Author seeks veterans’ survival stories

Scarborough author Bryn Evans is once again putting the call out for families to share heroic stories about their ancestors who fought in World War II to include in his new book.

The book, titled To Escape, survive – or Die, will be a collection of dramatic stories of escape and survival from members of all armed services and civilians who fought for their country between 1939-1945.

It will be a follow on from his latest book, Airmen’s Incredible Escapes, which was released in 2020.

Bryn says every person’s tale of survival from the war-torn battlefields are unique, and focuses on the themes of luck, faith and fear.

“All escape and survival stories seem to be dependent to some degree upon an element of luck,” he says.

“The good fortune that assists someone’s escape appears to be random chance, indifferent to the individual and the circumstances.

“Yet often the person favoured by the will of the gods, feels as if an invisible power may have intervened to allow their survival.

“Another constant element is the fear experienced at the time by the survivor. Although there is nearly always a mixture of courage, skill and resilience assisted by luck, that enables escape and survival, some degree of good fortune pervades every such situation.

“The most inspiring element is the determination shown by those facing unimaginable adversity, irrespective of whether they survived or not.

“These stories of miraculous escapes, or survival often over a period of time in extreme adversity, are found everywhere, so many still little known and unrecorded, and demonstrate the relentless perseverance of the human spirit. Such stories well illustrate the remarkable persistence to go on when all seems lost.

“Amongst the stories of miraculous escapes and survival, there are also those who did not in the end survive. Many men had remarkable escapes, even on multiple occasions, only for fortune to turn against them, so that they did not live to tell their stories.”

Submit your stories

All contributions sent into Bryn will be diligently read and assessed for inclusion in the book.

Phone Bryn on 0407 694 968 or email [email protected]