Pranks

Bruce (far right) with Wellington bomber crew about to raid the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest in April 1941 shortly before his capture

Bruce was a notorious prankster. In Pat Reid's book about Colditz, he describes how a group of new Navy entrants to the castle were horrified when a uniformed German doctor (in fact Howard Gee, one of the 'Prominente' hostages) insisted that they were lice-ridden and must strip naked for their private parts to be treated by his medical orderly. This alarming figure in white overalls would approach each man with a lavatory brush dipped in a bucket of evil smelling blue liquid (consisting of lavatory disinfectant and theatrical paint) and dab each man's genitals. The new boys would later realise that the evilly grinning orderly was Bruce.^[18]

Bruce in Colditz, seated, fifth from left

In the IWM interview tapes held in the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive, Bruce tells the tale of a bombing mission over Berlin when he persuaded the pilot to descend to five hundred feet over the city. Bruce climbed down into the now empty bomb bay, hand cranked the doors open; sat on the bomb rack and threw a lit distress flare out of the plane. When asked later why, he answered "Because I've always wanted to see the Unter den Linden lit up at night."^[19][20]

In the same IWM interview tapes Bruce describes a prank he played on some German soldiers who were guarding a working party of British soldiers. During the aftermath of the 'Tea Chest' escape, Bruce was travelling through Germany on a stolen bicycle and, coming across the file of soldiers being marched down a street, decided to cheer them up. He cycled up to the head of the column shouting out words of encouragement, saying they were not to worry because we were winning the war. On hearing the unmistakable tones of a British officer, the surprised soldiers started to cheer. Before the shocked guards could overcome their confusion and unsling their rifles to take aim at him, Bruce had accelerated around a corner and disappeared.^[19][20]

Bruce, like a lot of his comrades, participated in goon baiting.^[21] Reinhold Eggers was the Colditz Castle's security officer succeeding Priem, and like Priem, was a schoolmaster by profession.^[22] In his book 'Colditz: the German Story' (1961, translation by Howard Gee), Eggers describes how Bruce was fond of sowing confusion amongst the German guards during Appel, or roll call, using the 'rabbit run' prank. Bruce would stand in the ranks, wait until he had been counted, then duck quickly along the line, only to be counted again at the other end. This trick was also used for more serious purposes, to cover up for a missing escapee.^[23]

As a POW Bruce would go on to spend eight months inside solitary confinement, mainly as a result of his escaping activities.^[24] Eggers knowing Bruce was a regular in the solitary cells, would explain to Bruce, upon each arrival to the cells that as Bruce already knew the rules, he would not read out the rules... Bruce in turn would always try to bait Eggers after this response, by always reasserting with humour, 'that if he did not read him out the rules..., he would do something to break rule 1..., and then break rule 2...; and break rule 3,’ and so on...^[25] Under the Geneva Convention prisoners in solitary confinement were given a welcomed, one hour's exercise time. Eggers also used the exercise time to exercise his pet dog with the prisoners; this was welcomed by Bruce.^[25] Eggers in turn was noted by some prisoners as very controlled and fair when compared to a few other guards in the chain of command^[25] who advocated for corpses in the yard.^[26] Bruce explained Eggers as 'a man who could not be bribed,’^[25] Bruce's comrade, Tunstall, in contrast, wrote that though Eggers was believed to be an anti-Nazi, he was a man whom he and others could not trust, a man who was prejudiced after reading the exaggerated crime sheets, concocted by Rademacher, that got rid of Bruce and him to Colditz.^[27] Eggers was thought of as very composed and a tough guard to goon bait.^[25]

John 'Bosun' Chrisp explained that after their sewer drain escape attempt, Bruce billed the Kommandant and Staff Paymaster Heinze in the castle for £600 on behalf of Chrisp, Lorraine and Bruce, for their service of cleaning the drains that had not been cleaned for 300 years.^[28]

Nicknames

In his IWM interview tapes he tells how he fooled the King's cousin Viscount Lascelles (later the Earl of Harewood, he was being kept in Colditz as a hostage by the SS) into believing that the average or medium size of homo sapiens was 5 feet 3 inches (his own height). When Lascelles told his mess mates about this novel theory it did not take them long to discover who had fooled him. That resulted in his nickname, 'the Medium Sized Man.'^[19][20] Bruce was also known as the 'Medium Sized Officer.'^[29]He was also known as 'Brucie' or 'Bruce.'^[30]

