Code: P26949
H/b, 23 x 29cm, 84pp. Published by The Yorkshire Conservative Newspaper Company Ltd. March 1945. 'This is a faithful reproduction of the original produced in Stalag Luft VI and provides a memorable memento of the spirit and initiative of our Airmen and Soldiers who had the misfortune to find themselves Prisoners of War.' This book was the brainchild of Richard Pape* who was born in Leeds and worked as a journalist in the publicity department of the Yorkshire Post before joining the RAF when war broke out. He flew as a Navigator on Stirling bombers with 609 Squadron but ended up a PoW after his aircraft was shot down in 1941. As a member of the Stalag Luft VI's 'White Rose Club', a society of Yorkshiremen interred in the PoW camp at Heyderkrug, he wanted to motivate fellow prisoners from the same area of Yorkshire, and created a 'special edition' of the Yorkshire Post to help ease homesickness. He also used this editorial to communicate coded information to his allies. Much of the book's content was created and edited by Pape covertly and hidden from the German guards beneath floorboards. It was completed in just five weeks and bound with two sheets of plywood, carved with the White Rose of Yorkshire and stained using shoe polish to give the appearance of 'seasoned oak.' This unique edition was later smuggled out of the camp and back to Britain where The Yorkshire Conservative Newspaper Company Ltd. published it, printing just 300 copies for distribution to the next of kin of 'White Rose Society' members. Beautifully written and illustrated it has stories largely relating to Yorkshire including book reviews, cartoons, poems, illustrations of both Fountains & Riveaulx Abbeys, motoring, mining, sport and so on. There is also a nominal roll of the Yorkshiremen at the camp. The thick card cover also recreates the plywood of the original. Some wear to the cover with bruised edges/corners and partially split spine. Pages a little yellowed but generally good. Metal binding staples corroded a shown. Good '+' overall. Comes with the original cover letter from The Yorkshire Conservative Newspaper Company Ltd. when sent out in March 1945. A fascinating insight into camp life. Rare to find. Stock code P26949.
* Richard Pape was a persistant escaper and tortured by the Gestapo. In 1944 he was repatriated on health grounds from Stalag Luft VI (smuggling the original book out?). He went on to write about his escapes in the book 'Boldness Be My Friend', published in 1954. He was awarded the Military medal in 1947, an award he returned in 1965 in protest against The Beatles receiving the MBE stating 'The Beatles' MBE reeks of mawkish, bizarre effrontery to our wartime endeavours.'
