I had no idea until this afternoon that The Hayes had been a prisoner of war transit camp during the Second World War and that the grounds still hold part of the tunnel through which five prisoners successfully escaped over seventy years ago. Not a lot to see now except for this small, dark entrance, which is carefully padlocked these days (against any attempt by conference participants to follow suit perhaps?!) but a fascinating story attached to it.
The tunnel took less than a month to construct, although the prisoners had only spoons and plates with which to dig. New buildings have now replaced the old but at the time the tunnel ran from the chapel (used as a recreational area) to the outside world on the other side of the barbed wire fencing. The story was apparently told in the book and film "The One That Got Away", the title referring to the one prisoner who not only got out of the camp but out of the country, initially to Canada, then to the United States (neutral at the time), on to Mexico and back to Germany. His first mission with the Luftwaffe after his return was his last, however, as his plane came down just off the Dutch coast and his body was never found.
A lot of us from the summer school went to view what is left of this historic site and to hear the story. Now, given that we are all writers, with an exciting event to ponder on - perhaps you should watch out for a slew of wartime escape tales in the coming months!
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| The "tools" they smuggled from the dining room |
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