Clutton-Brock Oliver - The long road: trials and tribulations of airmen prisoners from Bankau to Berlin, June 1944-May 1945

During the research and writing of this book, Raymond Crompton was privileged to correspond with, and to meet, the following former Stalag Luft VII prisoners of war, without whose generous assistance this book could not have been written. Sadly, many of them are no longer with us:

J. R. Abbott, J.O. Ackroyd, E. Adair, P.B. Aitken, C.J. Aldred, K.C. Anderton, T.A. Applegath, T.R. Aspinall, G.J. Badham, G. Baker, S. Barlow, S. Barraclough, G.H. Bateman, C.S. Batt, G.S. Baylis, H. Bennett, A.R. Bennett, L. Benson, T.G.W. Berry, B. Bilinski, C. Birds, D.A. Blackford, W.A. Blake, H.J. Branch, K.R. Brant, A.R. Brice, P.F. Broadribb, A. Broddle, F.W. Brown, P.H. Brown, H. Bruneau, D.R. Burns, C. Bryce, K.W. Campbell, N.C. Capar, F.J. Carey, J.E. Carter, D.R. Christianson, A.W. Clarke, A.W.J. Cleeve, R.C. Clements, A.P. Cochrane, The Reverend Captain J.B. Collins, W.S. Comfort, A. Coope, V.V. Cooper, P.H. Craig, M. Crapper, I.R.B. Crawford, G. Cross, W.S. Dashwood, B.H. Davis, J.A. Davies, T.D. DeRenzy, J.M. DeLuca, Ken Dobbs, W.T. Doidge, G.E. Dunham, T. Durrant, R.D. Eadie, C.E. Eastwood, K.E. Elliott, R.R. English, H.C. Evans, E. Evison, D.A. Farrington, J.C. Fereday, W.N. Fethers, E. Finlay, J.E. Fisher, G.A. Flay, G.H. Flintoft, D.W. Foster, A.P. Franczak, J.S. Freeman, J.E.M. Fullum, G.H.P. Gibbens, C.H. Giles, C. Gillow, R.J. Goode, D.W. Gore, R.W. Gowing, A. Grant, D.R. Grant, H.R.C. Grant, D.G. Gray, K.W. Green, R.L. Griffiths, T.C. Guy, W.R. Haddon, A.F. Hamilton, M.A. Harrington, R.S. Hartgroves, G.T.H. Haworth, E. Healy, R.P. Heard, R. Heasman, I. Hewitt, L.G. Hillyard, W. Hodgson, F. Hooker, J.M. Hooper, W.R. Horner, J.R. Horton, L.E. Howard, B.J. Howarth, P. Hudson, W.J.J. Hudson, D. Hunter, E.H. Hyde, J. Ireland, P.D. Jack, A.E. Jardine, D.W.M. James, J.S. Jenkins, N.E. Jennings, J.D. Jones, S.A. Keirle, A.E. Kemp, G.H. Kilbryde, P.S. Kirby, W.H. Knox, S. Konarzewski, G.V. Korner, M.A. Laffin, D.M.D. Lambert MBE, K.A. Lane DFC, D. Lewis, P.A. Lewis, A. Lloyd, R.F. Lloyd (later Lloyd-Davies), J.W. Lovatt, W.D. Low, A.B.D. Lyon, J.F. Macdonald, D. MacTaggart, A. Madelaine, S. Malick, F.P. Mannion, R. Margerison, D.C. Matthews, A.W. Maxwell, J.D.W. Maxwell, J.R. McConnell, A. McKibben, D.N. McLaren, A.O. McMurdon, C.J. Medland DFM, W.G. Melrose, J.W. Mills, K.C. Minifie, E. Morgan, J. Morgan, D. Neal, R.A. Neills, P.J. Nolan, R. Nutter, W.A. Oakes, N.F. Oates, W.D. Ogilvie, R.P. Olsen, R.F. Osborne, N. Ostrom, A.E. Palmer, B.J.P. Palmer, H.W. Pankratz, D.S. Parker, K.J. Pendray, J.E. Penman, J.T. Pett, C.C. Pettit, J.A. Philpot, A.E. Potter, P.J. Potts, W.A. Poulton, S.R. Price, G.H. Pringle, K. Prowd, E. Quigley, E.J. Raffill, W.J. Ramsbottom, H.H. Rathband, R.F. Raymond, B.A. Reaume, J.I. Rees, C.R. Richardson, A.A. Rigby, J.A. Robertson, J. Robinson, J.E. Robson, H.P. Rose, A.J. Sargeant, E. Sargeant, L. Sargent, D.R. Scopes, E.W. Scott, P.Y. Sekine, A.E. Seller, E.G. Selwyn, J.A. Shenton, S.A. Silver, A. Simpson, M.J. Simpson, P.S. Simpson, J.G. Smith, W.B.R. Smith, V. Smyth, F.S.A. Spriggs, R.J. Stapleton, F. Stead, J.E. Stead, D.T. Stevens, V.H. Stone, G. Surgeoner, N.H. Swale, K.E. Tate, K.G. Taylor, R. Taylor, W. Taylor, T.R. Teague, M. Theunissen, W.L. Thompson, G.B. Thomson, J. Thomson, E.J. Tolhurst, B.A. Tomblin, J.F. Tomney, A.H.J. Trumble, F.J. Tudor DFM, P.S. Twynam, J.L. Umscheid, K. Valek, C. Van de Velde, L.J. Venus, P.O. Wadsworth, H.W. Wagner, R.G Walters, H. Watkins, J.C. Watkins, C.R. Watkinson DFM, J.G. Weedon, C. Weeks, F. Wells, L.E. Westbrook DFM, J.A.B. Wetherall, J.W. Whippy, T.S. White, D.J.R. Wilcox, J. Wiles, E.T. Williams, J. Williamson, N. Wilmot, P.G.G. Wilmshurst, L.E.D. Winchester, W.G. Winkley, H.T. Winter, P.B. Withnall, L.A. Woodward, D. Worthing, S.D. Wright, V.S.J. Zucker.