During his failed escape under the wire at Colditz he discovered his German nickname, as the guard who fell over him in the dark (and in his fright shot at Bruce, just barely missing his eyebrow) answered the security patrol's question as to who it was by saying 'Der Kleine' ('the little one'). The sentry overcame his shock only to burst out laughing when Bruce shouted "I surrender" in an effort to prevent him shooting again. When he emerged from his six-week sentence in solitary confinement he asked another prisoner, Cyril Lewthwaite, who spoke excellent German, if he could explain the guard's odd reaction. Lewthwaite asked Bruce what he had said in German. Bruce obliged, whereupon Lewthwaite pointed out that "Ich ueber gebe mich" does not in fact mean "I surrender" but "I am going to be sick" (taken from a private letter to Peter Tunstall dated 5 September 1979).^[31]

Character

Notoriously short tempered (his father 'Billie' Bruce was supposed to be the 'worst tempered man in the North of England') he was described as 'as hard as nails' by his fellow Spangenberg inmate, Squadron Leader Eric Foster, in his autobiography.^[32] Tunstall explained Bruce was very meticulous, and gave plaudits to him by describing him as having the draw of a big personality.^[33] After the Swiss commission escape, Tunstall also claimed that compared to him with his bad ankle, Bruce and Newborn had mental toughness to keep going whilst on the march; and that of the three Bruce, with his stamina, was the pacesetter.^[34]

Ingenious he may have been, but not all Bruce's escape ideas were successful. The Colditz dentist, Julius Green (in his book From Colditz in Code) tells the story of an escape attempt that was a little too ingenious. Bruce persuaded a friend, Rex Harrison of the Green Howards, who was six feet five inches, to carry him inside his long greatcoat from a series of straps. Rex was to carry a football under his arm, into which Bruce would put his head using a hole cut into the back of the football. The idea was simple. Harrison would exit the castle to go the exercise park below the castle walls with Bruce clinging to his waist. Once in the park, accomplices would create a distraction, Bruce would slip out from under Harrison's coat, and then hide under a pile of leaves. When the guards counted the prisoners as they re-entered the castle, the count would be identical to the number who went out. Unfortunately, while the duo were practising the escape on a staircase, another inmate came rushing down the stairs, crashed into Harrison, and all three went tumbling down the staircase. Bruce reluctantly abandoned the idea.^[35]

Zeebrugge capture and Caterpillar Club

In the Second World War, the survival rates for bailing out into the sea were not great with roughly one third surviving^[39] and despite the fact that he could not swim, Bruce, with at least air-gunner Thomas Bax,^[40] baled out into the sea, hoping that the current would take him south towards France and the resistance life lines that had been established there. However, motor launches were quickly despatched from the port and he was picked by the German Navy in the sea near Zeebrugge. He earned membership of the "Caterpillar Club" as a result of this exit from a "disabled aircraft" as can be seen from his wearing of the Club tie in the photo taken in 1995 at RAF Fairford (right).^{[note 3]} He was also a member of the Goldfish Club for those who parachuted into water.

Bruce would later write, "This was a silly daylight raid... with no escort against enemy fighters."^[9] He suffered burns.^[9] He was sent to Dulag Luft, then immediately sent to Hohemark for treatment for burns.^[9]

Presumed KIA

At first, it was thought that all the crew had died as a result of their Wellington being shot down. After two weeks without news, the International Red Cross sent a message to his wife, Mary Lagan Bruce, that her husband was alive. In recordings, now lodged in the Oral History Sound Archive of the British Library, she tells how that she had been utterly convinced that he was alive, despite all the evidence to the contrary.^[42]

Innovator of the wooden horse technique

A "wooden horse", as seen in a US Army rehabilitation centre; UK, 1943.

