Great Escapes: The story of MI9’s Second World War escape and evasion maps

Great Escapes: The story of MI9’s Second World War escape and evasion maps
Barbara Bond

The definitive history of MI9's emergency escape and evasion mapping programme and the contribution the maps made to victory in 1945. Fascinating stories of secret maps used by prisoners of World War II.The creation of MI9 in December 1939, the rationale for the new military intelligence branch and the context of the history of military mapping on silk is outlined. The map production programme is described, together with its progress and the challenges faced. The various groups of maps are identified and described, together with the source maps on which they were based.The ingenious methods of smuggling the maps into the camps, with other escape aids, in apparently innocuous leisure items are described. The maps were then copied and reproduced to support the escapes. Coded correspondence with the camps is discussed, and a successful deciphering of some of that correspondence is provided. The implications for the escape and evasion programme were considerable, but so too were the implications of the passage of intelligence from the camps to aid the war effort, a factor apparently largely overlooked.• Historical Background and the Creation of MI9• The map production programme and the compilation of a carto-bibliography• Escape Aids and Communication with the Camps• Coded Correspondence• Airey Neave and the Schaffhausen Salient• the Baltic ports and maps produced in the camps

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_1bdc038c-b077-5b2c-bb04-6d923b165d33)

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First published 2015

© HarperCollins Publishers 2015

Text © Dr. Barbara A. Bond 2015

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Source ISBN: 9780008141301

Ebook Edition © AUGUST 2015 ISBN: 9780008165062

Version: 2015-08-27

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CONTENTS

Copyright (#ulink_06c35375-4314-50b1-9a8d-0d9b232e687d)

Acknowledgements (#ulink_10456f5f-e793-5ae3-be7a-330b8e3227ab)

Introduction (#ulink_869c55e9-cd51-5c1a-9716-99b5627d3062)

Chapter 1 The Creation of MI9 (#ulink_899905de-4b55-5d2c-b764-fa9f5979e1d3)

Chapter 2 Background to the Mapping Programme (#ulink_9d81c9c0-e38e-562b-a951-ce028e5eb82e)

Chapter 3 The Map Production Programme (#ulink_f362554f-a72f-53a1-af43-4f494ff39594)

Chapter 4 Smuggling Maps and Other Escape Aids into the Camps (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5 Coded Correspondence with the Camps (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 The Schaffhausen Salient and Airey Neave’s Escape (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 Escaping Through the Baltic Ports (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 Copying Maps in the Camps (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 MI9 and its Contribution to Military Mapping (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendices (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendices 1–9 Maps Known to have been Produced by MI9: A Carto-Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendix 10 Decoding a Hidden Message (#litres_trial_promo)

Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Illustration and Photographic Credits (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (#ulink_66fdc458-8f4f-5bb3-8c10-4eb79c0f9259)

I am indebted to many people for the realization of this long held ambition. To many friends and colleagues in Plymouth University especially Professor Wendy Purcell, formerly the Vice-Chancellor, for her inspiration, belief and confidence, Associate Professor Harry Bennett, Professor Mark Brayshay and Professor Kevin Jefferys for their outstanding scholarship, support and encouragement, Professor David McMullan for sharing his knowledge of cryptography, Tim Absalom and Jamie Quinn for their cartographic expertise, Andy Merrington and Lloyd Russell for photographs; to Peter Clark, formerly the Chief Map Research Officer in the Ministry of Defence, long-time professional colleague, mentor and friend, whose cartographic knowledge and expertise, and willingness to share them, remains undiminished; to Paul Hancock, Brian Garvan and Jim Caruth, former colleagues in the Mapping and Charting Establishment RE (now the Defence Geographic Centre); to the custodians of the many map collections, record repositories and museums I have visited and talked to in my pursuit of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle, not least The National Archives, British Library, National Library of Scotland, Macclesfield Silk Museum, University of Glasgow, Second World War Experience Centre, Royal Air Force Museum, and the Intelligence Corps Museum; to John E. Bartholomew and the late John C. Bartholomew, Nicola Shelmerdine, daughter of the late Flight Lieutenant John H. Shelmerdine DFC, and Stephen Pryor, son of the late Commander John Pryor RN, for allowing access to family archives; to the late Professor M. R. D. Foot for sharing his experiences and knowledge.

My deepest thanks go to them all.

This book is dedicated to Roger, Abi and Ben, Adam and Johanna, for their love and support.

INTRODUCTION (#ulink_453cc155-e76d-5c0b-8c5e-0f4405b62dd0)