Grounded in Eire : the story of two RAF fliers interned in Ireland during World War II / Ralph Keefer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Keefer, Ralph, 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Keefer, R. G. (Ralph Gardener), 1917-.

Keefer, R. G.

Calder, Jack, -1944.

Calder, Jack.

Great Britain. Royal Air Force--Biography.

Great Britain.

World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Irish.

World War, 1939-1945.

Prisoners of war--Ireland--Biography.

Prisoners of war.

Prisoners of war--Canada--Biography.

Physical Description:

xi, 263 p. : ill., facsims., maps, ports. ; 24 cm.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca, [N.Y.] : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

After an unusual interrogation at the hands of the Local Defence Force in County Clare, Keefer and Calder were transferred to a makeshift prison camp in County Kildare B right next to a similar camp for German prisoners. There they found themselves subject to a surreal honour system that allowed them daily parole away from their internment camp, free to golf or cycle across the broad plains of the Curragh without any supervision. This system forbid escape attempts when they were on parole but bound them, as RAF officers, to attempt to escape upon their return to camp. A colourful and often amusing record of events, Grounded in Eire offers insight into this little-known aspect of the war and provides a testament to courage, friendship, and perseverance in the face of unusual obstacles.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Author's Note

The Trip Over

Slainte, and Welcome to County Clare

The Officers' Bar

Life on the Curragh

Celebrating Pearl Harbor

That Let-Down Feeling

Waiting for Tipperary

A Handy Corkscrew

The New Plan

Bus A, Please!

Epilogue

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

ISBN:

1-282-85675-8

9786612856754

0-7735-6446-2

OCLC:

929121201