Patrick Reid
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Patrick R. Reid, MC, MBE, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990), (later Major) in the British Army, and noted non-fiction / historical author. Educated at Wimbledon College.
A Nazi Prisoner of War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle. One of the 'Laufen Six', Reid arrived at Colditz in November of 1940. Reid was one of the lucky few to escape successfully, although he did not return to England until after the war.
[edit] 'Colditz: The Colditz Story'
His memoirs of his time in Colditz were published in the book Colditz: The Colditz Story (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1952). This book was the basis for a 1955 film The Colditz Story, directed by Guy Hamilton and with John Mills playing Reid.
Although focusing mainly upon life inside Colditz castle and the development of an 'escape academy', the final chapters of the book are devoted to Reid's own escape. He chronicles everyday prison life, in which characters such as Douglas Bader and Airey Neave appear with no special mention, reporting events in an anecdotal and almost comical style.
On 14 October 1942, Reid, along with Major Ronald B. Littledale, Lieutenant-Commander William E. Stephens, and Flight Lieutenant Howard D. Wardle, escaped. They slipped through the camp kitchens into the German yard, into the Kommandatur cellar and down to a dry moat through the park. Then they split into two pairs. Reid and Wardle took four days to reach Switzerland, Littledale and Stephens took five.
[edit] 'Latter Days at Colditz'
Reid also wrote Latter Days at Colditz (Hodder and Stoughton, 1953).
Whilst his first book ended with Reid and Hank shaking hands under the first Swiss lamp post, the sequel follows the trials and tribulations of the escape committee until the eventual liberation of the castle by U.S. troops on April 15, 1945. It gives even more anecdotal insight into the events following his escape, including the French Tunnel and the Colditz Glider, or the occasion when the entire Dutch contingent unhooked their P.O.W. railway carriage from the rest of the train unbeknownst to the German guards.
Reid served as technical advisor to The Colditz Story movie and to the UK Television Series 'Colditz' which ran from October 1972 until April 1974.
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