Captive Audience : Life, Laughs and Love in a Second World War POW Camp

Paul Johnson delves into the previously unpublished diaries of a Second World War POW, exploring camp life and Lieutenant John Blomfield Dixon’s passion for drama.

Lieutenant John Blomfield Dixon, East Riding Yeomanry, was 20 years old when he was captured near the village of Watou, Belgium, on 31 May 1940 during the retreat to Dunkirk. His combat career had been short but eventful, and now he began a long journey in captivity. He would be held in number of Oflags, POW camps for officers, including Laufen, Warburg, Posen, Biberach and finally Eichstätt in Bavaria. During his captivity, John recorded the highs and lows of camp life in a series of diaries. As the war progressed, he became more involved in camp theatrical productions, which included works by William Shakespear, Noël Coward and Benjamin Britten. John often played female roles, which he eventually grew to hate. He was finally released on 10 May 1945 after five long years behind the wire, keeping his diaries and many associated photographs hidden from the world until now. Paul Johnson explores John’s account in detail – military service and capture, camp life, the efforts to escape, the killing of comrades, his hatred of both captors and captives, his participation in many theatrical performances, a forbidden love and his eventual return home. The text is complemented with black and white and colourised photographs depicting the life, laughs and love of a British POW in Germany during the Second World War.