The Canteen Tunnel

Early in 1941, the British prisoners had gained access to the drains which ran beneath the floors of the castle. Entrance to these was from a manhole cover in the floor of the canteen. After initial reconnaissance trips, it was decided that the drain should be extended, and an exit made in a small grass area which was overlooked from the canteen window.

From here, the prisoners planned to creep off the grass, and down the steep drop below the eastern outside wall of the castle. A trap was made at the exit of the tunnel, meaning that only one further problem had to be overcome - the sentry which patrolled the grass area. It was decided that the solution to this would be bribery. The prisoners calculated which sentry would be on duty during the planned night of the escape, 29th May. Howard Gee, who had previous experience with bribing German guards, got to work, and soon persuaded him that after a predetermined signal he should ‘look the other way’ for ten minutes while on sentry duty. His reward was to be 500 Marks - 100 in advance , and the remainder dropped out of a window on the night in question.
So, the stage was set. On the evening of 29th May, Pat Reid hid in the canteen when it was locked up for the night. He unscrewed the lock from the door, and returned back to the courtyard. After the evening Appel, the escapers slipped into the canteen unnoticed. They entered the tunnel and waited for the signal to proceed.
Unknown to the prisoners, they had been betrayed by the guard which they had bribed. Waiting on the grass area was Hauptmann Priem and his guard force. Pat Reid continues the story in his own words:

"I climbed out on to the grass and Rubert Barry, immediately behind me, started to follow. My shadow was cast on the wall of the Kommandantur, and at that moment I noticed a second shadow beside my own. It held a revolver. I yelled to Rupert to get back as a voice behind me shouted, ‘Hande hoch! Hande hoch!’. I turned to face a German officer levelling his pistol at me."

Hauptmann Priem ends the story : "And the Guard? He kept his 100 Marks; he got extra leave, promotion and the War Service Cross."