The irrestible lure of escapism

Published: 19 March 2009

During WWII, networks of ‘escape lines’ were formed across the continent of Europe, in order to assist allied personnel, and other fugitives, who found themselves trapped behind enemy lines. The ‘helpers’ of those lines worked selflessly, at great risk to themselves and their families. If captured, they faced torture by the Gestapo, incarceration in concentration camps, and death – and the escapers or evaders caught with them would be sent to POW camps.

At the end of the war, in 1945, The Royal Air Force’s Escaping Society (Rafes) was formed at the British Embassy in Paris, with a 50-year mandate to repay the debt of gratitude owed to those gallant ‘helpers’ of the escape lines, who had hidden, fed, clothed, nursed, supported, and eventually returned airmen to the UK in order to continue the fight for freedom. The Society performed this task with dedication and affection until its ‘retirement’ in 1995.

Prior to that retirement, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, a group of service and ex-service personnel took up the challenge to support the Rafes funds for the helpers through a series of arduous sponsored events, retracing multiple escape line routes from Norway to Gibraltar. These events were known as ‘Home-Run Challenges’, and the participants not only followed the escape line routes by parachuting, cycling, walking, river crossing, and mountain walking, but also visited the actual safe-houses and met the surviving helpers and their families.

During the course of these ‘Home-Run’ events, contact was made with former WWII veterans, in the form of: The Army POW Escape Club, The Monte San Martino Trust, SOE veterans, The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Fany), the Motor Gun Boat crews of the secret flotillas, Resistance workers, and of course the inspirational escape line ‘helpers’ themselves.

Interest grew; greater knowledge of the escape lines and the helpers was gained and, in 1996, a reunion took place at the Eden Camp WWII Museum at Malton. At that first reunion, led by Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges, approximately 90 escapers and evaders from all three services attended and The Escape Lines Museum (within Eden Camp) was inaugurated.

By 2003, the organisation had grown much larger with hundreds of people attending events. It had also changed its name to the ‘WWII Escape Lines Memorial Society’, or Elms, as it is known by members, with an official structure and constitution. It has its own logo or badge depicting an escaper/evader walking over mountainous terrain by moonlight, within a circle of barbed wire, which is broken by the dove of peace flying through.

In April 2006, to mark the 10th Anniversary of the Reunions, Elms achieved its aim of erecting a permanent monument to the helpers, at the Reunions base at Eden Camp. Fittingly, the two rough granite blocks that comprise the eight-foot high memorial, originated in a quarry at the start of the high-level escape route over the Pyrenees, and were donated by the owner, an Elms member whose father had been a WWII mountain guide over the dangerous route from St Girons to Esterri in Spain.

Following excavation, the 11 tons of rose-coloured granite were transported to Eden Camp, and now rest in a small memorial garden, topped by a plaque of polished black Lakeland slate, bearing a dedication to all people of the former occupied countries who assisted Allied Escapers and Evaders in WWII. Now bonded together, the rough granite and the polished Lakeland slate symbolise the union between Great Britain and France in WWII. It is thought to be the only large stone memorial to the ‘Helpers’ in the world, and is the focus for our commemoration and tributes at the annual Elms Memorial Services.

At the present time, our Society boasts among its membership former escaper/evader soldiers, sailors, and airmen; safe-house keepers, WWII mountain guides, couriers, and Resistance and SOE veterans. They are joined by later generations of their families, and also by many others who also support the aims of the Society, including post-WWII service personnel, past and present, several of who qualify as escapers and evaders in their own right from post WWII conflicts.

Our Society is deliberately non-sectarian, non-political, and non-nationalistic – we are simply dedicated to the memory of the selfless actions, and the present day welfare, of the helpers of WWII who assisted allied escapers and evaders in all the formerly occupied countries.

Our trails began in 1988, and since then thousands of people, of many ages and nationalities, have trodden the escape line routes, walking the paths of history. The trails are not just walks, they have educational and commemorative events built into them to emphasise their significance. Due to the nature of escape and evasion, the trails follow arduous routes, usually take four days to complete, and emphasise the difficulties faced by the original participants, who were often ill-equipped and under great duress.

There are places on the events for non-walking participants, particularly veterans wishing to re-visit the scenes of their past, and to reacquaint with friends made long ago. Currently Elms is organising or supporting Trails (many are not for the fainthearted) across much of Europe, based on the original escape lines.

Should our society be of interest to anyone, or if you wish to share details of your escape/evasion or forward names of your helpers for our archive, we would be pleased to hear from you. You can begin to share the same fascinating and inspiring histories, and find out about the Trails, by visiting our website www.escapelines.com

Our Helper Memorial and Escape Line Museum is located within the Eden Camp WWII Theme Museum, at Malton in North Yorkshire (01653 697 777). The Founder and Secretary of Elms is Roger Stanton who can be contacted on 01423 508 667.

The motto on our crest, which we follow with pride, is: ‘We Remember’.

We also aim to live by the words of the late Gervaise Cowell, MBE, a former member of MI6 and Elms: “I help the old to remember, and the young to understand.”