British Empire Medal - London Gazette 5th December 1945:
‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field.’
The following information regarding the recipient’s numerous escape attempts has been taken from the recipient’s M.I. 9 P.O.W’s debrief:
“First Attempt: my first attempt was in the middle of September 1943 from a train from Sulmona. I jumped from this train in the company of two others (names unknown) at Udine in Northern Italy but we were picked up a couple of hours later.
Second Attempt: while at Aquilla at the time of the capitulation of Italy in September 1943, I managed to evade capture for six weeks while endeavouring to get to our own lines. I spent most of this time in the mountains in the company of five other British POWs. I was eventually captured by German paratroopers who took us to Sulmona.
Third Attempt: my third attempt was at the end of September 1943 at Trieste again while on a train but was caught just after cutting through the wire of the ventilator shaft.
Fourth Attempt: my fourth attempt was in early October 1944 after getting to the camp in Markt Pongau, Stalag 317. I made this attempt with a Frenchman (name unknown). We had obtained civilian clothes, map and compass and food from Red Cross parcels. As we had finished work at the working party we were returning to our quarters, we hid in the snow until the party were out of sight and made out way to the station at Mittenburg. We tried unsuccessfully to get on a train that night and so slept in a hay loft on the outskirts of the town.
The next morning we caught the 0730 train going to Salzburg. Our plan was to contact French railway workers who would hide us in trains going to Switzerland. The R.A.F. paid us a visit that night and the plan fell through as a result of the damage done by them.
I knew a Czech worker who lived at Hallein who had promised to help me. We therefore, went to Hallein by train with the idea of contacting this Czech. We were unfortunately questioned by the Gestapo about our identity papers, of which we had none, interrogated and locked up in Hallein for two days and then sent back to Markt Pongau.
My feet were in a very bad state and the German who was escorting us to the police station in Hallein kept thrusting his bayonet into my back until I finally collapsed and after much arguing we finally got to the station.
Fifth Attempt: my fifth attempt was in November 1944 made in the company of a South African named Fischer. In the next compound to ours at Markt Pongau were some Poles. We got into this compound early one morning, and dressed in identical clothing as the Poles and went out with them to a working party. As the party came to some crossroads and turned left, the two of us turned right, and walked until we came to the French workers barracks, where we stayed for three days. We then caught a train going to where we were going. We usually replied when questioned “The next station” but this time we were unable to use this excuse as Villach had no foreign workers, and it was the next station. After the guard left us we decided to jump the train and over a period of a week we partly walked and partly jumped trains to Villach. As we walked through Villach when very hungry we spoke to an Italian worker who took us to his workers barracks where we stayed for three days. We had now been out for about a fortnight. We then caught a train to Arnoldstein on the Italian border. On arrival at Arnoldstein we met some more French workers who were unable to hide us as the Germans were too vigilant. We walked to within about 3 km of the border and were looking for somewhere to hide - the snow being about 10 ft. high on each side of the road. We walked along this road and were questioned but were allowed on our way. We finally got to a wood where foresters allowed us to proceed but were stopped by a German officer and taken to a guard house on the border and then sent back to Markt Pongau.
Sixth Attempt: in February 1945 I made my sixth attempt to escape when I was released after serving my prison sentence for my last escape. On arrival back at the camp I found that part of the camp was due for bathing at 1530 hrs that afternoon. I joined on to this party and on the way to bathing parade I reconnoitred the possibilities of escaping. On the way back I jumped down a bank and hid under a bridge. I then crawled up the mountain track until I came to the road leading to St Veit (Germany, 1:250,000 SL 48). From here by walking, and riding short distances on trains, I managed to reach Landeck (SL M 48, V44). This took me about a week during which time I obtained food from German farmers, sleeping in the open. At Landeck I managed to appropriate a bicycle and rode South via Prutz and Ried to Pfunds almost due South of Landeck about 25 km. At Prutz I was given a meal by a German woman who had a member of the family married to a Britisher. I dumped the bicycle in the mountains at the foot of Pfunds and started walking. I managed to get to the top of the mountain where I slept (coldly) for the night. I then spent four days walking in what I believed to be the general direction of Switzerland. I obtained food at the occasional small mountain villages when hunger forced me to go near them. I ran into some Serbs (POWs) at one of these villages who gave me food and indicated the general direction of Switzerland. I then spent a week in the mountains trying to find my way to the borders of Switzerland to a place called Spitz (probably Spiez) and lost my way for two days in the mountains during this time. At the end of the week when almost in sight of Spiez I was approached by two of the border patrol on skis who took me to their guard room. They telephoned to their main office in Pfunds, and kept me in their guard room for the night. The next day I was taken down to Pfunds where I was detained for a couple of days undergoing the usual interrogation. I was than moved to Lanreck where I was kept for three days. I was then taken to Innsbruck in the company of various other nationalities among whom was a Pole who expressed the desire to attempt to escape with me. There was no opportunity in Innsbruck and so I had to wait until we got to Worgl about halfway between Innsbruck.
and Seventh Attempt. At Worgl we had to change trains and were lined up outside the station. While being counted I managed to break ranks and mix with the civilians having to walk some 15 yards to do so. I kept walking and was joined by the Pole about 5 minutes later.
We skirted round the back of the party and caught the train back to Innsbruck where on arrival we slept with some French workers. Next door was some S.S. barracks and next to this was a Polish Workers barracks. We went to this on the Poles suggestion and were given a bed to sleep in. I was awakened by two Gestapo who took us off to Innsbruck Gestapo H.Q. where we were separated. I was kept here for three days, without blankets to sleep in, and for 48 hrs. without food and water, the room being like an ice box. They then put me in a cage with a pitiful collection of human beings where I was kept for 8 hours. I was then interrogated by an English speaking woman, and then sent back to my original cell, and moved the next afternoon in the company of 3 guards to Markt Pongau.
Although the opportunity did present itself to escape on the return to Markt Pongau I felt unable to do so due to the very bad condition my feet were in. I was given the usual 21 days in the cells.
Final Escape: next to our compound there was a camp of mixed nationalities who had collaborated with the Germans and who were given restricted freedom. In late March 1945 I cut through the wire between us and got into the camp, mixed with them for a couple of hours and at a suitable opportunity walked through the main gates speaking to the guard in Italian. I walked to St. Veit where I slept in a hay loft for a couple of nights, obtaining food from nearby farmers, posing as a slave worker. I walked for a fortnight, sleeping in the open and obtaining food from farmers as a slave worker until I arrived at Weisbach. I was here for about ten days before the Americans arrived, being sheltered by the owner (a Swiss) of the biggest hotel there, later used by the Americans as their H.Q. I gave this man a note stating he had helped me but worded in such a way to indicate that he was a rank Nazi. I was liberated by the Americans at Weisbach-Bavarian Alps, 20 miles from Saltzbugh in March 1945.”
John Douglas Divall was born in September 1918 and enlisted in the Royal Tank Regiment in April 1937. Embarked for the Middle East as a member of 7th Battalion, R.T.R., he was taken P.O.W. at Gazala on 6 June 1942. He was subsequently incarcerated in Campo 102, Aquila (July 1942-September 1943) and Stalag 317, Markt Pongau (October 1943-March 1945), although, as outlined above, those periods of incarceration were punctuated by no less than eight escape attempts and, finally, a successful bid for freedom in the Spring of 1945: small wonder he was originally recommended for the D.C.
ghchurcher