Spike

Frank 'Spike' Hughes joined the Royal Air Force on 10th September 1939. He trained as a wireless operator / air gunner and served with 114 Squadron. In January 1943 his plane crashed in North Africa. The crew all survived the crash and were picked up by Italian soldiers and later handed over to the Germans. In due course they were taken to Stalag 344 Lamsdorf where they remained until January 1945, finally being liberated in April 1945 by American troops after the notorious Long March when the Germans evacuated prisoners-of-war camps westward, away from the Soviet troops that were advancing from the east. Spike's diary is a masterpiece, meticulously written, fascinating in its detail, about live in Stalag 344 Lamsdorf, one of the largest of the German prisoners-of-war camps in the Second World War. The diary also documents Spike's experiences on the Long March in detail that is often harrowing.