Thanks also go to C.M. de Bounevialle and L. Poole (both POWs at Stalag Luft III [Sagan]), who were crew members of POWs at Stalag Luft VII; and also to two aircrew evaders, F/O Ross Wiens RCAF (crew member of James Umscheid RCAF), and Colin Fowler (crew member of Jack Wilcox RNZAF).

The support and help of the following is also gratefully acknowledged:

Air Historical Branch 5 (RAF) (particularly Messrs Sebastian Cox and Graham Day); M.R. Aldred; Michael Allman (re Sgt P.F.J. Hayes and the crew of Lancaster LL840); Amicale des Forces Ariennes Franaises Libres; Annie Arguile (for help with French translation); Caroline Barnard (South Africa); Mair Bateman; Patricia Batt; D. Bishop; Gerald and Sir Christian Bonington CVO, CBE, DL (re their father, Lt Charles Bonington SAS); Peter Capon (archivist, Museum of Army Flying); Dave Champion (researcher); Bill Chorley; Elsie Cleeve; K. Clements; John Clinch; Joan Collingwood (re her husband Cuthbert Collingwood); Richard Collins (son of The Reverend Captain John B. Collins); Dorothy Davis; Dawe Brothers (Hereford, re The Reverend Collins); Ryan Dudley (Australia, re the crew of SR384); Elva M. Durrant; Colonel Graham C.L. Du Toit (SAAF, Retd); Steve Dyer (re A.M. Hughes RAAF); Jon England (artist, re Ted Milligan); Mary Escott; Sren Flensted (historian, Denmark); Roger Frost (re photo of the Rev. J.B. Collins); Tony Grant (re Thomas Trimble); Janet Griffiths; Sheila Griffiths; W/C John Grogan RAF (Retd) (re his father F/O R.J. Grogan and Halifax MZ711); L. Harries; Bob Hills (re John Collins at Marnhull); Michael Hingston (author of Into Enemy Arms); Alan Howe (nephew of Sgt Richard Enfield); John Howes (re Dutch affairs); Mel Hughes (son of F/Sgt Ken Hughes); T. Hyde; Linda Ibrom (researcher, Canada); S.R. James; Max Lambert (historian, New Zealand); Michael LeBlanc (researcher, Canada); Slawomir Litwinski; Carol MacLean (Canada, daughter of D.L. MacLean, for the generous loan of her fathers wartime diary); Errol Martyn (author, New Zealand); Nigel McTeer (son of Anthony McTeer); National Archives of Australia; National Archives of Canada; Ron Niven (re his father William Niven); Peter OBrien (nephew of Joe Smith, 462 Squadron); Alan Orton (re L Detachment SAS); Rita Quigley; Rhys Rees; Edouard Renire (historian, Belgium); Phyllis Robertson; D. Sargeant; Jean Scott; David A. Sharp (re 69 Squadron and Tom Trimble); Lynne Shenton; Kathleen Silver; John Skinner (re diary of his father-in-law Paul Decroix); Margot Surgeoner; Peter and Dorothy Sutherland; Linda Toft (re her father A.C. Law); A. Wadsworth; W. Watkins; W.R. Watkins; J. Tom Watts DFM; K. Watts; Laurie Woods (460 (RAAF) Squadron historian); Mrs Maisie Yeo (re her late husband Edward).