An original wartime postcard dated 24th December 1942 from C...

Hammer

£160.00

An original wartime postcard dated 24th December 1942 from Camo P.G. 21 at Chieti, Italy to Squadron Leader Dennin Wheatley, who was currently on Winston Churchills 'Planning' Staff attached to MI5.

This postcard was sent by his step-son, Lieutenant John "Jack" Younger (latterly Major General Sir John "Jack" Younger, 3rd Baronet, CBE) and refers in the card "congratulations even Gregory never did better". This refers to Gregory Sallust, one of Wheatleys best known fiction spys who pitted his wits against the Nazi's and always triumphed.

Younger was captured by the Germans during the battle for Tobruk on 20th June 1942, after fierce fighting. He and his men held out under heavy shellfire but were eventually overwhelmed, and Younger was taken prisoner. He was sent to Camp 21 in Italy, where he maintained his composure, famously greeting a friend with nonchalance despite being a POW.

Following the Italian armistice in September 1943, Younger escaped from the camp, narrowly avoiding recapture by hiding in a water tank. He joined the Italian partisans and helped organize escape routes for Allied POWs, assisting 18 men in crossing into neutral Switzerland, including one who traveled disguised as a fireman on a train. Younger also gathered vital intelligence, which he passed through partisan channels, and commanded sabotage operations for several months.

In October 1944, he was ordered to return to the 8th Army with a group of escaped prisoners and was later awarded an MBE for his courageous actions during the war.