The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Small escape compass made from a pair of needles threaded end to end through two pieces of paper and a small piece of wood between the two papers. A piece of thread has been wound round the wood so that the compass can be suspended, allowing it to spin freely to locate North. The compass is concealed in a Canadian made paper wrapper for a Gillette safety razor blade.
Captain Purves was a Scottish Engineer prior to the First World War. He enlisted in the British Army, in the Scottish Horse Yeomanry in 1915, and later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force training as a pilot. His aircraft was shot down in 1918 and he was captured by the Germans. He was a prisoner at Holzminden Internment Camp and along with twenty nine other prisoners, escaped from Holzminden through a tunnel on 24 July 1918, successfully using a hand drawn map and an improvised compass that he had made.
Nineteen of the prisoners were recaptured, however Purves made it to Holland, successfully using his map and compass. He arrived at the quarantine camp at Rijks, Holland on 8 August 1918. After the war Captain Purves emigrated to Australia with his wife, Sybil. He worked on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and later became the General Manager of the Goliath Cement Works at Railton, Tasmania.
Hand drawn map in two parts belonging to Captain Stanley Bruce Purves, showing the area west of Holzminden. The one part shows the location of Holzminden and covers the area from Bielefeld to Dassel,
Hand drawn map in two parts belonging to Captain Stanley Bruce Purves, showing the area west of Holzminden. The one part shows the location of Holzminden and covers the area from Bielefeld to Dassel,
Black painted steel wirecutters. The handles are partly encased in deteriorating black rubber. Part of the manufacturer's name '...TER' is visible beside the rubber. Acquired by 2875 Private John Ri
Compass with a brass body and glass top. The interior compass face is fitted with a floating arrow and is marked in graduations of two degree increments, with every twenty degrees marked in black nume
Small magnetic escape compass contained in a round bakelite toothpaste container with part of the lid cut out to show the compass pointer, made from two luminous watch hands and two magnetised crewel
Hand made khaki belt with brass buckle and fabric belt loop. Stitched into a pocket next to the buckle is a small escape compass. The tongue of the belt contains a folded silk escape map, possibly of
The simplest method of reproduction used by prisoners was tracing or copying maps from originals. This was the most common method used in World War I, and was also used in The Second World War. A pri