Bruce (on right) during his imprisonment in Spangenberg

It has been argued that Bruce and Tunstall are the original innovators of the wooden horse escape technique. Along with Eustace Newborn and Peter Tunstall, Bruce came up with the escape plan now known as "the Swiss Red Cross Commission." Tunstall, also highlights that in 1941, prior to he and Bruce planning an escape with the famed 'Swiss Red Cross Commission,' he and Bruce had been digging an escape route with a wooden horse tunnel from inside the gymnasium, the wooden horse was placed roughly four feet from the wall that separated the gym from the moat.^[45] The digging was a very slow process, it required the removal of spoil, bricks and stone work,^[46] and was aided by other prisoners distracting the guards.^[47] They were later joined by Douglas 'Sammy' Hoare and a syndicate who were promised a second go if they escaped undiscovered.^[45] Other members of this syndicate were also named as: Harry Bewlay, John Milner and Eustace Newborn.^[9]

When Bruce and Tunstall noted the slow process they began examining the rest of the castle and left the digging to the other team involving Sammy Hoare.^[48] The tunnel almost reached completion but unfortunately the digging team got caught when a guard become suspicious at the large stones that were accumulating outside of the gym. The guard then called a search, and then found the escape tunnel.^[49] When the guards found the shaft they called an Appell and Hauptmann Schmidt confidently stated to the prisoners, "It is impossible to escape by tunnel or any other way."^[9]

This wooden horse gym escape tunnel was two years prior to the famed Sagan wooden horse escape. Tunstall stated that he would like to think some of the watchers and workers who helped on their original wooden horse escape may have mentioned it from time to time;^[50] and would like to think that their idea contributed to the success of the effort at Sagan.^[50]

Swiss Red Cross Commission escape

The 'Swiss Red Cross Commission' has been described as the most audacious escape of World War II. Bruce's MC citation described it as a very clever escape. In late July and early August 1941, Bruce, Newborn and Tunstall took an interest in the architecture of the building and broke into a flat in the Schloss belonging to a forestry principal. Inside the flat the trio obtained escape material such as disguises, maps and a compass. After sourcing the escape resources, they carefully crafted an escape that involved the gate security of the castle, with the eventual aim being after escaping the castle, to break into Kassel airfield and then fly to Basle on a stolen aircraft. After carefully planning and waiting many weeks for the conditions to be just right, on 3 September 1941^[51] the trio, brazenly walked across the moat bridge. The three POWs simply walked out of the camp posing as a German officer (Tunstall) and two doctors (Bruce and Newborn) of a Swiss Red Cross inspection team. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill outside the castle's grounds, they quickly removed their Swiss Commission disguises and then made their way to Kassel, a strong Nazi military centre, dressed as Luftwaffe airmen, aiming to steal a plane.

Eventually, after a turn of unfortunate events, they were forced to change their plans and the three decided to march onwards towards the Belgium border. After ten days on the run, they were recaptured by an off-duty guard. Following their capture, Bruce, Newborn and Tunstall were interrogated by the Gestapo and sentenced to 53 days in solitude. The escape and the fact that Bruce defied his solitary confinement would put Bruce in serious legal peril with the German military authorities.

Solitary confinement

After being recaptured following the Swiss Red Cross Commission escape, they were then sent back to Spangenberg.^[52] Hauptmann Schmidt was incensed at the audacity of the escape.^[9] The three were each held to a long period in solitary confinement.^[53] Bruce received 53 days in solitude for the Spangenberg Castle escape, which was longer than the Geneva convention suggested.^[13] In Spangenberg they were not sentenced for their escape but held in preventative arrest.^[53] The Senior British Officer also complained that according to the Geneva convention guidelines, the exercise yard in Spangenberg was too small, and they needed to be moved to another camp.^[54]

Working party escape

POW camp barracks in WW2. In the Warburg POW Camp it also snowed, heavily. The snow disrupted escape attempts.

Upon arrival Bruce and Tunstall immediately cased the joint and formulated escape plans.^[65] They noticed the secondary gate was used occasionally to march out guarded working parties of orderlies and that the security here was lax, when compared to Spangenberg.^[65] Bruce and Tunstall then concocted their first plan, involving walking out of the camp dressed as guards. Bruce and Tunstall then registered their new plan of escape with the Warburg escape committee. They then began working on German Army uniforms to walk out through the lax security.^[66] They soon faced two problems: the first was that they were immediately put back into solitary, the next was that the escape committee changed the plan.

