Missing The Boat: War Stories of Thomas Alan Dirkin

111 November 5, 2020 Post and responses from Stalag VIII-B/344 Lamsdorf Prisoners of War Facebook Group Post by Guy Dirkin I have a question about escapes from Stalag VIII-B. I just listened to 101 year old Winston Parker's account of life at VIII-B. He mentioned that escapes from working parties took place. Success ranges from a few hours to finding a way to live an fight in eastern Europe. I am not referring to the few escapes that defined success by making it back to the UK. My father was captured on the French Coast in May 1940 and took part on the long march in 1945. Towards the end of his life he mentioned that he had not spent the entire war in the camp. He had one or more episodes of fighting with the Polish resistance. I know he spent a long time in solitary and that he faced a mock firing squad and had run-ins with the Gestapo. Unfortunately, I did not dig into what he meant and did not ask for details. My question is around the "porosity" of Stalag VIII-B. Did prisoners "escape" somewhat frequently? Was it possible that some POWs, like my father, may have spent extended time outside the camp before being recaptured? Answers: Al Poole Fred Sheady escaped in Sept 42, and wasn't recaptured until Jan 1943. We think it was his 6th Attempt!....He escaped again in June 43. Craig McAlpine Yes, I know Donald Smith when he was there escaped several times. Mostly when on a working party and just wondered off. Whenever he was caught he just pretended he got lost. Punishment was being stuck in solitary for a bit, a sort of prison within a prison. Christopher Guest My Dad regularly ‘escaped’ from the camp to get drunk with one of the locals before returning worse for wear by the morning. Diantha Parker My dad escaped twice and was discovered and brought back- both times from working parties. He escaped both times with the same man- a friend from his regiment named Hardmeyer. I knew about the escapes, but reading about them in his liberation interview was harrowing. Ken Scott It was more common than you can imagine, I wrote Horace Greasleys book, about escaping to meet with his Silesian lover. He made it out nearly 200 times. Worth a read. https://www.amazon.co.uk/.../dp/1782192271/ref=mp_s_a_1_1... Philip Baker Ken Scott In fact, although Horace Greasley has been accused of exaggeration and even invention in his book, and that may be justified perhaps, it was by no means exceptional and not always difficult for POWs in some Working Parties to go in and out of their camps and mix with the locals. The experiences of Ted Lees who was at E93 Sakrau, a quarry, are an example of this (you can read it in 'Lamsdorf In Their Own Words). I don't know if these comings and goings really counted as escapes though. The nature of many Working Parties meant that the POWs were not necessarily always confined behind wire fences, and the regime of the guards was not always so strict in some places. But escape - a proper escape - was not