More Info… – Escape and Evasion

There is a wealth of further info available on the subject of escape and evasion – below we’ve listed some of our favourite books, sites, museums and dealers. The list is by no means exhaustive – enjoy!

	Title	Author	Synopsis
1.	MI9: Escape and Evasion 1939-1945	M.R.D. Foot & J.M. Langley	MI9: The British Secret Service that Fostered Escape and Evasion, 1939-1945 and its American CounterpartA classic espionage book about the British secret service that arranged the daring escapes of allied prisoners during World War II
2.	Escape and Evasion: POW Breakouts in World War II	Ian Dear	During World War Two, many tried to break out…but few actually succeeded. Here is the planning and execution of 18 incredible flights to freedom.
3.	Evasion & Escape Devices Produced by MI9, MIS-X SOE in World War II	Phil Froom	This book describes the design, manufacture, covert shipment and use of the many ingenious evasion and escape devices provided to Allied troops during WWII.
4.	Saturday at MI9	Airey Neave	Saturday at M.I.9 is the inside story of the underground escape lines in occupied North-West Europe which brought back to Britain over 4,000 Allied servicemen during World War Two. Airey Neave, who in the last two years of the war was the chief organiser at M.I.9 gives his own unique account.
5.	Great Escapes: The story of MI9’s Second World War Escape and Evasion Maps	Barbara Bond	Comprehensive 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.
6.	Boldness is My Friend	Richard Pape	Pape was an aircrew member who was shot down over occupied territory and imprisoned. His book is about the various prisons he was in and the escape attempts he made, till he finally escaped back to Britain through an ingenious idea of faking a medical problem and being repatriated by the Red Cross during a disabled prisoner exchange.
7.	The Escape Factory, The Story of MIS-X	Lloyd R.Shoemaker	After being wounded in the US Army, Lloyd Shoemaker was transferred to MIS-X and spent the war working at Fort Hunt, Virgina. This is the only currently available book on MIS-X and its covert activities.
8.	Shot Down and on the Run: True Stories of RAF and Commonwealth aircrew of WW2	Graham Pitchfork (Air Commodore)	The RAF and Commonwealth aircrews who got home from behind enemy lines.
9.	The Hidden Catch	Christopher Clayton-Hutton	Clayton Hutton’s own account of his activities in MI9. Now long out of print, but a very good reference to the development and use of escape aids.
10.	Official Secret: The Remarkable Story of Escape Aids, their Invention, Production and the Sequel.	Christopher Clayton-Hutton	The first-hand by the brainchild who masterminded the, manufacture, covert shipment and use of the many ingenious evasion and escape devices provided to Allied troops during WWII.
11.	Last Hope (The Blood Chit Story)	R.E. Baldwin and Thomas William McGarry	This is the absolutely definitive book on Blood Chits (Coolie Chits). Fully illustrated from start to finish with wonderful colour images of blood chits from their invention to the modern day.
12.	Escape and Liberation 1940-45	Alfred J Evans	A First World War escaper himself, Evans chronicles the escapes of both Wars and compares the material and methods of both.
13.	Collecting Colditz and its Secrets.	Michael Booker	Michael describes the Coldits ‘Escape Club’ their successes and failures and the materials used.

	Site	Synopsis
1.	http://www.escape-maps.com	This website recounts the histories of British silk maps and US cloth maps prepared for the Army Air Forces and Navy, as well as the two US organizations that prepared the escape maps, the Army Map Service and the Aeronautical Chart Service.
2.	http://www.ww2escapelines.co.uk	The WW2 Escape Lines Memorial Society is dedicated to the ‘helpers’, escapers and evaders who either organised or used the escape lines of mainland Europe during WW2. Our membership is made up of former WW2 ‘helpers’, escapers and evaders, their families and friends, historians, researchers, and others who are interested in our aims.Our aim is to preserve and commemorate the memory of the ‘helpers’ of the escape lines and of the ‘helpers’ who worked alone, in order to teach successive generations about their vital role in WW2
3.	http://www.rafinfo.org.uk/rafescape/	Royal Air Forces Escaping Society 1945-95 official website
4.	http://evasioncomete.org	The most exhaustive site about the airmen helped in their evasion by the Comet Network (World War II)
5.	https://www.spymuseum.org	The International Spy Museum (Washington DC, USA) is a private non-profit museum dedicated to the tradecraft, history and contemporary role of espionage, featuring the largest collection of international espionage artifacts currently on public display.
6.	https://www.militaryintelligencemuseum.org/	The Military Intelligence Museum. The museum exists to tell the story of British military intelligence from the Napoleonic era onwards. Their displays reveal the tactics, techniques and equipment and the incredible stories of the men and women who have carried out their vitally important tasks across the years, often in secret, with courage and determination, but always without fanfare.
7.	https://www.historicflyingclothing.com	Suppliers of high quality vintage flying clothing, equipment and kit since 1993.
8.	http://www.airministrymilitaria.com	A wide range of WW2 and WW1 aviation and military collectables, including escape and evasion.
9.	http://www.ww2rafcollection.co.uk	A fantastic display of RAF, RCAF, SAAF flying log books, medals, aircrew trade items and escape kit.