OS Prisoners of War & Internees in Europe during the Second World War

Poster warning Prisoners of War not to try to escape from German POW camps, c.1944

Names of Old Shirburnians known to have been held as Prisoners of War or Internees in Europe during the Second World War. Names marked with an asterisk * are named on the School’s roll of honour.

If you know of anyone who should be included on this list, or have any additional information, the School Archivist would be pleased to hear from you.

Old Shirburnian POWs & Internees held in Europe during the Second World War
Anthony Oliver BARKER (1921-1944) (Lyon House 1935-1939). Captain, 2 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (service no. 200505). Saw service in the Mediterranean area and personally received the surrender of some six hundred German soldiers. Fought in Italy. Died of wounds on 6 February 1944 as a POW in hospital in Rome.

Donald Andrew Douglas Jardine BETHELL (1921-1988) (Harper House 1934-1939). Captain, Royal Artillery (service no.118402). Captured in Tunisia in March 1943. Interned at POW Camp PG49 Reggio nell Emilia, Fontanellato near Parma, Italy. Escaped on 10 September 1943 with 500 others and walked 500 miles down the Apennine mountains to Naples. In 1987, Donald’s son Andrew Bethell (Lyon House 1961-65) filmed a documentary with his father retracing his 500 mile journey down the Apennine mountains to Naples, which included meeting again the brave ‘contadini’ who had given him food and shelter during his escape. The film, ‘The Stranger at the Gate’ was originally transmitted on BBC2 in July 1987. In 2025, Andrew Bethell published a biography of his father – In Love and War (Tricorner Press, 2025).

Richard Anthony BETHELL (1922-2004) (Harper House 1936-1941). Pilot Officer, R.A.F. (service no.870433). Captured in Holland on 7 December 1942. POW no.858. Interned at Stalag Luft III POW camp at Sagan (now Żagań, Poland). He was the youngest man to escape through ‘Harry’ tunnel on 24 March 1944 but recaptured on 28 March 1944.

George Richard Stair BOLSTER (1917-1988) (School House 1931-1936). Lieutenant, R.A (service no.74536). Captured on 13 June 1940. POW no.213. Interned at Oflag VII-B POW camp, Eichstätt, Bavaria.

William Douglas Elmes BROWN, MBE (1913-1984) (Harper House 1929-1931). Acting Colonel, R.A (service no. 62507), 2A, Aegean Forces. Captured on 16 November 1943 at Leros, Greece. POW no. 2082. Interned at Stalag VII-A Moosburg (17 December 1943-15 March 1944), Oflag VIII-F Mahrisch/Trubau (21 March-30 April 1944), and Oflag 79 POW camp Brunswick (1 May 1944-12 April 1945) where he was S.B.O. (October 1944-April 1945). He was interrogated at Athens but having refused to answer the first few questions received no further interrogation.

James Hardie CANDLER (1920-1954) (Abbey House 1934-1938). 2^nd Lieutenant, Duke of Cornwall’s L.I (service no.165737). Captured in 1942 in the Western Desert, Middle East. Interned in Italy at POW Camp no.49.

Cedric O’Donoghue CAREY (1888-1965) (Abbeylands 1901-1908), was in 1943 reported to be amongst the Guernsey residents forcibly removed to Germany. POW no.1496. Interned at Ilag VIII Tost.

Harold Charles CARVER (1909-1989) (The Green 1922-1926). Captain, 8^th King’s Royal Irish Hussars (service no.108541). Captured on 22 November 1941. Interned at POW Camp no.49. Escaped via Switzerland. Interviewed in Switzerland on 8 February 1944.

William David CRANE (1916-2009) (Abbey House 1930-1934). Lieutenant, Sherwood Foresters (service no.90420). Captured in April 1940. POW no.1004. Interned at Oflag 79, Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

George Desmond CRIBB (1917-1975) (Abbey House 1930-1934). Captain, R.A.M.C (service no.128856), 104 P.O.W. Unit, attached 3^rd Division at time of capture on 29 May 1945 at Wormhoudt, France. POW no. 471. Interned at Oflag VII-C Laufen (14 June-20 November 1940), Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf (22 November 1940-28 June 1944), Stalag-398 Hospital at Haid bei Linz (29 June 1944-5 May 1945). He was M.O. at a working camp at Blechhammer (22 November 1940-14 May 1942). Suffered for 4 weeks from dysentery due to fly prevalence.