Their previous preventative arrest in Spangenberg amounted to almost two months, and despite the fact they had been promised that their arrest time in Spangenberg would count against any sentence in Warburg, a Major named Rademacher announced to Bruce, Tunstall and Newborn that they each would be serving 28 days in solitary.^[67] This was the first immediate blow to Bruce's and Tunstall's first escape plan. The second blow occurred when the escape committee decided to adjust the plan as they wanted it to accommodate more prisoners.^[68] The committee's new plan was to use the uniforms and the forged papers and then march out a big, bogus, working party.^[69] Bruce and Tunstall were to be orderlies in the plan and the uniforms were to be worn by two fluent German speakers. One of the guards was called Peter Stevens MC who was a fluent German speaker; and the other guard of the orderlies was called Lance Pope who also spoke good German.^[70] Tunstall explains how he and Bruce accepted the change selflessly but were worried that the changes were too ambitious and would complicate things.^[69] Still, the escape committee worked on the uniforms, dummy rifles and the documents which were forged by John Mansel, whom Tunstall described as being the master forger of WW2.^[68]

The first two times the worker party escape was tried it was held back at the gates due to faults in the documentation. In January 1942,^[13] the third time they attempted the bogus worker party, they forged the signature of the guard Feldwebel Braun.^[71] This opened the gate. Though this escape was immediately hindered by the guardsman noticing Feldwebel Braun could not have signed the papers as he was on compassionate leave.^[71] The guards then started firing, and the bogus workers party dispersed.^[71] According to Tunstall, not one of the escape party was caught and the German uniforms, the dummy rifles and forged papers where quickly stowed away in the hides at emergency speed.^[72] The German search party did however find a piece of green cloth which was used to make the German uniform, on the camp's belongings. Bruce and Tunstall were blamed for this by Major Rademacher.^[73] For this action Bruce received more time in solitary confinement.^[13]

Escaping from solitary confinement

Bruce and Tunstall were sent to solitary confinement for the attempted escape with a workers party and were each given three months. They felt persecuted by Rademacher as they perceived the Major was always putting them into confinement for baseless reasons.

For one escape, Bruce and Tunstall planned to break free and then jump trains at Dössel. The harsh weather prevented this.

Whilst in solitary confinement they still concocted more escape plans.^[74] During this specific stretch of confinement they worked out one more plan, and this set-up involved an actual escape from inside the solitary confinement block.^[74] They wanted to break out of the camp and follow a previous route to France which was attempted by a former prisoner who had jumped on a goods train in Dössel and had evaded capture for five days. They also noted the cell block was made of a heavy timber, and that to escape from the camp with this type of timber required adequate tools.^[75] With this in mind they then handmade a selection of tools and wrapped them up. Bruce eventually hid the tools in the wood shavings in his mattress.^[76]

Knowing the tools were now safe they could pick their moment. On the morning of their planned escape they noticed more snow had fallen. They observed that this was not escaping weather and they had no option but to wait for better weather.^[76] Sadly for Bruce and Tunstall this wait was prolonged and, whilst waiting for the weather conditions to improve, Bruce and Tunstall were ordered to pack their belongings... and they were then sent to Colditz.^[76] A year later, inside Colditz, former Warburg prisoner Douglas Bader, explained the escape tools they left inside Warburg had been successfully used by another prisoner.^[77]

Arrival, processing and court-martial

Prisoners yard as seen in 2011.

On the train journey to Colditz, they had been escorted to Colditz by three privates and one NCO.^[81] These guards were in turn briefed about Bruce's and Tunstall's propensity for escaping; the guards were under a threat of severe retribution if they ever escaped.^[81] The guards called Colditz Sonderlager (Special Camp) and the prisoners called Colditz Straflager (Punishment Camp).^[81] When Bruce arrived at Colditz late at night and, for the first time, entered the deserted, flood lit exercise yard, on his way to the upper cells,^[82] Tunstall recollects that Bruce's first words were, "We'll get out of this bloody place too." To which Tunstall recalls he replied, "You bet."^[83]

