Escape Report di John Dickson (TNA, WO 208/3317)

John was captured on 29 June 1941 near Sirte with his comrades. He was immediately taken to Benghazi. Then, from Tarhuna, he was shipped to Taranto, where he arrived on 3 September. From there, he was loaded onto a train to Capua and then to PG 41, Montalbo. He left this camp on 29 March 1943 and was transferred to PG 35 Padula. On 12 August, he was transferred again to PG 19 Bologna.

In Bologna, he took part in digging an escape tunnel but the plan never came to fruition. The Armistice of 8 September 1943 cut the PoWs’ efforts short as the Germans occupied the camp and loaded all the PoWs onto a train headed for Germany.

On 12 September, the train passed near Mantova. When the Germans took a break, the PoWs were allowed to stay in the open between their train and another loaded with Italians. As they boarded the train, the guards gave their water battles to the Italians to be filled.

John started walking south, hoping to reach the river Po. Near a bridge, he ran into a German who addressed him in Italian. He managed to understand that he was asking him the time. Luckily, his answer did not arouse suspicion, and he could reach the other side of the river. At this point, he met two young girls and confessed to them that he was an escaped Englishman. They took him to a nearby farmhouse, where they gave him food, wine, and directions.

He spent the night at a farm, and the next day, while walking, he stopped to chat with two Italians who advised him to take a train and took him to a nearby station. Without a ticket or money, John jumped on a train headed for Rovigo. When questioned by the ticket inspector, John told him he was an escaped PoW heading for Bari. «He wrote out the stations which I would have to pass and told me to change in Rovigo.»

John passed through Ferrara and Rimini, both occupied by the Germans. He then reached Ancona and Montesilvano, where his journey by train was interrupted by an Allied bombing that had destroyed the railway. Having no other options, John started walking again. He was aided by a couple of Jews who told him that the Allies had liberated Bari and Foggia. Moreover, they sheltered him on their farm, where, as he recalled, he was «exceedingly well-looked after for ten days».

On 28 September 1943, he left with a group of Italians heading for Foggia. Near Pennapiemonte, another English soldier, Bert Barker, joined the group, and together they reached Montenero di Bisaccia. They spent five days there, finally managing to contact the Allied forces nearby, and were taken to Foggia.

John was then evacuated via plane to Tunis and was able to return home on 27 October 1943.