William Wookey Northam DAVIES (1898-1964) (School House 1913-1915). Major, R.A.C. Royal Hussars (service no.14403). Captured in December 1940. POW no.3598. Interned at Oflag IX-A/H, Spangenberg, Hesse.

Peter Kingsley EARLE (1912-1979) (The Green 1927-1929). Captain, Royal Tank Regiment. Captured 1942. POW no.168. Interned at Oflag XII-B, Hadamar, Hesse.

*Thomas Joseph FAIRFAX-COOKSON (1916-1944) (Harper House 1930-1934). Gunner, 17 Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery (service no.924426). Captured on 20 June 1942 at Cyrenaica, Libya. Interned in Italy (camp no. 85) and Stalag IVC, Wistriz. Killed on 12 May 1944, aged 27, during an Allied air raid while a prisoner of war at Brus (now Most), Czechoslovakia. Buried at Prague War Cemetery.

Michael Jackson FIELD-RICHARDS (1912-1990) (Westcott House 1926-1929). Lieutenant, Royal Engineers (service no.87878). Captured 1941. POW no.901. Interned at Oflag 079, Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

William Scott GARRETT (1907-1992) (Abbeylands 1921-1924). Captain, South African Engineers (service no.192172). Captured in 1942 at Tobruk, North Africa. Interned at PG 73 Campo di Fossoli, Carpi, Northern Italy. He escaped and walked to Southern Italy where he rejoined the British Army. In 1944 he was awarded the MBE for gallant and distinguished services in the field.

John James Stephen GREEN (1920-2004) (Abbey House 1933-1938). Lieutenant, Hampshire Regiment. Captured March 1943. POW no.2752. Interned at Oflag V-A, Weinsberg, Baden-Wurttemberg.

Thomas Mortimer Bakewell GREEN (1914-1984) (Lyon House 1927-1931). Captain, R.A.S.C. Captured in Libya in 1941. POW no.34. Interned in Germany at Oflag V-B Biberach, Oflag VI-B Warburg, and in Block 3 at Oflag VII-B Eichstätt, Bavaria. At Oflag VI-B he played rugby and sang in a production of The Messiah, and while in Oflag VII-B in 1943-44 he got a First Class in Automobile Engineering and a Second in Automobile Electricity and was allowed out for walks.

William John Mounsey GUBBINS (1907-1979) (School House 1921-1925). Major, Border Regiment (service no.41793). Captured on 10 June 1940 at Fécamp, France. POW no.1289. Interned at Oflag VII-C Laufen (July 1940-October 1941), Oflag VI-B Warburg (October 1941-September 1942), Oflag VII-B, Eichstätt (September 1942-April 1945), and Stalag VII-A Moosburg (2 weeks). Made one unsuccessful escape attempt.

Martin Shirley HEATHCOTE (1914-1992) (School House 1928-1932). Lieutenant, Royal Artillery (service no. 103952), 89/90 Battery, 23^rd Field Regiment, 51^st Division. Captured on 10 June 1940 at Cany, France. POW no.1209. Interned at Oflag VII-C Laufen Castle (July 1940-March 1941), Stalag XXI-D Posen (Poznan) (March-April 1941), Stalag XX-A Thorn (Torun) (April-June 1941), Oflag V-B Biberach (June-October 1941), Oflag VI-B Warburg (October 1941-September 1942), Oflag VII-B Eichstätt (September 1942-April 1945), and Stalag VII-A Moosburg (April 1945-29 April 1945).

Joseph Peter HEWLETT (1918-1984) (Harper House 1932-1936). Sapper, R.E. Captured June 1941. POW no.1209. Interned at Oflag VII-B, Eichstatt, Bavaria.

Mervyn Nettleton HICKS (1911-1981) (Abbey House 1924-1926). Driver, R.A.S.C. (service no. T/129762), 113^th General Transport Co., 13^th Corps. Captured on 25 November 1941 near Sollum, Egypt. POW no.31529. Interned at PG85 Tuturano, Italy (5 March-5 May 1943), PG65 Gravina-Altamura, Italy (5 May-28 May 1943), PG52 Chiavari, Italy (28 May-12 September 1943), and Stalag-344 Lambinowice (Lamsdorf), Poland, where he was in working party E152 at a stone quarry (October-November 1943), working party E56 levelling an aerodrome (December 1942-February 1944), working party E451 digging a reservoir at Grottkau (February-April 1944), working party E711 making a concrete air raid shelter and demolition at Reigerfelt (July 1944-January 1945). Sabotage included breaking shovel and pick handles at working parties E56 and E451.

