What did you do in the war, Dad?

Alistair Price

Watch the presentation here (2 minutes in)

Alistair did some general research before embarking on this project to tell the story of his father, Ken Price, by talking to a surviving veteran of the Second World War.

Kenneth George Price was born on 4th October 1919 in Coventry. He had a twin, Douglas. The family was relatively poor, but at 13 Ken went to grammar school. He joined the RAF in September 1939. Posted to Catterick, he flew in the Battle of Britain. From 1941 he was in Bomber Command and flew 14 different types of aircraft. From 1942 he was in the 'Pathfinders' in a navigation role. Bombing targets accurately was difficult then, so Pathfinders went ahead and laid flares to guide the bombers following. The hit rate then went up to 45%.

Alistair’s mother was a corporal in the WAAF, and despite the fact that the lower ranks weren't supposed to fraternise with officers, she and Ken met and were finally married in 1946.  Ken’s brother was also in the RAF and sometimes they were muddled up because they were twins! Ken flew 58 missions as Squadron Leader. The life expectancy was five trips! The attrition rate was higher than being in the trenches in the army. Many airmen were killed in training. The pilot was the only member of a crew to have any protection.  Alistair went in a Lancaster bomber, and he said that it was really cramped. There was no ventral gun turret in the fuselage so the gunner could not see the attackers coming and was very vulnerable. In 1944 this changed, but it was too late for many. Ken won the DFC in July 1943.

On 25th July 1943, Ken went missing at Essen and the evidence is in the log book.  Ken was in a reconnaissance flight in a wooden Mosquito when the craft was hit over Holland and he crashed. He had to use a parachute made for someone much bigger which could not be adjusted for his size in time. He was lucky to survive. The Resistance picked him up and disposed of his uniform. He went to a Catholic Church for refuge but the Gestapo found him. He was beaten up, and taken to be shot three times. He was taken by a Luftwaffe officer to a transit camp and thence to hospital.  He was then sent to Stalag Luft 3 (made famous in the film 'The Great Escape'). Ken was there from 26 August 1943 to January 1945. In August 1943 he sent a card home, which arrived in October reporting on his situation.

The buildings of Stalag Luft 3 were built on sand and stilts to stop the prisoners from tunnelling. There were four compounds and, as an officer, Ken wasn't required to work. To set the record straight, there were no Americans and the film the Great Escape is mostly a fantasy! Photographs of the place also show harsh winter conditions while the film was set in good weather. Prisoners had a diet providing only1,000 calories a day. The Red Cross added another 1,000 with food parcels, although these stopped in 1944.  The camp hospital catered only for minor aliments and injuries.  Otherwise, a slightly better hospital was based in a hotel building.

Ken’s postcards home were optimistic.  One showed a picture of him and his mates with a German officer to show how well they were treated. Cards home were a bit haphazard, and censored. Alistair has a Christmas menu from a Red Cross meal parcel. Ken was in a troupe of actors, and he contributed to a camp newspaper although no news on the progress of the war was allowed.  They had radios, tuned to the BBC at night. Ken worked as a 'penguin', carrying sand dug from the tunnels to be disposed of. He became a good German speaker and engaged with the guards to get contraband. They acquired things to help with the escape. They needed maps of the area and received silk ones as paper deteriorates. Maps were hidden in books sent to the troops.  Squadron Leader Roger Bushell led the Great Escape.

Alistair showed us a drawing of the tunnel called Harry. It produced 200 tons of sand and used 4,000 bed boards to support the tunnels. Tunnel entrances were hidden below the stoves in the huts.  Of the other tunnels, Tom was destroyed and Dick was aborted.  They were then used to deposit the sand.  Harry took a year to build.  Then the Germans became suspicious so the escape was quickly brought forward! It was planned for 200 men to escape via Hut 104.  The tunnel to the outside was found to be too short so they had to escape at night when the Germans couldn't see them, when the lights were out during the British bombing. One hundred men had to retreat, including Ken. Seventy-six were successful. Most men were captured or killed in the attempt. Hitler wanted them all to be shot, but retribution was feared so only some were shot in the head then cremated.

Ken was paraded in his underpants in the cold as an example to others, and he suffered 'survivor guilt'.  A card home from 29 July 1944 was a bit more cheerful, as prisoners were censored from expressing unhappiness. The prisoners were marched out as the Russians approached and many died. Unfortunately, some were killed by mistake by Americans. In April 1945, they were rescued, just before the end of the war in Europe, in May.  On 3rd June, a German officer surrendered his gun to Ken, who threw it in the canal as he was not supposed to have it! His next card home was much happier.

When he returned, Ken received a tax demand for the time that he was a POW! He was very upset. He weighed only six stone, having been eight at the beginning of the war.  He went into the Civil Service after demob and retired in 1978 due to ill health.  He died on 25th April 1980. Alistair visited a Lancaster bomber at Hendon in 1980 and saw a photograph of his father. Ken has a cross in Westminster Abbey. Alistair showed us the special tie he was wearing with a barbed wire decoration. After all his research Alistair wrote a book during the COVID pandemic.

Report by Helen Elliott.