page 2

DURING World War II over 9000 New Zealanders became prisoners of war. Of these 718 made successful escapes, 236 from German hands, 480 from the Italians and 2 from the Japanese. Several have recounted their experiences in published books. Many equally remarkable exploits are recorded only in the reports held by the War History Branch.

This final number of the Episodes and Studies series is a survey of the whole field. It could have been a work of immense length and yet of very great interest.

The author has asked me to acknowledge, on his behalf, his indebtedness to Mr W. Wynne Mason, the author of Prisoners of War, a volume of the Official History series, ‘whose research was my primary source.’