Reynold Alleyne HIGGINS (1916-1993) (Westcott House 1930-1931). Lieutenant, K.R.R.C. Captured May 1940. POW no.789. Interned at Oflag VII-B, Eichstätt, Bavaria.

Derek Stanton ILES (1921-1998) (Abbeylands 1935-1938). Flight Lieutenant, 38 Squadron R.A.F. (service no.66560). Captured on 13 November 1941. Interned at PG59 Fontanellato, Italy. Escaped via Switzerland. Interviewed in Switzerland on 22 September 1943.

William Francis JACKMAN (1894-1984) (The Green 1909-1911). Acting Flying Officer, R.A.F., 24 Air Sea Rescue (service no.80921). Captured 1/2 July 1941 in the North Sea when 24 Air Sea Rescue boat HSL 108 was sent from Gorleston, Norfolk to rescue a Blenheim IV that had ditched in the North Sea. POW no.1389. Interned at Amsterdam (2-7 July 1941), Dulag Luft (7-9 July 1941), Oflag IX A/H (9 July-September 1941), Oflag VI B (September 1941-August 1942), Oflag XXI B (August 1942- March 1943), Stalag Luft III (March 1943- 29 April 1945).

Thomas Bernard Wilson JEANS (1921-2004) (The Green 1935-1939). Captain, Royal Marines. Date of capture? Retired from the army in 1947.

Denys Henry Eyre JESTON (1919-2001) (Lyon House 1933-1937). Lieutenant, 1st Bn., The Buffs. Captured in Libya on 15 December 1941. POW no.1293. Interned in Italy at POW Camp PG 75 Torre Tresca and POW Camp PG49 Reggio nell Emilia, Fontanellato near Parma, Italy. In July 1942 Vatican radio broadcast a message that Lt. Denys Jeston was in a good permanent camp and receiving a Red Cross parcel every ten days. In 1943 he escaped and enjoyed ‘two months at large with Italian peasants’ before being recaptured by the Italian Carabinieri and sent to Oflag 79 Waggum, Brunswick, Lower Saxony. After his release he went out East to do more fighting.

Geoffrey KESTELL-CORNISH (1903-1996) (School House 1917-1921). Captain, Royal Army Chaplain’s Department (service no.110824), attached to 26^th GI. Captured on 22 April 1945 at Kifissia, Greece. POW no. 23905. Interned at Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf (15 October 1941-17 February 1943), Oflag IX-A/H Spangenburg (19 February-20 October 1942), Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf (22 October 1942-12 December 1943), Stalag VIII-B Cieszyn (Teschen) (13 December 1943-15 November 1944). Chaplain in POW working camp E538 at the Sosnowitz coal mine, Poland (15 November 1944-19 January 1945). Mentions the exceptionally good work done by two Medical Officers (Capt. N.S. Seaford, RAMC, and Capt. J. Lee, SOAC) on their march from Sosnowitz from 19 January 1945 to the date of liberation on 29 April 1945 and for the time after they were liberated by the Americans.

Michael Wilfrid LACEY (1920-2016) (School House 1934-1938). Lieutenant, 60^th Field Regiment Royal Artillery, 7^th Armoured Division (service no.2455). Captured on 23 November 1941 at Sidi Rezegh, Libya. POW no.2144. Interned at PG41 Montalbo near Piacenza, Italy (25 December 1941-31 March 1943), PG49 Fontanellato near Palma, Italy (31 March-9 September 1943), Hospital near Piacenza, Italy (30 October-29 November 1942), Stalag VII-A Moosburg, Germany (16 January-19 March 1944), Oflag VIII-F Mährisch-Trübau (19 March-30 April 1944), Oflag 79 Brunswick (1 May1944-23 April 1945). Interrogated at Bde HQ of a German Panzer Unit in Libya. Attempted escapes by cutting a way out of cattle trucks, but none materialised. Escaped on the Italian Armistice on 9 September 1943 and walked through Italy for four months from Parma to Guardiagrele, but recaptured with Lt. J. Berry, RA, on 28 December 1943 by a German Patrol in No Man’s Land.

