Great Escapes: The Story of MI9's Second World War Escape and Evasion Maps

The definitive history of MI9's emergency escape and evasion mapping programme and the contribution the maps made to victory in 1945. Fascinating stories of secret maps used by prisoners of World War II. The creation of MI9 in December 1939, the rationale for the new military intelligence branch and the context of the history of military mapping on silk is outlined. The map production programme is described, together with its progress and the challenges faced. The various groups of maps are identified and described, together with the source maps on which they were based. The ingenious methods of smuggling the maps into the camps, with other escape aids, in apparently innocuous leisure items are described. The maps were then copied and reproduced to support the escapes. Coded correspondence with the camps is discussed, and a successful deciphering of some of that correspondence is provided. The implications for the escape and evasion programme were considerable, but so too were the implications of the passage of intelligence from the camps to aid the war effort, a factor apparently largely overlooked. Historical Background and the Creation of MI9 The map production programme and the compilation of a carto-bibliography Escape Aids and Communication with the Camps Coded Correspondence Airey Neave and the Schaffhausen Salient the Baltic ports and maps produced in the camps The creation of MI9 in December 1939, the rationale for the new military intelligence branch and the context of the history of military mapping on silk is outlined in this history. The map production program is described, together with its progress and the challenges faced. The various groups of maps are identified and described, together with the source maps on which they were based. The ingenious methods of smuggling the maps into the camps, with other escape aids, in apparently innocuous leisure items are described. The maps were then copied and reproduced to support the escapes. Coded correspondence with the camps is discussed, and a successful deciphering of some of that correspondence is provided.

This is Harry Verlander’s story, one of five true-life recollections from the Second World War in Tales From The Special Forces Club.

The Special Forces Club is a fabled gentlemen’s club, based in the heart of London. It has a closely guarded secret: you have to be a genuine hero to be a member.

Harry had volunteered aged 16 in 1942. By 1944, he was parachuting into France on D-Day as part of the Jedburgh espionage teams. His main adventure, though, was in the jungles of Burma fighting the Japanese. This is his story.

MI9's secret escape and evasion mapping programme is one of World War II's most fascinating facts. Discover how maps printed on silk and rayon aided the escape of thousands of prisoners and evaders from occupied Europe. Delve into the extraordinary escape stories and find out how the maps were smuggled into prisoner of war camps inside everyday objects including board games -- Source other than Library of Congress A fascinating story of the secret maps used by World War II prisoners. The definitive history of MI9's emergency escape and evasion mapping programme and the contribution the maps made to victory in 1945. Fascinating stories of secret maps used by prisoners of World War II.