wall. Simultaneously, there was a surge of cheering male torsos out into the office part of the Police Station. Some of them made for the toilets and managed to climb out of a window into the yard outside. They were quickly rounded up and brought back. Those in the offices caused mayhem by cavorting about but without doing any damage. I think every policeman in the building rounded us up back into the Bridewell. A very Senior Police Officer appeared and told us to shut up and listen. He was quite fair, said we had had our fun and, as it was now only an hour until the end of the exercise, and if we behaved and rehung the gate, he would let us get dressed and would arrange transport for us to be taken back to Wellesbourne Mountford, to arrive just as the exercise ended. If we did not comply, we would be held for another hour and be taken back late. We complied.
Just as we were leaving some Saturday night drunks were marched in and banged up in the cells we were vacating. It has to be said that the police handled our behaviour with an amount of good humour. Several of their number shook hands with us as we left.
On arrival back at base, we checked in and then made our way back to our accommodation to shower and go to bed. Food was available but I don't think anybody bothered with it.
After being given a chance to recover on Sunday, we were debriefed on Monday morning. Less than half a dozen of us had arrived at the safe houses. Most of us had been captured and a very few had neither been captured nor reached safety. We were certain that the location of the safe houses was known to the defenders before the exercise began, but that was denied.
Those who were caught, and taken back to base, received rough treatment. They were incarcerated in the decontamination building, had fire hoses turned on them periodically and, just to liven them up, thunder-flashes were thrown in among them. This, it was said, was done because some evaders had given themselves up, thinking that, once captured, the exercise would be over for them. If that was true, they had been very wrong.
It took almost a week before most of us went about the camp without first wanting to look round corners or keep an eye open for other people. Only gradually did we lose our furtiveness. 247