Book "Uciekałem pięć razy" - John Elwyn Jones

Memories of a Welshman who fought alongside Poles after escaping from captivity
John Elwyn Jones ended up in a German prisoner of war camp in what is now Poland during World War II. From there he made successive escape attempts, only the fifth of which was successful.

The author recounts his experiences in vivid and dynamic language, reminiscent of an adventure novel. As an intrepid young man, he does not give up. He stubbornly strives for freedom. He wants to fight in defense of the values close to him.

Particularly interesting is the extensive Polish plot - the love affair and clandestine marriage to a Polish woman, the decision to join the Home Army, participation in the fighting at Bichniov, and finally the subsequent escape attempts culminating in getting on a Swedish ship and returning to Poland in the 1980s.

I Escaped Five Times is not only an engrossing personal story, but a one-of-a-kind testimony of a British man fascinated by Poland, who brings the wartime fate of Poles closer to his compatriots. In the end, he asks them an uncomfortable question: what do we Brits really know about the suffering and atrocities of World War II?

John Elwyn Jones (1921-2008) was born in Dolgellau in north Wales. At the age of eighteen, he joined the Welsh Guards. In 1940 he was taken prisoner by the Germans and sent to a camp in Poland. Here he secretly married Cecylia Grygier ("Celinka"), who soon disappeared. After successfully escaping, he fought alongside the Poles and then made his way through Szczecin to Sweden and Great Britain, where he was awarded the DCM medal. He served in the Air Force from 1957 to 1964, and after retirement worked as a teacher in his hometown of Dolgellau.

In the 1970s he began a literary and translation business. He translated into Welsh the novellas of Bolesław Prus and Henryk Sienkiewicz, Jerzy Andrzejewski's Ashes and Diamonds and the poems of Zbigniew Herbert, among others. He also wrote down his war memories.

Life added an unusual epilogue to Jones' story: in 1997, after the broadcast of the series based on Escape Five Times, TVP received a letter from the son of "Celinka"....
I have never had the opportunity to meet people more loyal, courageous and honorable.
John Elwyn Jones about the Poles

Book in Polish language version.

Technical data
Author: John Elwyn Jones
Year of publication: 2017
Binding: soft
Format: 144 x 207 mm
Number of pages: 328
Publisher: Replika