Here are further details on the remaining 10 of the 24 British soldiers first mentioned in “British Escapees from Camp 59—New Names.” See also “Detailed Accounts of 14 British Escapees.”

Once again, I am grateful to researcher Brian Sims for sharing records concerning these soldiers from the British National Archives.

Of particular interest in the details below are the individual soldiers’ descriptions of the escape night, the names and addresses of their helpers (and one blacklisted fascist), and the escape routes each followed to freedom.

Note that some of the reports are carbon copies of others. Presumably when two soldiers traveled and reached the Allied forces together, only one debriefing report was deemed necessary. In those cases, a carbon was made and the second soldier’s personal information was then added to the top.

John Georgiou

Service Number—1712593
Gunner
49th Battalion, Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
Escaped from Camp 59 on September 14, 1943

Helper:

Domenico Censori
Montefalcone Appenino
Ascoli-Piceno
Provided food and shelter December 2, 1943–June 25, 1944

George Aitken

Service Number—2980168
Lance-Sergeant
93rd Battalion, Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
Captured—January 21, 1943, Maktar, Tunisia
Escaped from Camp 59 on September 14, 1943

George Aitken’s report is a carbon copy of Gregor McKenzie’s report (below).

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Here are further details about 14 of the 24 prisoners listed in “British Escapees from Camp 59—New Names.” This additional information is courtesy of researcher Brian Sims.

These British prisoners were all in Camp 59 at the time of the escape in September 1943. They all reached Allied lines by traveling southward—some over land and some by means of transportation down the coast.

Note that several of the entries reference an escape by boat along the Adriatic Coast from San Benedetto Del Tronto to Termoli. This surely is the escape described in “Nicola and Liberato Lagalla—Rescue by Sea.” In fact, one of escapees listed below, Howard Jones, we know to have escaped from Camp 59 with Captain J. H. D. Millar, and Captain Millar was among those known to have been skippered to safety by the Lagalla brothers (although he is not on Brian’s list).

Frederick Thomas Lockett

Service Number—5050489
Sergeant
2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Date of Birth—February 20, 1921
Home address—Woodbank, Penkridge Staffs, UK

Captured—December 2, 1942
Transit in North Africa
Camp 98 Sicily, December 3–29, 1942
PG 66 Capua, January 2–February 5, 1943
PG 59 Servigliano, February 7–September 15, 1943

Helper:

Francesco Vallorani (farmer)
Montefalcone
Sheltered and fed September 20–November 14, 1943

Transported from San Benedetto to Termoli by boat; arrived November 18, 1943

Albert Ambrose Willis

Service Number—5774137
Sergeant
2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Date of Birth—January 27, 1912

Captured—December 1, 1942
Transit North Africa
PG 98 Sicily
PG 66 Capua, January–February 8, 1943
PG 59 Servigliano, February 9–September 14, 1943

Helper:

Gino Mundi (Farmer)
San Lorenzo
Sheltered and fed for two weeks

Transported from San Benedito to Termoli by boat with help from “A Force”; arrived December 13, 1943

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The 30 men listed below were at one time interned in Camp 59. All were transferred to other camps before the September 1943 breakout. Dates of the men’s P.G. 59 internment are listed with their names.

Twenty-nine of the 30 soldiers are new to this site—Patrick Cahill is the one exception.

British researcher Brian Sims gleaned this information from his British National Archives data. I am most grateful to him for this generous contribution.

Unlike the 24 British soldiers listed in “British Escapees from Camp 59—New Names, who escaped to the Allied lines in the south, these 30 men found freedom via other routes. All returned home safely.

James Bough
Service Number—1086472
Gunner
102nd Regiment, Royal Artillery
Captured January 21, 1941—Sidi Rezegh, Libya
Camp 59 internment—January 23, 1942–January 24, 1943

Victor Boulter
Service Number—T/164744
Driver
Royal Army Service Corps
Captured April 8,1941—Fort Michelli
Camp 59 internment—March 1942–May 1943

R. C. R. Boulton
Service Number—5732581
Corporal
2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment
Captured December 4, 1942—Tunis, Tunesia
Camp 59 internment—March 5, 1942–June 3, 1943

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