Upon arrival Bruce was given the prisoner number 1356.^[84] After recapture from his Spangenberg and Warburg escapes, Bruce, now in Colditz, was put in a cell whilst waiting for trial. Bruce was facing a court-martial.^[85] He was charged with breaking and entering for picking a lock in a walled off part of the Spangenberg Castle; and theft of the uniform he found in the walled off room inside Spangenberg Castle; the documents also show, he was put into solitary confinement in Spangenberg Castle, and allege, Bruce kicked the cell door down whilst in his cell. The alleged action of kicking the cell door down, added a very serious charge of sabotage of state property.^[86] Tunstall description of the events, differs to Bruce's charge sheet, it highlighted that no state property was broken and Bruce, Newborn and Tunstall were defying solitude after Bruce picked the locks in their solitary confinement.^[87] In WWII it was generally accepted that the main rules of escaping were: don't wear German uniform; don't use violence; and don't engage in espionage or sabotage. It was perceived that breaking these rules could result in the prisoner facing a court-martial, and even death.^[88] Bruce was clearly in trouble with regards to his charge sheet in that he had stolen a German uniform, and had been charged with an alleged sabotage of state property. The sabotage of state property being a very serious charge.^[86]

To defend himself, Bruce choose a fellow Colditz prisoner, Lieutenant Alan Campbell, a trained lawyer, to advocate for him. Campbell (subsequently Baron Campbell of Alloway ERD QC (24 May 1917 – 30 June 2013)) argued that, according to King's Regulations, Bruce had a duty to escape; and using a precedent, cited a case of a German fighter pilot called Franz von Werra who had escaped, von Werra who was famed for getting the German High Command to change its policy with regards to POW's; and highlighted the fact that Bruce had never used violence. After the trial, Bruce received a moderate sentence of three months in solitary.^[86] Alan Campbell's case notes, which also include 41 other cases, are now held in the archives of the Imperial War Museum.^[21]

On 21 April 1942 Bruce's commission was confirmed and he was promoted to the war substantive rank of flying officer.^[89]

Within six months Bruce escaped the castle grounds with the tea chest escape.

Tea chest escape

Photo of the bed sheet rope used in the 'tea chest' escape from Colditz by Dominic Bruce.

Bruce was the author of the famed "Tea Chest Escape" which was featured in the Imperial War Museum's 'Great Escapes' exhibition in 2004,^[90] where the museum built a facsimile of the tea chest and invited children to see if they could 'escape from Colditz'.

A photo of Bruce's wife, Mary Lagan Bruce, sent to Bruce after his Zeebrugge capture in 1941. Bruce's wife also sent Bruce the silk escaping map which he used to travel to Danzig.

He made use of a silk map.^[4] The silk escaping map Bruce used in the escape to guide him to Danzig (now Gdansk) which was sent to him by his wife concealed in a brass button of a uniform, at the behest of MI9, can be seen in the IX Squadron archive museum at RAF Marham,^[91] donated to the Squadron in a handover ceremony by the Bruce family. Because of his very small stature Bruce was known ironically as the "medium-sized man"^[3][4] (see camaraderie with messmates section for the origin). When a new Commandant arrived at Colditz in the summer of 1942 he enforced rules restricting prisoners' personal belongings. On 8 September 1942 POWs were told to pack up all their excess belongings and an assortment of boxes were delivered to carry them into store. Bruce immediately seized his chance and was packed inside a Red Cross packing case, three-foot square, with just a file and a 40-foot (12 m) length of rope made from bed sheets. Bruce was taken to a storeroom on the third floor of the German Kommandantur and that night made his escape.^[92]

The tea chest used by Bruce to escape from Colditz

The next morning the castle was visited by General Wolff, officer in charge of POW army district 4.^[18] He inspected the camp and found everything to his satisfaction.^[18] Fortunately for the camp commandant, as Wolff was driven away, his back was turned to the southern face of the castle. If he had turned his head he would have seen a length of blue and white checked (bedsack) rope dangling from a remote window.^[18] It was, however, eventually noticed by a hausfrau (housewife) in the town, who quickly reported it to the duty officer.^[18][93] The guard Georg Martin Schädlich documented how they were suddenly alerted to a rope at 11:30am from one of the attic windows.^[94] When the German guards entered the storeroom they found the empty box on which Bruce had, in yet another of his pranks, inscribed in chalk:

"Die Luft in Colditz gefällt mir nicht mehr. Auf Wiedersehen!"^[92]

