Leo Heaps & 23rd Can.Field Coy

September 1944 - March 1945.

Airey Neave

British officer Airey Neave in his escape outfit, his first attempt to get out of Colditz, where dressed as a German guard he tried to stroll out of the front gate.

He had fashioned his costume from an RAF tunic, dyed green, and made a cap out of a blanket. The colour was not perfect but the tailoring was impeccable. Making his move on the 28th August 1941 he passed one sentry post without being halted, but was stopped at the second. He explained to the guard that he was delivering a message to the Kommandant and was allowed to pass. In the end he was given away by his not wholly German manner and was surrounded by guards as he was selecting a bicycle to ride away on. Neave escaped once more on the 5th January 1942, again dressed as a German and this time accompanied by the Dutchman Tony Luteyn, they made a quick exit from a theatrical production using the trap door beneath the stage. They then tried to walk out the front door once more, and Neave was not detected this time and he became the first British prisoner to make a "Home Run" to Switzerland. Shortly after his return to England, Airey Neave joined MI9 and was able to impart his knowledge on the art of escaping.