Description
Wartime log belonging to Pte. William Macdonald from his time in the German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III, dated 1944 - 1945, containing several pages of verses, 15 pages of names and home addresses of other prisoners, 25 tipped in photographs, including one of the Stalag VIIIB school tutors, 5 of life in the camp including the cobblers, 28 drawings in pencil and watercolour by various other P.O.W.'s, including F. Perkins, Jas. T. R. Taylor, G.R. "Chips" Carpenter, Flight Lt. A. Cassie, R. Trunole, A.P. Culverwell, Lt. D.A. Woods U.S.A.A.F, Lindsay Grafton Greenaway R.A.A.F, Flight Lt. P.Hood, A. G. Turton, drawings a mixture of comical scenes of camp life, a view of the camp theatre, a double page watercolour showing the famous "Harry " tunnel from Hut 104, a pencil sketch of the D-Day landings, a single sketch of Milag Nord [Merchant Navy camp] and saucy postcard scenes, original cloth, tape repairs to backstrip, a few leaves loose
Footnote
Note: Stalag Luft III [Permanent Camp for Airman #3] was a German camp for airforce servicemen based in near Zagen in Poland. The camp opened in 1942, with the North compound for British servicemen opened in June 1943.
The position of the camp was selected in an attempt to prevent escape by tunnelling. However, this camp was the location of two of the war's most famous escape attempts, potrayed in film in The Wooden Horse and The Great Escape. It is thought that over 600 prisoners worked on the three tunnels - Tom, Dick & Harry - depicted in The Great Escape. Harry was the only tunnel to be completed, the entrance hidden under a stove in Hut 104. Lindsay Greenaway drew a sketch of the tunnel in MacDonald's log along with the verse "Silently below the surface/ twenty five feet below the floor/ thus the Goons have cause to curse us/ and remember - One-o-Four/ 24-3-43".
Another sketch of MacDonald cobbling in his tartan troos was drawn by Alex Cassie in October 1944. A well known member of the escape team, Cassie worked on the endless list of forged documents required by the escapees. He was portrayed in the film by Donald Pleasance.