Michael Farr

Born in 1918 in Burma, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the DLI in January 1939. He fought with the 2nd Battalion DLI on the River Dyle and then back on the long retreat towards Dunkirk. He was taken prisoner along with most of his battalion on 27 May 1940 at St Venant in northern France. After his first escape attempt, which also involved a raid on the Camp Commandant's wine cellar, he was sent to a special camp in Poland, where he was kept in a dungeon. He was then moved to Biberach POW Camp and again tried to escape. After several other unsuccessful attempts from Warburg and Eichstatt POW Camps, including one in June 1943 when he tunneled out and made it across the River Danube before he was recaptured, he was finally sent to Colditz Castle. At Colditz, he joined other "hardliners" in the top security prison and worked on the construction of the famous glider in the castle's roof that was only abandoned when the war ended. He also made wine and ran the castle's distillery. Finally liberated in April 1945, Lieutenant Michael Farr was awarded the MBE in January 1946 for his efforts to escape whilst a POW. After the war, he worked for the family firm in Plymouth making "Hawker's Pedlars Sloe Gin". Michael Farr died in January 1993.