John Robert Edward Hamilton-Baillie MC (1 March 1919 – 16 April 2003), was a British

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

officer famed for numerous escapes from German prisoner of war camps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. During his later life he was a founder of the

Fortress Study Group The Fortress Study Group is a charity registered in the UK with an international membership. Its purpose is advancing the study of post-medieval artillery fortifications throughout the World. History The Fortress Study Group was formed in June 1 ...

, a prominent member of the

Concrete Society The Concrete Society is a UK based non-profit company that was founded in 1966 in response to the increasing need for a single organisation embracing all those interested in concrete. On its formal inauguration, on 13 October 1966, the society to ...

, and a dedicated fund raiser for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Early life

John Robert Edward Hamilton-Baillie was born at

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

, on 1 March 1919. A scion of the noble

Hamilton family The Hamiltons of the United States are a family of Scottish origin, whose most prominent member was Alexander Hamilton (1755/57–1804), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Their ancestors and relations in Scotland included the Lai ...

, he was descended from the sixth Earl of Haddington. He was educated at

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, following which he was commissioned into the Royal Engineers and posted to the 26th Field Company.

Second World War

Hamilton-Baillie's company was mobilised with the 1st Division and sent to France at the start of the war. Shortly afterwards the company was transferred to the

51st (Highland) Infantry Division The 51st (Highland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought on the Western Front in France during the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The division was raised in 1908, upon the creation of the Territorial Force, as ...

and stationed in the Saar region to gain experience on the

Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...

. With the advance of the German forces, Hamilton-Baillie was wounded and captured at

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...

. After recovering from his wounds he was moved to a prison camp at Peronne from which he and another officer escaped but were recaptured after three days. Hamilton-Baillie was moved again to

Oflag VII-C Oflag VII-C was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers located in Laufen Castle, in Laufen in south-eastern Bavaria from 1940 to 1942. Most of the prisoners were British officers captured during the Battle of France in 1940. To ...

at Laufen from which he attempted to escape via a tunnel, but the exit was discovered before the escape could be made. As a result of his efforts, Hamilton-Baillie was moved to

Oflag VII-D Oflag VII-D was a World War II Germany, German German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II, prisoner-of-war camp for Officer (armed forces), officers (''Offizierlager'') located in Tittmoning Castle in south-eastern Bavaria. Camp history The camp ...

Tittmoning Tittmoning () is a Town#Germany, town in the Traunstein (district), district of Traunstein, in Bavaria, Germany. Geography It is situated in the historic Rupertiwinkel region, on the left bank of the river Salzach, which forms the border with the ...

, a medieval castle on an isolated plateau in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Making his next escape alone in spring 1941 he let himself through the wire and walked on foot a distance of almost 200 miles in ten days towards the Swiss border. Unfortunately his map was inaccurate and he was recaptured a matter of yards from freedom. Shortly after his return to Tittmoning, Hamilton-Baillie was moved to

Oflag VI-B Oflag VI-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager''), southwest of the village of Dössel (now part of Warburg) in Germany. It held French, British, Polish and other Allied officers. Camp history In 1939, ...

Warburg Warburg (; Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter distr ...

. In conjunction with the men there a mass escape was planned involving hinged ladders to cross the wire and a tunnel, the escape being covered by fusing of the camp lights and a diversion. Forty one prisoners escaped, three of whom managed to get back to Britain; one escapee died when the tunnel collapsed. Hamilton-Baillie was next held in

Oflag VII-B Oflag VII-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (''Offizierlager''), located in Eichstätt, Bavaria, about north of Munich. Camp history The camp was built in September 1939 to house Polish prisoners from the German inva ...

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...

in Bavaria. Here he joined a group of tunnellers in a well-organised escape group, helping to build a long well-supported tunnel with forced air ventilation and electric lighting. In June 1943 Hamilton-Baillie and 64 others staged a mass breakout but all were recaptured within two weeks. Finally, Hamilton-Baillie was moved to

Oflag IV-C Oflag IV-C, generally known as Colditz Castle, was a prominent German Army prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied officers during World War II. Located in Colditz, Saxony, the camp operated within the medieval Colditz Castle, which overlooks th ...

(

Colditz Castle Colditz Castle (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the States of Germany, state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns o ...

) from which he made a number of attempts to escape but remained incarcerated until liberation by the

69th Infantry Division (United States) The 69th Infantry Division, nicknamed the "fighting 69th," was a Division of the United States Army formed during World War II. It is distinct from the 69th Infantry Regiment (New York) (the "Fighting 69th"). The shoulder sleeve insignia of th ...

in April 1945. In December 1945 he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his many escape attempts and assistance to other prisoners.

Post war service

After the war Hamilton-Baillie attended

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, graduating from

Sidney Sussex College Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

with a First in Mechanical Sciences. In 1950 he attended Staff College in

Camberley Camberley is a town in north-west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. It is in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Tow ...

and was then posted to the 44th Parachute Brigade as brigade major. This was followed by a series of

BAOR British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First World War, First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO, NATO's Northern Army Gr ...

postings starting with the command of 5 Field Squadron RE in 1953. In 1959 he became chief instructor of the Army Apprentices School in

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

. After a series of senior administrative roles in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

, his final appointment was as Brigadier Engineer Plans in the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

during which he was aide-de-camp (ADC) to the Queen between 1972 and 1974.

Later life

Hamilton-Baillie retired from the army in 1974 and spent the following 10 years as lecturer in

soil mechanics Soil mechanics is a branch of soil physics and applied mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids (usually air and ...

and geology at the

Royal Military College of Science The Royal Military College of Science (RMCS) was a British postgraduate school, research institution and training provider with origins dating back to 1772. It became part of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in 2009, and ceased to exis ...

Shrivenham Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of the centre of Swindon. The 201 ...

. He was one of the founding members of the

in 1975 and served as chairman for a number of years. He was also a firm supporter of the

and a prominent member of the Concrete Society.

Honours and awards

*20 December 1945 - Lieutenant John Robert Edward Hamilton-Baillie (85553),

Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

, is awarded the

in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field.

Notes

References

Telegraph Obituary
NOTE Tittmoning is in Bavaria, not Czech Republic as stated in the Telegraph obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton-Baille, John Recipients of the Military Cross People educated at Clifton College 1919 births 2003 deaths Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War II Prisoners of war held at Colditz Castle British escapees Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Escapees from German detention People from Carlisle, Cumbria Military personnel from Carlisle, Cumbria