— Dominic Bruce

Translated this means: "The air in Colditz no longer agrees with me. See you later!"^[4] Pat Reid explained it was almost tempting providence of Bruce to write Auf Wiedersehen on the box instead of writing good bye.^[4]

In his notes the guard Schädlich then describes that because of this rope they instantly brought forward an Appell. With the purpose of this Appell being to find out who had escaped.^[94]Schädlich described how they had to find Bruce's name from the card index; and how they were duped two times at roll call,^[94] thus giving Bruce extra time to travel without a search squad looking for him. He suspected this duping could only have happened because a Frenchman from room 311 had used a false key and slipped into the English sick bay. Whereby this Frenchman then got counted twice, once at the British roll call and once at French roll call.^[94] The guard Schädlich also noted Bruce got through the tannery and had an easy escape route as the church square was only five minutes away from this point.^[94]

A bicycle from WWII. Bruce stole bicycles to get to Danzig.

Bruce travelled 400 miles to Danzig; the furthest distance he ever made in all his escapes.^[95] To get to Danzig, he slept rough,^[13] and he travelled by bicycles which he stole from outside village churches during Mass. Whilst travelling to Danzig, Bruce was temporarily recaptured in Frankfurt-on-Oder, but escaped prior to interrogation.^[13] In Danzig, one week later, he was eventually caught trying to stow away on a Swedish Freighter.^[95] When he returned to Colditz, Bruce received more time in solitary.^[13]

Triple identity ploy

The forged papers in the name of Joe Soap used by Bruce in the Tea Chest escape

He is thought to be the inventor of the 'triple identity' ploy for use when captured, which he explains in the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive tapes.^{[19][20][note 4]} The triple identity meant that he had three personae; his real identity as himself, the identity shown on his false ID papers; and another identity that he would only reveal under pressure. When he was captured, he was disguised as a Belgian Gastarbeiter or 'guest worker' named Josef Savon (his false ID is still in the possession of the Bruce family) another example of Bruce's fondness of disguises. The use of the Josef Savon disguise is also another example of Bruce's predilection for pranks, as Josef Savon translates into 'Joe Soap'. In 1944, Joe Soap was RAF slang for a legendary airman who carried the can.^{[note 5]}

When captured he pretended to break down and admitted he was in fact Flight Sergeant Joseph Lagan. Lagan was his brother in law and so Bruce could answer detailed questions about his service record etc. Initially the delighted Germans believed him and were ready to send him to a Stalag or 'other ranks' camp.^[19][20] Under the Geneva Convention, other ranks (unlike officers) could be made to work; and were often taken outside camps on working parties; from which it was easy to escape. His story when captured was that he had jumped from a British plane over Bremen and arrived in Danzig on a stolen bicycle;^[4] his bicycle, unbeknown to Bruce, had a local number on it.^[4] Bruce was then sent to the RAF camp at Dulag Luft near Oberursel.^[4] Whilst at the camp, the Germans had already requested a specialist Gestapo interrogator to come from Berlin, who was to recognise Bruce.^[4][19][20] When he arrived he took one look at the supposed Flight Sergeant Lagan and said "Ah, Captain Bruce, how nice to see you again". This was the second time he had interrogated Bruce (whom the Germans habitually addressed as 'Captain'). Under heavy guard, Bruce was taken by train back to Colditz. On the overheated train, the guard detail fell asleep and Bruce tried to escape once again, but was prevented by a watchful officer.^[19][20]

See also: Defence Survive, Evade, Resist, Extract Training Organisation § Royal Air Force

Aiding an escape from solitary confinement

The German Kommandantur in 2011.

The 'Tea Chest Escape' made Bruce the first prisoner to escape from both Spangenberg Castle and Colditz Castle. He was soon to be joined by Howard 'Hank' Wardle MC^[97] who would soon escape from Colditz with Captain Pat Reid, Major Ronald B. Littledale, and Lieutenant Commander L. W. Stephens. Wardle had also escaped from Spangenberg Castle.^{[98][note 6]} This escape by Wardle, Reid, Littledale and Stephens was aided by reconnaissance from Bruce. Pat Reid explained that whilst Bruce was in solitude, he got a message smuggled to Bruce, via his food. Reid wanted Bruce to give him some detail about the German Kommandantur of the castle.^[99] In due course Reid received a return message from Bruce.^[99] This message gave him information about the specific unused staircase, the top floors, and importantly, how the door to this staircase was in full view of the Kommandantur sentries, and how this door was put into shadow by the flood lights.^[99] On 14 October 1942, in the Kommandantur cellar escape, they all used Bruce's information and tried to get the staircase door open with a dummy key. Unfortunately the dummy key failed. This worked out though; as with their contingency plan, using the shadow, they slowly worked their way to the Kommandantur cellar to which they were to escape from.^[100]

