Trent Park Mansion, Enfield, Middx, UK – The One That Got Away (1957)
Posted by: 
bill&ben
N 51° 39.569 W 000° 08.107
30U E 698145 N 5727052
In the film, as it was in real life, the place that airmen were interrogated and had their rooms bugged was Trent Park Mansion
Waymark Code: WMEYHE
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/23/2012
Views: 3
The film is based on the true story of Ober lieutenant Franz von Werra, a luftwaffe pilot who was shot down in 1940. He was unsuccessfully
interrogated at Trent Park Mansion before being sent to a POW
camp in Satterthwaite, Cumbria.
He did make a bet with his RAF interrogator that he would escape within weeks.
He tried to escape from Satterthwaite
but was re-captured within days. After transfer to a POW camp in Derbyshire he
tried to escape again. This time he was nearly successful. Having escaped the
camp he tried to impersonate a Dutch airmen and nearly
succeeded in flying out of RAF Hucknall in an
experimental Hurricane. At the last minute his pretence was seen through.
After his first two attempts Von Werra was
sent to a camp in Canada. On route he jumped off the train into the snow and
made his way to the St Lawrence River. Using a stolen rowing boat,
that he pulled across the frozen river, he was able to get across the
unfrozen stretch to the USA. He claimed asylum and eventually made his way back
to Germany.
He rejoined the Luftwaffe but died whilst
on a mission.
There are waymarks
for the places near Satterthwaite that were key in Von Werra’s first escape attempt. See WM7Z1N,
WM7YZP,
WM7Z1C, WM7YZA,
WM7Z09.
Visit Instructions:New logs for waymarks must include a photo of the location. The photo should try and match, to the extent possible, the original present-day photo posted for the waymark.