Over the Wire: A POW's Escape Story from the Second World War

By Philip Newman

Philip Newman, a British army doctor left behind after the evacuation from Dunkirk, spent his time as a prisoner of war in France, then Germany, treating the wounded and sick – and planning to escape. 

After several failed attempts he got out over the wire and journeyed for weeks as a fugitive from northern France to Marseilles, then across the Pyrenees to Spain and Gibraltar and freedom. He was guided along the way by French civilians, resistance fighters and the organizers of the famous Pat escape line. 

His straightforward, honest and vivid memoir of his work as a doctor at Dunkirk, life in the prison camps and his escape attempts gives a fascinating insight into his wartime experience. It records the ingenuity and courage of the individuals, the ordinary men and women, who risked their lives to help him on his way. It is also one of the best accounts we have of what it was like to be on the run in occupied Europe.

As featured in The East Anglian Daily Times, Suffolk & Norfolk Life Magazine and Iceni Magazine.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Oct 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781473830066

Philip Newman

Phil Newman, fourteen years a Concorde Flight Engineer, has turned his hand to romantic adventure novels to carry the green, sustainable, energy message. The Meira series of books are based on the findings of Christopher Jordan, "Secrets of the Sun Sects", and on his own, extensive, travels in the Southern Ocean, Antarctica, and the South American tropical rainforests. Philip brings adventure and excitement to the science of renewable energy and the study of the Ancients' use of the Sun. For comment please use: [e-mail]

Reviews for Over the Wire

[robpalmer-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author was a medical officer with the 12th Casualty Clearing Station, which was sent to France in 1940 as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The unit withdrew back into the Dunkirk perimeter, with author being captured with others from the unit and their wounded patients. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his gallantry and leadership at Bethune and Dunkirk. The author escaped from a prisoner of war camp in 1942 and made his way through France to eventual freedom in Spain to be joined by Airey Neave. He served later with the 21st Army Group in North West Europe (which is not covered in this book).This is one of several personal accounts of people during the Second World War published over the past decade, but in spite of this, I found this book very readable and informative. The story reads in chronological order of events and flows nicely. There are many anecdotes and personal experiences that make his book interesting and worth reading. Some photographs are included in the middle of the book.I enjoyed reading this book and compared to the academic texts I generally read currently, I found it light relief. The most interesting issue for me was the selfless involvement of many ordinary French people who took great risks to shelter and move Allied prisoners of war. This book is a fitting tribute to them and is worth reading.