Musketoon witness

In October 1942 seven captured commandos were processed inside Colditz and sent to solitary confinement. These commandos had previously been involved in the Operation Musketoon raid. Inside the cells Peter Storie-Pugh, Dick Howe and Bruce had managed to have conversations with them.^[102]

On 13 October 1942 the commandos were removed from Colditz and taken to the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RHSA) headquarters in Berlin, where they were interrogated one by one by Obergruppenführer Heinrich Müller.^[103] They remained in Berlin until 22 October, when they were taken to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. On the next day, 23 October, they were all shot in the back of the neck and their bodies cremated.^[104] These commandos were the first to fall victim to Adolf Hitler's Kommandobefehl (Commando Order) issued on 18 October 1942, which called for the execution of all commandos after capture.

In 1964 Stephen Schofield interviewed Bruce for his book 'Musketoon: commando raid, Glomfjord, 1942' (University of Michigan), revealing that while in the solitary confinement cells, Bruce managed to make contact with Captain Black DSO, leader of Operation Musketoon, the Anglo-Norwegian commando raid mounted against the German-held Glomfjord power plant in Norway. Bruce was the last British person to speak to Black before he (and six comrades) was murdered in Sachsenhausen concentration camp.^[102] The official German story given to the Red Cross was that the seven men had escaped and not been recaptured, and Colditz Oflag IVC were instructed to return any letters to their senders marked Geflohen (escaped),^[102] but Bruce's testimony was sent from Colditz to MI5 in London and ensured that the British authorities knew the truth.^[105]

Bruce was promoted again, to flight lieutenant, on 20 January 1943.^[106]

Escaping after August 1943

By 1944 escaping was becoming tougher and more risky. Walter Morison explained that by August 1943 most of the loopholes to escape in the castle had been exploited;^[107] making escaping even harder. By spring 1944 escaping got more risky. Contrary to the Geneva convention, the use of force had been debated inside the German mess for years. Oberstleutnant Prawitt, the Kommandant, and Staff Paymaster Heinze were keen on using it on repeat offenders,^[108] such as Bruce. So was Major Amthor, the new second in command, who had joined the mess in May 1943. Amthor was a young keen Nazi and had constantly tried to argue for the use of rough measures.^[108] Amthor and Prawitt were so hated by the prisoners that whenever they entered the courtyard, they were whistled and howled at.^[108] Püpke was not a Nazi and was even given a courteous reception during Appell in the summer of 1944.^[109] In late March 1944, Hitler had disregarded the Geneva Convention with regards to POWs. The punishment for escape now carried a risk of execution.^{[note 7]} Bruce made two further escape attempts in 1944: on 19 April and on 16 June.

On his 19 April escape, he cut through bars on the north side of the castle and reached the wire fence before being detected.^[111] After Bruce was seen by the sentries, he was fired at by rifles and machine guns.^[112] Knowing he did not stand a chance, Bruce surrendered. When surrendering, Bruce, to the amusement of the German guards, instead of yelling, "Ich gebe auf" ("I give up"), in a faux pas yelled, "Ich ueber gebe mich" ("I feel sick.").^[112]

Drain escape

Jack Best (standing, far left), Bader (sat middle), Bruce (far right sitting)

