W/O Wireless Operator/Navigator Stanley Hope

	General experience and audio clip.
	This page: includes inventory and audio clip.

TO PRINT THIS ARTICLE ... ... click on print-friendly pdf which opens in a new tab/window. To open PDFs you will need Acrobat Reader. Most computers will already have the Reader but if not there is a free download here

An example of the very fine illuminated text from 'The Royal Air Force School for Prisoners of War' booklet

Inventory of the Donation

• Tape recorded
• Yorkshire Post Kriegie Edition (POW magazine)
• RAF service book
• POW log book
• Flying log book
• Booklet, 'The Royal Air Force School for Prisoners of War'
• Letters from Comtess Andree de Jongh, G. M., Comet Line founder
• Articles about the Comet Line and its founder
• Photographs of people connected with the Comet Line
• Aerial photographs

The "two Elizabeths" who helped Stan Hope in Belgium - they sheltered people while their papers were being forged

While trying to get back to England this brother and sister helped Stan (on the left). He even went to the cinema "with" them - walking a little behind so that if accosted they would not also be caught.

A portrait of Stan Hope from his POW log book

Kriegie version of Rudyard Kipling's "If"

"My Bed Space, Stalag Luft 4"

Prisoners were counted 'like sheep' when an escape was detected

Stanley Hope Audio Clip:
"On the Loose" in Belgium, evading the Germans.
The interviewer is Peter Liddle

Audio Clip Requires Real Player - free download here

Transcript of Audio Clip

So I went and knocked on the door but I did scare them - they wouldn't help me at all, they were very frightened, so I - what did I do next? Oh yes, I went to the church, the Catholic church, it was early Mass and I went and sat at the back of the church until everybody had gone and then I asked the Priest could he help me and he was frightened too - he said he couldn't help me at all, so I went to a café. . .

[Peter Liddle: Still in uniform?]

. . . still in uniform - yes. I went into a café and I forgot a café in France is a beer parlour, a pub, and I ordered coffee and she said "no, we haven't got any coffee" so I ordered a beer then.

[Peter Liddle: In what language?]

In French, I had a little bit of French and I had some French money too. They gave us escape money, as they called it, so I ordered a beer and paid for it and it was getting light then and I thought I'd better get out of here into the country again so I started walking out of the village and I came across a railway line with a level crossing and I still had some sandwiches left so I sat on the embankment by the railway line and ate my sandwiches and while I was sitting there a train stopped just above on the line full of German soldiers and I thought "oh dear". I just sat there and didn't make a move, ate my sandwiches and the train pulled away and nobody said anything so I thought "good, another escape!"

	General experience and audio clip.
	This page: includes inventory and audio clip.