Colditz Castle, Oflag IVC, the WW2 POW Sonderlager or ‘Bad Boys Camp’ for Allied Officers.
“The whole story of Colditz will, no doubt, one day be told, and it will make an enthralling story; but it must be written by one of the men who was there.”
‘Escape and Liberation, 1940-1945′ by A.J.Evans.
These words, by the author of The Escape Club, one of the greatest escape books of the First World War and one which inspired Pat Reid, British Escape Officer at Colditz from 1940-1942, to ultimately make a ‘Home Run’ succinctly describe our own personal views of the ‘Colditz Story’. Therefore, wherever possible, this website is narrated by the words of the prisoners who were there who went on to describe their experiences in their own words. Quotations are attributed to the relevant author and I would urge all those who view this website, and who feel inspired by it, to go on to read all the relevant books and do what they can to keep the memory of these men, of all nationalities, on whatever ’side’ to live on through generations to come. It is essential we visit the Castle or we cannot expect Saxony to maintain what has become a British national treasure.
Gavin Worrell, 2012
Gavin Worrell – pictured above, standing outside the Chapel. If you weren’t a POW at Colditz you cannot claim to ’know’ the place. That aside Gavin has visited more times than any historian and knows not only the Castle intimately but also the town with all it’s Third Reich and WW2 connections.
Gavin is an accountant, trained barrister and Colditz Historian and lives in Sunbury on Thames on the Surrey/London border with his wife and two children. Regarding Colditz, he has acted as an advisor & guide to the MOD and British Armed Forces, has worked with various aspects of the media (newspaper, magazines, TV), computer games companies, gives private lectures on Colditz and is the Managing Director of Military History Tours Limited. MHT provides tours to Colditz and occasionally Gavin leads tours himself. He also helps wherever possible in providing whatever information he may have to relatives of former ‘residents’.
So… maybe you’ve been watching the 70′s series re-run on TV, or box the long awaited box set DVD – or even remember the old black & white John Mill’s flm – whatever your reason now is the time to visit before this national treasure is lost forever:
e mail info@militaryhistorytours.co.uk
or call 0845 835 0644
Below, Gavin JF Worrell on Jonathan Ross’ 100 Greatest Toys discussing “Escape from Colditz” board game:
Gavin videos the walk from the POW down to the park:
Check out this Colditz Webcam: LINK
Check out the BBC Colditz Weather Forecast: LINK
Why not play Robert Farnon’s Colditz BBC TV Series Theme whilst browsing the site: colditz-tv-theme-click.wma