This week in the War, 25 Sept–1 Oct 1944: Colditz and The Red Fox

British Army lieutenant, Michael Sinclair, was killed this week in the war, on 25 September 1944. Sinclair, known to the Germans as The Red Fox, was shot and killed while attempting to scale the outer-perimeter fence of Colditz Castle, Germany’s so-called ‘escape-proof’ prisoner-of-war camp. He had attempted two previous escapes, being stopped the first time when he was shot in the chest and the second time when he was caught near the Dutch frontier.

Prisoners-of-war who had been recaptured after escaping from other p-o-w camps were often sent to Colditz Castle, which was considered more secure. Famous prisoners included the RAF pilot, Douglas Bader, and the founder of the Special Air Service (SAS), David Stirling.

Patrick Reid was one of the few prisoners to escape from Colditz. His books include The Colditz Story (Hodder & Stoughton, 1952) which inspired the movie of the same name.