After their ordeal in Russia, the last British Army prisoners-of-war to return from World War I held a reunion dinner at the Café Royal in Piccadilly. Unfortunately, not every member of the group had remained in London, but those that did attend, signed the back of a photograph that had been taken on board HMS Delhi.
The signatures that are in the image below were my starting point for the research that went into Churchill’s Abandoned Prisoners. I found it extraordinary what these men achieved in later life, but did not have space in the book to cover this aspect of the story.In January 2024, I will describe what I have discovered from various sources including university archives and verbal testimony, beginning on New Year’s Day with Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks, whose signature in in the bottom left of the photograph.
On Christmas Eve 1919, a dozen British families, who were fleeing from the Red Terror were stuck at Mariansk on the Trans-Siberian Railway Line with Captain Brian Horrocks and a troop of British Army soldiers, who had been ordered to remain behind to organise the evacuation of the White Russian capital, Omsk. The railway was in utter chaos because Admiral Kolchak’s army had been defeated and his government had collapsed, while he was stuck at Krasnoyarsk with the remains of the Imperial Treasury.
That evening, the British soldiers made the most of their situation. There was a babble of noise as 40 people squeezed into one carriage and ate their supper of soup, rice and vodka. A whisky bottle was shared around and they had an impromptu sing-song until 11.30 p.m. with a magnificent rendition of Helen of Troy and Give Me The Moonlight.
The soldiers’ incredible tale of survival through the Siberian winter, capture in Krasnoyarsk, deception in Irkutsk and imprisonment in Moscow is the subject of Churchill’s Abandoned Prisoners, with an introduction by Count Nikolai Tolstoy, whose father escaped from Russia in the same ship as one of the British soldiers on this train.
Brian Horrocks and the last British Army Prisoners-of-War in Russia
As we approach the 35th anniversary of the “deadliest terror attack in British history” that took place over Lockerbie on 21st December 1988, the BBC has published an article that raises more questions than it answers. The commemoration accurately describes the atrocious crime and the brilliant forensic work that brought two of the Libyan bombers to court in 1999 and the extradition of a third, Abu Agila Masud, who is awaiting trial in the USA.However, the article does not adequately explain why Colonel Gadhafi sponsored this despicable act of terrorismand instead,suggests that Iran and the Palestinians, rather than Libya, were behind the bombing.
I am surprised this conspiracy theory is still peddled by our public service broadcaster and they only link Libya to the attack through the bombing of La Belle disco in Berlin, which led to the 1986 US air raid on Tripoli (Operation Eldorado Canyon). This may have played a small part in his thinking, but this was water under the bridge by December 1988 because Gadhafi had shot down an F-111F bomber with the loss of two US pilots and the court of international opinion had sided with him (the UN adopted a resolution which condemned “the military attack perpetrated against the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on 15 April 1986, which constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law”).
The real motivation for Lockerbie centred on Gadhafi’s nuclear programme, which proved to be much more advanced than anyone outside Libya knew. Ever since 1973, the Brotherly Leader had occupied a large area south of the border with Chad, known as the Aouzou Strip, where he mined Uranium for use in his nuclear programme. However in 1987, France and the USA provided the military expertise in an offensive launched to recapture this land. By the end of September, Gadhafi’s troops were routed with more than 7,000 Libyans killed in what is now known as the (first) Toyota War.
This blow to Gadhafi’s prestige was the real reason why he sponsored his most despicable acts, the downing by suitcase bombs of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988 and Union de Transports Aériens Flight 772 on 19 September 1989. The former killed all 259 passengers and crew (from 21 countries) along with 11 residents of Sherwood Crescent. The later attack killed all 170 passengers and crew (from 18 countries) in a French DC-10 that was flying from the Congo to Paris over the Niger desert.It is about time that the BBC and other Media outlets told the truth about this.
Following David Cameron’s visit last month, the Defence Secretary made a timely trip to the Middle East this week. The Right Hon Grant Shapps was an inspired choice to visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories just before the UN Security Council Ceasefire Vote in New York. He is one of the few MPs who is respected by the Israeli government, so he can finesse the tricky balancing act created by British interests in the region. His stated aim of the visit, “to accelerate the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance into Gaza and efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages” sums up the current dilemma of advocating a Rules Based Approach to international relations while trying to deal effectively with hate-filled terrorist organisations.
Unlike France, Britain does not often deviate from American foreign policy when it comes to a UN Security Council debate. The mantra: “you are either with us or against us” has been heard repeatedly from the other side of the Atlantic for twenty two years and led successive governments to positioning Britain as America’s leading ally, so it is not surprising that Britain did not vote for the UN Secretary’s ceasefire.
There are two important consequences of this development. The first is the increasing difficulty Britain and America will have in persuading international partners that they should support them against China and Russia. The second is the growing importance of Britain’s military bases in Cyprus. When I hosted a previous Defence Secretary there before the Gulf War, the island was considered to be a side-show compared with the bases in Germany and Northern Ireland. Now, the strategic sites at Ay Nik and RAF Akrotiri are arguably the jewels in the “overseas” crown.
The murder of Major Kevin McCool near to Mount Kenya is a terrible reminder about the very real risks run by British soldiers in Africa. It is also a distressing coincidence that it took place close to where another intrepid Parachute Regiment officer, David Parkinson, was murdered by a machete gang ten years ago.
Kenya is the most wonderful country, with stunning wildlife, scenery and adventure training opportunities. Its coast has provided some of the best underwater diving experiences of my life and my uncle, who farmed close to where the British Army training unit is now located, enjoyed racing cars at Gilgil, before his untimely death.
Whenever, I travel in Africa, I am always reminded of the power of Nature, whether that be crossing a harsh desert, ascending a mountain, or floating down a giant river. However, the ever-present dangers that range from poisonous insects to cunning crocs are small-fry compared with the threat from criminal gangs, which are often connected to the $20 Billion illegal wildlife trade. In 2015, I became involved in RUSI’s countering poaching project, so I know how widely the tentacles of this trade are felt across the Continent and I am hoping that the British Army’s much-needed operations in this field will not be reduced as a result of the tragic death of Major McCool.
Rupert Wieloch 