The Drainage System Escape Attempt

The sewers under the castle were accessible from various locations. An early British tunnel, the entrance to which was from a manhole cover in the canteen, had made use of these sewers. In June 1944, this tunnel had long been discovered by the Germans. However, the British continued to evaluate the potential usefulness which this network of sewers presented. On 16th June, the guard standing at the archway between the Kommandantur and the approach to the guardhouse heard a noise beneath him. At this spot there was a manhole cover.

He alerted the security officer, who gave the order to lift all three of the manhole covers on the small, cobbled path. Three prisoners, Dick Lorraine, Bos’n Crisp, and Dominic Bruce were consequently pulled out of the sewers underneath. An attempt was made by other prisoners to salvage as much of the tunnel as possible. Three men entered the drains underneath the canteen using a vertical shaft from the old Polish quarters. Unfortunately the German guards beat them to it, and caught them at the bottom of this shaft.