexed by the answer: “I don't have a handicap ~ I'm very
fit and present.” So he tried another question: “How many
birdies are you hoping to shoot?” The tourist replied, “None. I
don't believe in 'blood sports' and shooting birds in Germany is
illegal.” Smelling a rat, the customs man asked the German to
demonstrate his swing. This he executed perfectly, but in reverse.
A significant amount of narcotics was found in his bag.
Too
Neat:
Pharmacies are often victims of drug users who can't afford to buy
their requirements on the street. One such ship in Liverpool had
taken precautions and locked all their materials in a large safe
(following previous break-ins). The local users were made aware and
break-ins' to the pharmacy almost stopped overnight. One user,
however, went a step further upstream and broke into a doctor's
surgery to steal some prescription pads. Having written out his own
prescription, he then went into the pharmacy and handed over his
slip. The police were called and he was arrested. When asked why
they had been alerted, one of the staff said, “The prescription was
perfectly legible and written in block letters. All the doctors
around here have totally indecipherable scrawls!”
What?
My Car?
Fed up with his old rusting Volkswagon, a man from Norwich decided
to report it stolen. Calling in to his local police station, he
explained how the car had been stolen from outside his workplace.
Details were taken and the man left with the duty sergeant telling
him he would be contacted when the vehicle showed up. The man left
and returned home. His car, reported 'stolen' was noticed by a
passing patrol car, parked in the car-park of the police station.
Officers called at the man's house and after detailed questioning,
managed to get him to admit it was a scam. He had driven it to the
police station to report it missing...then mistakenly, left it in
their car-park!
Written by Merle Baird-Kerr...July 11, 2018
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