Ian Hesketh MACDONALD (1920-2019) (Abbeylands 1934-1938). Captain, Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. Captured June 1942. POW no.1126. Interned at Oflag 79, Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

Francis Robert Raby MARTIN (1911-1983) (Harper House 1925-1929). Major, R.A.M.C. Captured in France in August 1940. Interned in Germany.

John Frederick Malcolm MOYLE (1913-2008) (Abbey House 1928-1931). Warrant Officer, 102 R.A.F Bomber Command (service no. 742869). Captured at Salzwedel Aerodome in November 1940 POW no.607. Interned at Homemark, Frankfurt-am-Maine (November 1940-September 1941), Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf (September 1941-June 1942), Stalag Luft III Sagan (June 1942-June 1943), Stalag Luft VI Heydekrug (June 1943-July 1944), Stalag 357 Thorn and Fallingbostel (April 1944-April 1945). Interrogated at Dulag Luft on 17 November 1940 and told that letters would go home quicker if gave Squadron numbers. Worked for a year in co-operation with the escape committee at Stalag Luft VI Heydekrug obtaining articles from Rudolph Hessack (a German civilian who worked in the camp) necessary for escapes, including two cameras, German uniforms (coat, trousers, a pair of stiefels), and a map. At Stalag 357 worked for the Security Committee, chiefly obtaining information.

Ronald Alexander NORMAN-WALKER (1920-1997) (Abbey House 1934-1938). Captain, 495 Battery, 132 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, 78^th Division (service no. 106703). Captured at Taborba, Tunisia on 4 December 1942. POW no. 925. Interned at PG 75 Bari, Italy (10 December 1942-3 March 1943), PG21 Chieti, Italy (March 1943-9 March 1944), Oflag VIII-F Mährisch-Trübau (March-May 1944), Oflag 79 Brunswick (May 1944-12 April 1945). Dug an escape tunnel at PG21 Chieti but it was completed at the same date as the Italian Armistice.

Henry Wake PARKER (1920-1959) (The Green 1934-1937). Lieutenant, Royal Tank Corps. Captured November 1944. POW no.4384. Interned at VII-B, Eichstätt, Bavaria.

Francis Owen Piers PEARCE (1922-1989) (School House 1936-1940). Flight Lieutenant, R.A.F. Captured March 1944.

Gerard Henry Aubrey PERCEVAL-MAXWELL (1903-1989) (School House 1916-1921). Lieutenant, Durham Light Infantry, 50^th Division (service no. 27242). Captured at Arras on 21 May 1940. POW no. 545. Interned at Oflag IX-A Spangenburg (June 1940-March 1941, June 1941-October 1941), Stalag XX-A Thorn (March-June 1941), Oflag VI-B Warburg (October 1941-September 1942), Oflag VII-B Eichstatt (September 1942-January 1944), Oflag VIII-F Mährisch-Trübau (January-May 1944), Oflag 79 Brunswick (May 1944-April 1945).

Lionel Alastair Bethune PILKINGTON, Kt., FRS (1920-1995) (Lyon House 1933-1938). Lieutenant, R.A. (service no.76998). Captured in Crete on 6 June 1941. POW no.3465. Interned in Germany at Oflag X-C Lübeck (July-October 1941), Oflag VI-B Warburg (October 1941-September 1942), Oflag IX/A Rotenburg (September 1942), Oflag IX-A/H Spangenburg (September 1942-January 1943), Oflag VII-B Eichstätt (January 1943-April 1945), Stalag VII-A Moosberg (April 1945), during which time he took part in two escape attempts.

John Francis PLAYFORD (1919-2000) (School House 1933-1936). Lieutenant, Parachute Regiment (no.93657). Captured at Oudna, Tunisia, on 1 December 1942. POW no.2142. Interned at PG 66 Capua, Italy (9-30 December 1942), in hospital with acute rheumatic fever at Caserta Hospital (30 December 1942-16 February 1943) and Nocera Hospital (16 February-30 April 1943), PG 49 Fontanellato (11 May-9 September 1943), Oflag VIII-F Mährisch-Trübau (15 March-6 May 1944), Oflag 79 Brunswick (6 May 1944-12 April 1945). Four escape attempts: the first immediately after capture, but was recaptured straight way; the second on 9 November 1943 when he jumped from a train moving at night, 10 miles north of Florence, with Major Mander (Green Howards) and was not recaptured for six weeks; the third was at Frosinone, Italy when he escaped with Captain Crawford (RASC) and Captain Mears, but was recaptured immediately; and the fourth was with Captain Crawford (RASC), Captain Mears, and Private Sage (RAC) when they dropped from a train near Bolzano, Italy, and were recaptured after 12 hours.

