Trapped behind enemy lines
Accounts of British soldiers and their protectors in the Great War
by John Anderson and Victor Piuk
published by Pen & Sword Military 2015
ISBN 978 1 47383 801 7
Hardback. 166pp plus acknowledgements and bibliography. No index. Illustrated.
Cover price £19.99
Reviewed by Chris Baker
This is a book that will appeal to many people thanks not only to its intriguing content but the joint authors’ wonderful story-telling skills. It concerns a number of examples of British soldiers who were cut off from their units during the 1914 retreat from Mons and who found themselves isolated behind enemy lines. They were taken in by French people at great and increasing risk. These are not so much military stories, although the setting is of course during war, but they are stories of human courage, ingenuity, defiance, love and, in many cases, tragedy.
The book centres on David Cruickshank of the 1st Cameronians, who was cut off during the Battle of Le Cateau and taken in by Mme Julie-Celestine Baudhuin and her family. She had already lost her husband as a prisoner of war and, as we discover in the most painful circumstances, her son was killed in action. She fed and sheltered Cruickshank, cautiously sought medical help for him, and defied the Germans in many raids of her property. The occupying force became increasingly brutal in its treatment of both the evaders and their protectors. How Cruickshank evaded capture for so long is simply extraordinary – but no “spoilers” here, you’ll have to read the book!
It was almost inevitable that someone would eventually inform the enemy. Threatened with your life, or with the promise of rewards when you are destitute, perhaps you or I would do the same even in the knowledge of what a shameful act it was. Mme Baudhuin was sentenced to ten years imprisonment; her young son sent to forced labour; her 14 year-old daughter left to her own devices. Cruickshank, long since out of uniform, was initially treated as a civilian criminal and denied even the basic care accorded to POWs. He was at first sentenced to death but, surprising that it seems, was saved only by the German judge reacting favourably to Mme Baudhuin’s appeal for his life to be spared. Both survived their ordeals.
This core story is placed in a wider context of the progress of the nearby war on the Western Front, and is intertwined with other stories of British soldiers in a similar position. Some met terrible and unjustifiable fates; others came through the years of tension, fear and starvation. Gradually, escape networks were established but often all too fleetingly as the Germans discovered them, and arrested and often executed those who sought to help their British allies. The bravery of their French protectors is undoubted and should not be forgotten. This excellent, well researched and clearly written book does them proud. In Cruickshank’s case there is love, too, for very soon after the war he returned to France and married Aimee Olivier: of similar age to him, she had been a neighbour and confidant of Mme Baudhuin and had played a central part in the care of David whilst he was in hiding.
“Trapped behind enemy lines” also includes a very good selection of photographs, some of which are postcards or other images not before published. They include some of Cruickshank and his saviours, and of Le Cateau during occupation.
A great read and well worth buying.
Please note: the Amazon image for this book includes text saying “Foreword by Richard van Emden”. This is not included in the copy I reviewed above.