Airey Middleton Neave was a British soldier, barrister and politician with an impressively long array of letters after his name. During World War II, Neave was one of the few servicemen to escape from the German prisoner-of-war camp at Colditz Castle. He later became a Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, representing the constituency of Abingdon in Berkshire.

I was fascinated to learn the details earlier today of his first attempted escape from Colditz. On 28 August 1941, disguised as one of the guards, he tried his luck. However, he did not make it out of the castle as his hastily-made German uniform (made from a Polish army tunic and cap which he had painted with scenery paint) appeared bright green, not grey under the prison searchlights. He confessed later in an interview that he was ‘rather short-sighted’ and mistook the grey of the N.C.O uniforms for green.

He tried again on 5 January 1942, again in disguise, together with Dutch officer Anthony Luteyn. Better uniforms and escape route (they made a quick exit from a theatrical production using the trap door beneath the stage) got them out of the prison and by train and on foot to Switzerland.

What I found incredible about his story was the fact that he went to all the trouble of creating a convincing German uniform only to make it the wrong colour! Knowing he was short-sighted, perhaps would have made him think he needed a second opinion about his ‘paint job.’
But I imagine he could trust no-one with his plan. His second attempt worked, interestingly due to it being worked out by both him and officer Anthony Luteyn.

Airey was a genius strategist, a trained lawyer who was fluent in German but he couldn’t see very far. His friend had the necessary complimentary skills. Once the two men were out of the castle they were challenged by one of the other German guards. Keeping his composure, Officer Luteyn just shouted in perfect German, “How dare you not salute!” The two men then made their escape.

God puts us in pairs and teams for a reason. We all need people around us who can be our eyes when we have a ‘blind spot’ about something.
Pray today that He would provide you with the right people to see for you.