Episode 11 - Arthur and Syd

Comedian Arthur Smith talks about his dad Syd who was a prisoner-of-war in Colditz.

Syd was captured at the Battle of Alamein. He was taken to Sicily, paraded in Palermo as a trophy of war, and then sent to do forced labour in a copper mine.

But he finally ended up in Colditz, the Saxony castle that became a prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers who'd escaped from other camps - or who were deemed a security risk.

But Syd wasn't a committed escapee. So, Arthur explains why his dad was sent to Colditz.

Syd hand-wrote his memoirs when he was 70. Arthur says they're his most-prized possession. And reads the odd extract from them during the interview.

This podcast is a tribute to a much-loved father but it does contain the odd profanity and occasional reference to “getting his leg over”.

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