Retired British army officer George Drew, a serial escaper from German prisoner of war camps during World War II, has died, a family friend said on Tuesday. He was 87.
Drew died on October 20 at a hospital in Williton, southwest England, Elaine Steele said. The cause of death was not given.
Drew, a major, made a name among his fellow inmates for his potent home-brewed alcohol. Using the sugar in turnip jam supplied by the Germans, he and his friend Pat Fergusson created their more than 100% proof brew using a piece of stolen drainpipe and a large tin.
Educated at prestigious Wellingborough College and Sandhurst military academy, Drew received his commission in the Northamptonshire Regiment. When war broke out, he was part of an expeditionary force that was sent to France, and was mentioned twice in despatches from the front line.
Drew was captured in Belgium during the German drive toward Calais, and was taken first to a camp at Laufen in Bavaria, where he took up wood carving.
He was later moved to Biberach, then Warburg, where he and Fergusson, who died last year, built a tunnel and escaped. After walking several kilometres, the pair were recaptured.
Transferred to Eichstatt, Drew worked on a tunnel that helped more than 60 fellow prisoners to escape. This time, he and Fergusson reached the Danube river, but after crossing it, they were picked up by a policeman.
The pair were sent to Colditz, where Drew used his carving skills to fashion fake German belt buckles and forged an eagle stamp onto the heel of a shoe for stamping on faked German documents preparatory to an escape.
But after 50 men were shot for escaping from Stalag Luft III, the British authorities forbade any more escapes.
After the war, Drew became deputy assistant adjutant general at the War Office, then was posted to the 26th King’s African Rifles, operating against Mau Mau insurgents in Kenya. Other postings included Aden and finally Malaya and he retired from the army in 1973. He later worked as an inspector for the Ministry of Defence.
Drew is survived by his wife Mavis and two daughters. A private funeral was held. – Sapa-AP