On 16 June escape, Bruce, Major R. Lorraine and John "Bosun" Chrisp tunnelled through sewers into an old well in the German yard that had a pipe that lead into the river, but were again detected.^[113] The sewage escape route that lead to the manhole covered well, was found via the help of earlier tunnelling and reconnaissance by the Poles, along with the help of Jack Best (also of the Colditz Cock fame) and Mike Harvey.^[114] Best and Harvey had frequented with the Poles in their time as ghost prisoners and had participated in their tunnel digging.^[114] Best hated the tunnel in his days as a ghost prisoner, claiming your arse always got wet with cold waste water.^[114] Though Best noted the Poles were very proud of their dangerous tunnel.^[114] One prisoner claimed the tunnel even had a 'terrifying' electrical cable that ran inside the damp conditions.^[115] When the Poles left the castle, the tunnel was bought by a party involving Douglas Bader, for 100 cigarettes.^[28] Sometime after 1941, the Poles had dug a key hole through a rock that itself led onto the main sewer system. In 1944, Bruce, Chrisp and Lorraine, surveyed the tunnel, whilst Dick Howe ensured the kitchen, showers and toilets were off limits to other POW's.^[115] When they entered that hole they found the main sewage system led to the well;^[116] the well they were soon to be captured in.^[115] They then returned to base, to have the castle's doctor brush them with iodine, and to collect some tools which would help them hammer spikes into the well wall.^[115]

When they returned to the well, Lorraine, tied by a rope, was lowered to the bottom of the well, in what was low tide, and began hammering in the spikes.^[115] There were three manhole covers around the German Kommandantur that were within 50 yards of each other.^[117] At the archway halfway outside of the castle, a guard heard noises beneath his feet, whilst he was standing near one of the manhole covers.^[117] Upon hearing the noise, the guard gave a shout to the riot squad and security officer; and an immediate order was made to open up the three manhole covers.^[117] Staff Paymaster Heinze walked past one of the covers, spotted them and spat at them calling them "stinking swines."^[117] Later, for this abuse, the Senior British Officer (SBO), obtained an apology.^[117] A guard also threatened to shoot Bruce, Lorraine and Chrisp whilst they were in the uncovered drain.^[115] The Germans then called an immediate Sonderappell. and after this Appell, an effort was made by the escape committee to save the hundred yard tunnel from inside the ex-Polish long-room, unluckily, for the escape committee, the Appell had given the Germans enough time to uncover the rest of the shaft.^[118]

Last days in the castle

Postcards sent by Bruce to his sons, Michael and Dominic, from Colditz at Christmas 1944. He was to see them and their mother in person only four months later, after four years of absence.

The Germans were getting tired of the prisoner escapes, and in the summer of 1944, each POW camp was given a flyer reinforcing the fact the Germans were taking escaping very seriously. The notice referenced that breaking out was no longer a sport, and that prisoners would be shot if they attempted to escape.^[123] The notice was up inside the Colditz prisoner yard by 8 August 1944.^[109] Eventually, orders came (via MI9 and the Senior British Officer) that all escapes were ill-advised, and that escaping would be even more perilous in a country losing the war, and where public order and military discipline would be falling apart.^[88] Bruce and his comrades had decided to sit out the war until the liberation came in April 1945, and camp morale was hit as a result.^[88] Bruce and his comrades would also learn, to their horror, of the 50 prisoners from Stalag Luft III, getting shot for escaping.^[88] During this time Bruce and his comrades would also be updated by the events in the war by a secret radio,^[88] and as the war progressed morale would be lifted again when they found out the allies where only 150 or so miles away to the west.^[88] He and his comrades would have also found Red Cross supplies were running short and hunger would mount.^[88] On 14 April 1945, he would have heard and witnessed gun fire and he would also come to realise that Willie Tod, and the French and American senior officers negotiated the keys to the Schloss after tense negotiations.^[88] He would also have learned just how close they were, on Hitler's orders, to being marched out of the castle towards the east.^[88]

Executive and advisory roles and honours

Bruce receives the OBE from HM Queen Elizabeth II

In civic and charitable bodies Bruce also acted as:

• Chairman of the Further and Higher Education Committee of the Archdiocese of Westminster
• Schools Officer, Archdiocese of Westminster, 1978–80.
• Member of the Board of Governors of St Mary's College (now St Mary's University), Twickenham
• Member of the Board of Managers of St Ignatius RC Primary School, Sunbury
• Committee member of the Association of Principals of Colleges and member of its Regional Advisory Council
• Chairman of the General Commissioners of Income Tax, Spelthorne Division
• Education Advisor to the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Bruce was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1989 for his services to Education.^[13] He was also awarded the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (Latin: Ordo Sancti Gregorii Magni) by Pope John Paul II.