‘There is one thing that a POW learns very quickly and that is that only four things matter for survival. They are food, water, shelter and clothing. The absence of any of those essentials makes lifevery precarious. Having them all allows you to exist, but there is one other thing that makes such an existence bearable: mateship. It shines like a beacon through the gloom. It provides the strength to battle on and survive till the sun shines again. To all my old mates, most of whom have since left this earth for that big Stalag somewhere – thank you! I think of you often with reverence.’ Charles Granquist
The son of a World War I veteran, Charles Granquist was 17 when war was declared with Germany in 1939.
He lied about his age, joined the infantry and was sent to Egypt. Like so many other young men at the time, Granquist did not know what to expect. All he really cared about was doing his duty and serving his country.
He never even contemplated his chances of becoming a prisoner of war – he was there to fight and take prisoners.
Captured by the Germans in Greece, Granquist was determined to continue carrying the war to his captors “anyway I could”. In his memoir, A Long Way Home, he describes his shame at becoming a POW and how he believed he had failed himself, his mates and as a soldier. He orchestrated a remarkable five escape attempts, all of which ended unsuccessfully. Yet Charles refused to give up, determined to fulfil his duty as an Aussie Digger and make his own small contribution to the war effort.
His story takes the reader on the rollercoaster of escape, recapture and 196 days of solitary confinement before his eventual return home with his Russian war bride.
