- Brief Narrative
- British made, double sided, color topographical silk escape map, Sheet 43C and D, showing areas of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Germany, with an ancillary map of the new frontier, Belgium and Germany. The maps were produced by Branch M19, which was created in December 1939 to facilitate escape and evasion strategies for soldiers and prisoners-of-war by helping them find their way to safety from behind enemy lines. Silk was used because it was durable, easy to conceal, and made no noise. Maps were issued to RAF pilots, Special Forces, and other troops. M19 developed ways to smuggle them to POWs by hiding them in leisure items, such as board games and phonograph records. They were based on commercial maps by John Bartholomew and Son Ltd. which waived its copyright fees. Around 44 different maps were designed and about 300,000 were made. Toward the end of the war, surplus maps were sold for a few shillings to female employees of the Air Ministry. Some women made blouses from them as wartime rationing made clothing hard to obtain.
- Title
- Holland, Belgium (except west coast), France (north east), Germany (west and central), Sheet 43 C and D
- Date
-
manufacture:
1943
- Geography
-
manufacture:
London (England)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of College Park Aviation Museum
- Markings
- front, top, left in legend box, black dye : LEGEND / Important Through Roads / Other Main Roads / Subsidiary Roads / Special Motorways (Autobahnen, etc.) / Numbers of Routes Nationales / Distances in Kilometres between black dots or bars / Railways / Canals / International Frontiers / Former frontiers / HOLLAND / BELGIUM / (EXCEPT WEST COAST) / FRANCE / (NORTH EAST) / GERMANY / (WEST & CENTRAL) / For enlargement of / NEW / GERMAN - BELGIUM / FRONTIER / see inset Sheet “D” / turn over
front, top, center of legend box, black dye : SCALE 1 : 1,000,000 / English Miles / Kilometres / The Heights engraved on the map are in Metres
front, top right, black dye : SHEET C / OVERLAPS SOUTH MARGIN OF FGS/E. 43 / C
front, left side margin, black dye : OVERLAPS EAST MARGIN OF SHEET "A" ; front, right side margin, black dye : OVERLAPS WEST MARGIN OF SHEET 43/E ; front, bottom center margin, black dye : OVERLAPS NORTH MARGIN OF SHEET "D" (turn over)
back, center and top right corner, black dye : OVERLAPS SOUTH MARGIN OF SHEET "C" (turn over) 43/D
back, bottom left, left in legend box, black dye : FRANCE / (SOUTH EAST) / GERMANY / (SOUTH WEST) / SWITZERLAND / (EXCEPT SOUTH EAST) / ABOVE / (FOR ENLARGEMENT OF GERMAN-Swiss FRONTIER see inset Sheet “B”) / Scale = 1 : 1,000,000 / English Miles / Kilometres / LEGEND / Important Through Roads / Other Main Roads / Subsidiary Roads / Special Motorways (Autobahnen, etc.) / Numbers of Routes Nationals / Line of Demarcation / Distances in kilometres between black dots or bars / Railways / Canals / International Frontier / Former Frontier / The Heights engraved on the map are in Metres
back, bottom, within box, black dye : SHEET / D
back, bottom center, within box, black dye : INSET / RIGHT / BELGIUM & GERMANY / (NEW FRONTIER) / 1 : 250,000 / Scale 1 Inch to 3-945 Miles, / or 1-014 Inches to 4 Miles. / Miles / Kilometres / 1 Centimetre to 2-5 Kilometres. / LEGEND / Churches / Forts / Lighthouses / Heights in metres / Contour interval 50 metres / Woods in green, Orchards are not shown / Railways (double) with Station / “ (single) “ “ / “ narrow gauge or Tramway / Roads main (macadamized or paved) with Tramway / secondary “ “ / minor / Former Frontiers / Present Frontiers
back, right side margin, black dye : OVERLAPS EAST MARGIN OF SHEET "B" ; back, upper left side margin, black dye : OVERLAPS WEST MARGIN OF SHEET 43/F
- Contributor
-
Author:
MI9, Great Britain
