Grounded in Eire

The Story of Two RAF Fliers Interned in Ireland during World War II

By Ralph Keefer
Categories: Military History
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Hardcover : 9780773511422, 308 pages, October 2001
Ebook (PDF) : 9780773564466, 308 pages, October 2001

Description

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.