Thomas PRINCE (1897-?) (School House 1910-1914). Major, Royal Sussex Regiment. Captured May 1940. POW no.353. Interned at Oflag IX-A, Spangenberg, Hesse.

Kenneth Michael REINOLD (1918-1995) (Harper House 1933-1937). Captain, Royal Marines. Captured August 1941. POW no.3341. Interned at Marlag Und Milag Nord, M&MN (Marlag O), Westertimke, Germany.

Marcell William Vellacott RICHARDS (1916-1987) (Westcott House 1930-1934). Private, Oxford & Bucks. L.I. Captured 1940. POW no.17628. Interned at Stalag 344, Lambinowice, Poland.

Philip John ROPER (1918-2011) (Lyon House 1932-1936). Major, Dorsetshire Regiment. Captured September 1944. POW no.91857. Interned at Oflag VII-B, Eichstätt, Bavaria.

John Hugh Chitty ROWE (1912-1987) (The Green 1926-1930). Flight Lieutenant, 600 Squadron, A.A.F. Fighter Command, II Group (service no. 90089). Captured on 10 May 1940 at Oud-Beijerland, Netherlands. POW no. 386. Wounded when captured and in hospital at Oud-Beijerland (10 May-15 June 1940), Zuiderziekenhuis, Rotterdam (15 Juen-3 July 1940) and Homemark, Dulag Luft, Frankfurt-am-Maine (3 July-23 October 1940). Interned at Dulag Luft, Frankfurt-am-Maine (23 October-15 December 1940), Stalag Luft I Barth (16 December 1940-10 April 1942), Stalag Luft III Sagan (11 April 1942-27 January 1945), Stalag Luft III Marlag and Milag Nord (4 February-10 April 1945).

POW card of David Edward Charles Russell (Harper 1936-1941)

David Edward Charles RUSSELL (1923-2013) (Harper House 1936-1941). Lieutenant, Parachute Regiment. Captured September 1944. POW no.563. Interned at Oflag 79, Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

Kenneth William Ridley SMALE, MC (1920-1994) (Abbeylands 1934-1938). Lieutenant, Royal Marines Commando. Captured at Dieppe on 19 August 1942. POW no.4055. Interned at Oflag VII-B, Eichstätt (September 1942-April 1945). An escape attempt was made from a tunnel dug from the camp under the wire and road into a German civilian garden through which eight men escaped before discovery, but all were recaptured.

John Gordon SMITH (1917-2004) (Abbeylands 1930-1934). Flying Officer, R.C.A.F. Captured 1945.

Thomas STALLARD, DSO, MBE (1904-1983) (Lyon House 1918-1921). Major, Durham Light Infantry. Captured June 1940. It was reported in the Lyon House Letter in July 1940 that he was last seen surrounded by German armoured cars putting up a strong resistance and that he and his men were short of food and ammunition at the time. POW no.368. Interned in Germany at Oflag VII-C/H Laufen Castle, Bavaria, Oflag IX-A/H Spangenberg Castle, Hesse, and Oflag IV-C Colditz, Saxony. In the Lyon House Letter, July 1941, his housemaster A.H. Trelawny-Ross asked former pupils to write to Tom Stallard at Oflag VII-C/H, saying ‘Do write. Type best. Both sides, one sheet. Your name at top. Your name and address on envelope. Be guarded.’ In the Lyon House Letter, July 1943, A.H. Trelawny-Ross wrote that Henry Stallard informed him that Tom had made two attempts to escape from Germany and was now in an ancient castle, which seems formidable, adding ‘Good luck to him next time.’ Major Tom Stallard also appears to have been interned at some point in Oflag VI-B Warburg from where he engineered an escape attempt with Captain David Walker of the Black Watch. Group Captain Douglas Bader later described the event in the Sunday Express on 4 November 1945: ‘One cannot finish with VI-B without mentioning what was in my opinion the most brilliant escape conception of the war. Two of the people closely connected with it were Major Tom Stallard, of the D.L.I., and Captain David Walker, of the Black Watch. The scheme was to fuse the perimeter lights and searchlights and to make a mass break over the wire. It was necessary to build scaling ladders to get over the wire, with an extension in the shape of a plank which would fall across the double barbed wire fence so that the fugitives could run up the ladder, across the wire by the plank and jump down the other side to freedom. It was expected that the lights could be fused only for a very short time and the drill was laid on for this. In actual fact the fusing was a roaring success, since the lights went out and remained out the whole night. The intended number of officers did not get away, but I believe 30 cleared the wire, of whom three got back to England, Captain Coombe Tennant, Major Arkwright and Major Fuller. Several others got a long way before they were caught, Tom Stallard and Dick Page having a perfect trip until they were discovered hiding during the day on the German-Dutch frontier preparatory to crossing that night. Like so many escapees they were discovered by children on a Sunday afternoon.’

