Doctor at War

Dr Ion Ferguson

From Wikipedia: "Ion Ferguson Royal Army Medical Corps (1913-1990) was an Irish-born British soldier who escaped from Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, during the Second World War. Ferguson was captured by the Germans in Greece in 1941 and held as a POW until 1945. Ferguson was moved to Colditz Castle after protesting to the German authorities about the treatment of prisoners. According to Punch magazine, "Dr. Ferguson is a typical Irish rebel who kicked against the authority of senior officers until becoming a P.O.W., when he would not allow the Germans to ill-treat anyone without voluble protest. His intransigence landed him in Colditz." Whilst incarcerated in Colditz in a ruse to get the attention of the German authorities, Ferguson wrote a letter to an Irish friend where he called for Ireland to join the war on the Allies side; the letter was stopped by censors but his wish to be moved elsewhere was granted. In Stalag IV-D he certified a number of prisoners as insane, who were consequently repatriated. He then convinced the Germans of his own insanity and returned to Britain the same way. Ferguson is described by the Lancashire Telegraph as a 'brave, no-nonsense Irish doctor'. Ferguson wrote a biography of his wartime experiences in Doctor at War

223 pages b/w photos hardback/ no jacket Published by Christopher Johnson, London (1955) 220mm x 140mm

fading to spine book is in good condition