Escape and Evasion Reports, National Archives

Hello all,

An increasing number of people looking in vain for escape and evasion reports are contacting me directly or via the forum.

Today I have already posted in an earlier reply this list left by Brian Sims, to whom we should all be eternally grateful:

Pieces 3298 to 3327 – MI9 escape and evasion reports numbered 1 to 3122, dating from 1940 to 1945
Pieces 3343 to 3345 – 843 miscellaneous interrogation reports from 1945
Pieces 3348 to 3352 – 3,048 escape reports from 1945
Pieces 4238 to 4276 – reports of prisoner of war escapes from Italy to Switzerland 1943-1944
Pieces 4368 to 4371 – sundry additional reports on prisoner of war escapes via Switzerland 1943-1944
Pieces 5393 to 5404 – MI9 reports on escapers and evaders through enemy lines in Italy 1943-1944
Pieces 5582 to 5583 – interrogation reports on repatriated allied prisoner of war escapers and evaders 1942-1946, including some appendices to reports in pieces 3305 to 3327

Unfortunately not all these have been digitalised and to find the name of someone might require the services of a private researcher.

The date catalogued by TNA may be totally misleading. The reports of some of the men who came through the lines in Italy in the summer of 1944 are in Pieces 3343 to 3345 – 843 miscellaneous interrogation reports from 1945.

Vitellino

 

An excellent resource if you’re looking for a named evader is EEIE HomePage

 

I have used this with success - also to find people who aren't named in the National Archives digitised records.

However, if I look for George Drew by name and the others who escaped with him to France in October 1944 - all listed clearly on the EEIE site - in the series WO 208/3324 I am told that there is no result.

But - they are all there, you just have to click on the numbers shown on the EEIE site:

3324 2698 (-) Cpl George A Drew (2) 6th Royal Tank Regiment Libya Nov 41 - PG112/4 (Gassino) Sept 43 - Val d'Isere Oct 44.

By inserting WO 208 3324 2698 on TNA site up he comes but you don't get his name - you have to pay 3.50 to get a copy of the record unless like me you have 'signed in'.

His mates are all there too - 'hidden' in nos. WO 208/3324/119, 120, 121, 122, 129, 130, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138 and 141.

What a palaver!


Vitellino

 

Excellent. Super work Janet.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Vitellino - There’s lots of things that are in the National Archives that don’t always come up on the internet searches, The first part of the number you mention is the file WO 208/3324 is the file number. Within that file 2698 is the report reference number. All S/P.G file references were issued in numerical sequence. Anybody escaping/evading with Drew and being interviewed by MI9 would have had an SPG number in the same sequence. After D Day representAtives from IS9 went into North West Europe and interviewed escapers/evaders as they reached allied lines. If they were able to fully debrief them at the time they would be allocated an IS9/WEA report number. If not they would be told to report to MI9 where they would be interviewed and get an SPG report number. Sometimes you will get both reports. Another anomaly is where American’s wee first interviewed by IS9. Here you might also find a copy of the original IS9 report in the American MIS-X report held at NARA. The SPG reports that you mention 119,120 etc were for people that escaped from France, Via Marseilles, arriving in Liverpool in December 1940 - some time before Drew was captured

 

I must not have explained myself properly so here goes:

I found the list of of escapers in the M.I.9 number order on the EEIE site

I went to The National Archives Discovery and entered Drew's number: WO 208/3324/2698
I was invited to click on the reference and this is what came up - still no name - WO 208/3324/138
I was only when I sent for the record that the name Drew appeared.
At the head of his report you can read: The National Archives' reference WO 208/3324/138


I have been interested in Drew's 'gang' for a few years now, as when on the run in Piedmont they formed a partisan band of their own, the Union Jack Band. Many of these men escaped with Drew - he names them in his E&E Report. I obtained their E&E Reports. They all passed into the Val d'Isère via the Col di Nivolet and the Col di Losa and were interviewed on 10 October.

So, putting together the M.I.9 Reference and The National Archives Reference this what comes up:



Thanks anyway for explaining the procedures, of which I was unaware.

Vitellino

 

Sorry about delay in replying but having major problems with logging in. If you have a look at the attached you will see that the reference that TNA assign bears no relationship to the SPG number. For example WO 208/3324/1 relates to SPG 2785 (the last report in file WO 208/3324) and WO 208/3324/2 relates to SPG 2622 and so on

 

Yes, that was the conclusion I had already arrived at.

Regards,

Vitellino

 

When I was able to download the pdf’s of these files as they were being compiled back in 2013 each file included a copy of the index - sadly I can’t find anything like this available nowadays

 

Now, that would be an interesting resource to have!