Cecil Alexander STRICKLAND (1913-1967) (The Green 1927-1930). Warrant Officer, 10 Squadron R.A.F., 4 Group Bomber Command (service no.903527). Captured on 11 May 1941 during Heligoland Bight. POW no.21. Interned at Dulag Luft Oberursel (13-30 May 1941), Stalag XVIII-A Wolfsberg (2-19 June 1941), Stalag Luft II Litzmannstadt (24 June-1 July 1941), Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf (2 July 1941-5 May 1942), Stalag Luft III Sagan (7 May 1942-23 June 1943), Stalag Luft VI Heydekrug (June 1943-July 1944), Stalag 357 Thorn (July-August 1944), Stalag 357 Fallingbostel (August 1944-6 April 1945). Made two unsuccessful tunnel escape attempts at Sagan.

Harry Lestock THORNTON (1906-1987) (Abbey House 1923-1925). Major, R.A.M.C. Captured at Tobruk in 1942. POW in a camp in Italy for a year before being repatriated. While a POW he improvised anaesthetic apparatus for use in the camp.

William Eldon TUCKER, MBE (1903-1991) (Abbey House 1919-1922). Major, R.A.M.C. (service no.47829). Captured May 1940.

Michael Derrick VAN LESSEN, MC (1916-1992) (The Green 1930-1934). Major, Hampshire Regiment. Captured August 1943. POW no.260. Interned at Oflag XII-B, Hadamar, Hesse.

William Russell Willoughby WEALLENS (1896-1971) (School House 1910-1914). Lieutenant-Colonel, Gurkha Rifles (service no.134/IA). Captured November 1942. POW no.1667. Interned at Oflag 79, Brunswick, Lower Saxony.

Piece of embroidery made by E.L. Windsor (d 1927-31) at Oflag VII-B Eichstätt, 1943-44.

Evered Leigh WINDSOR (1913-1987) (Harper House 1927-1931). Second Lieutenant, Royal West Kent Regiment, 12^th Division. Captured near Amiens, France, on 23 May 1940. POW no. 33110. Interned at Stalag II-A Neubrandenburg (29 May-26 June 1940), Oflag VII-C Laufen (June 1940-March 1941), Stalag XXI-D Posen (March-June 1941), Oflag V-B Biberach (June-October 1941), Oflag VI-B Warburg (October 1941-September 1942), Oflag VII-B Eichstätt (September 1942-April 1945), Stalag VII-A Moosburg (April 1945). He made two unsuccessful tunnelling escape attempts at Oflag VI-B Warburg under Captain R.F. Mortimer, Coldstream Guards. In April 2025 a framed piece of embroidery made by E.L. Windsor at Oflag VII-B Eichstätt in 1943/44 and labelled ‘Leigh Windsor, son of Uncle Arthur. Taken prisoner at Dunkirk. POW for the whole war’, was generously donated to Harper House.

Sidney Mervyn Ropner WOODS (1909-1976) (School House 1922-1926). Major, Royal Marines. Captured on 14 September 1942 (in North Africa?). POW no. 152. Interned at Derna, North Africa (15-20 September 1942), PG 75 Bari, Italy (22 September-29 November 1942), PG 35 Certosa di Padula (29 November 1942-30 March 1943), PG 38 Poppi (30 March-30 July 1943), PG 19 Bologna (30 July-11 September 1943), Stalag VII-A Moosburg (14-20 September 1943), Stalag V-C Malschbach (21-25 September 1943), Stalag XII-B Frankenthal (27 September 1943-1 September 1944), Marlag und Milag Nord (2 September 1944-10 April 1945), Stalag X-C Nienburg (20 April-May 1945). Too part in a mass break out at Camp PG 19 Bologna on 10 September 1943 but they were rounded up by SS German Troops who had at dawn encircled the camp.

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