Colditz Kilts

[David Dubh]

I seem to recall that in the tv series there was a very tall Scotsman. He was well over six feet. He did wear the kilt in the series, if I recall correctly he was up to escape but figured he was too obvious due to his height and a few days before the escape attempt he tried scaling the wire of the exercise yard too deadly results. It's been along time since I've seen the series so my memory may not be up to snuff

[Santa Kona]

Very interesting thanks.

[O'Callaghan]

I have (somewhere) not only the two books by Reid, but I think three more on the subject by Airey Neave. Sadly, the latter was later blown up by an IRA car bomb in the underground car park under the House of Commons (he was a Member of Parliament). Yes, I know I'm partly Irish, but I don't advocate car bombings.

The famous Colditz glider was hidden from the Germans by a false wall that the prisoners constructed, and the wings were folded up to fit it in the space.

One thing that sticks in my mind from the books is a rhyme (or chant, really) that the French POWs used to taunt the German guards with. It's somewhat vulgar, so I'll post it without translation into English:

Ou sont les Allemands?
Les Allemands sont dans la merde!
Pourqouis ils restent?
Ils surnagent!

[MacKay71]

The Castle has been refurbished, and remains a popular tourist destination. Workers still occasionally find hidey-holes, plus previously undiscovered evidence of tunneling and other prisoner activities, in the sprawling complex.

Here's a good website, with links to lots of others:
http://www.colditzcastle.net/

Cool website ! Thanks!

[Woodsheal]

I seem to recall that in the tv series there was a very tall Scotsman. He was well over six feet. He did wear the kilt in the series, if I recall correctly he was up to escape but figured he was too obvious due to his height and a few days before the escape attempt he tried scaling the wire of the exercise yard too deadly results. It's been along time since I've seen the series so my memory may not be up to snuff

This is the scenario from the '55 movie "Colditz Story." The tall Scotsman "McGill" was played by Sir Christopher Rhodes.
Perhaps they repeated the story line in the later TV series?

[Fougasse]

I read Pat Reid and Airey Neave's books as a youngster and would watch the TV program every week, inspiring stuff. Another Scottish connection is that Stirling Castle stood in for Colditz in the TV series.

[SoulFyre777]

How interesting! This is a little corner of history that has, until now, eluded me. I'd be interested to learn more! As a start, is the movie worth seeing from an historical aspect? Also the books, are they still available? This is cool stuff!

[Woodsheal]

How interesting! This is a little corner of history that has, until now, eluded me. I'd be interested to learn more! As a start, is the movie worth seeing from an historical aspect? Also the books, are they still available? This is cool stuff!

I think all of the major books are currently available in paperback: P.R Reid's three books: "The Colditz Story", "Men of Colditz", "Colditz: the Full Story" (the first two often found combined into "Escape From Colditz"), Henry Chancellor's "Colditz: the Definitive History", Reinhold Egger's look from the German side, etc.

The '55 movie (Reid was technical advisor) depicts actual escape attempts, but conflates certain incidents, shows them out of order and so on, and is an odd mix of fictional and historic characters. However, a great flick to get the feel of the place, the prisoners' ingenuity, etc....

[David Dubh]

This is the scenario from the '55 movie "Colditz Story." The tall Scotsman "McGill" was played by Sir Christopher Rhodes.
Perhaps they repeated the story line in the later TV series?

I could be mistaken I might be thinking of the movie not the tv series. It's been much too lng since I've seen either.

[macwilkin]

I seem to recall that in the tv series there was a very tall Scotsman. He was well over six feet. He did wear the kilt in the series, if I recall correctly he was up to escape but figured he was too obvious due to his height and a few days before the escape attempt he tried scaling the wire of the exercise yard too deadly results. It's been along time since I've seen the series so my memory may not be up to snuff

What is it with fictional Scots in WWII prison drams trying to scale the wire in the excercise yards of POW camps? Anyone remember Archibald "Archie" Ives in The Great Escape?

Of course, the scene before his untimely end where he and Gordon Jackson sing "Wha sae the 42nd" after consuming some of the Yanks' "pop-skull" (no smoking!) is great.

T.