Extract: This time the plan worked. The final layer of plaster gave way. The three men crawled out and waited by the wall. This extract has been taken from the book Four Miles to Freedom by Faith Johnston. — About the book FOUR MILES TO FREEDOM: ESCAPE FROM A PAKISTANI POW CAMP When Flight Lieutenant […]
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Extract: His plan is to ask to be taken to the toilet in the middle of the night. O the way there or back he will grab the guard’s gun from his holster and take him hostage. This extract has been taken from the book Four Miles to Freedom by Faith Johnston. — About the […]
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Extract: On the evening of Thursday, 27 July, they dislodged the final brick. ‘Tomorrow night, we go,’ said Dilip. But Grewal wanted to wait. The Simla Pact had just been ratified by both countries and troop withdrawals were beginning. Again there were rumours of a prisoner exchange. Why not wait a few more days to […]
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Extract: Several times he is handcuffed and blindfolded and taken to a larger room for interrogation. He actually looks forward to interrogation because it is very cold and the interrogator always begins with the question, ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ and then sends for two cups of tea, one for himself, and one […]
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Extract: He is in a cold, damp, dimply lit cell, God knows where. The cell is about seven feet by eight and has no window. The only furniture is a charpoy. The single light bulb in the ceiling, controlled by a switch outside, is never turned off. This extract has been taken from the book […]
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(Midnight, 12 August 1972) This time the plan worked. The final layer of plaster gave way. The three men crawled out and waited by the wall. When it seemed safe they dashed across the narrow alleyway to the back wall of the next cell block. The storm hadn’t broken, but a strong wind fired dust […]
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Extract: He vaguely remembers the plane being hit and going out of control. ‘I was lucky the plane pitched upwards, not downwards. I remember ejecting. It was almost a reflex. There was no choice.’ ‘Ejecting is like shooting a bullet,’ he explains, ‘and you are the bullet.’ This extract has been taken from […]
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Four Miles to Freedom is a true story that I first heard from my husband, who, like Dilip Parulkar, the hero of the story, was once a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force. Then in 2011 I met Dilip and discovered that he was a charming fellow with a great story to tell. It […]
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