The ‘British’ contingent at Oflag IVC was represented by 4 SBO’s over the course of the history of the camp. In hisorical order they were as follows:
Guy German
Lieut.-Col. Guy German, DSO, Royal Leicestershire Regiment, Senior British Officer at Colditz in 1941 & 1942.
“No one is under any misapprehension as to why Guy German is being removed (to Spangenberg - Oflag IXA at the end of January 1942,.. GW). He is as much a soldier in the field while in prison as before his capture. His almost ferocious loyalty to British escape interests has won commendation from all nationalities.”
‘Padre in Colditz’, The diary of J.Ellison Platt
‘Daddy’ Stayner
Liet.-Col. D.S. Stayner, The Dorsetshire Regiment, Senior British Officer at Colditz from February 1942 until June 1943.
‘Tubby’ Broomhall
Liet.-Col. W.M. Broomhall, Royal Engineers, Senior British Officer at Colditz from June 1943 until November 1943.
“On 22 June thirty-six officers and four orderlies arrived as the first batch of the sixty-seven British officers and men who had taken part in one of the biggest break-outs of the war - the tunnel out of Oflag VIIb at Eichstatt. Most of the rest of the sixty-seven followed a few days latter; and then nine more came from another escape attempt at Eichstatt. Among these last was Lieutenant-Colonel Broomhall who, senior in rank to Stayner and to Guy German, who had returned to Colditz, immediately became the Senior British Officer.
He was at first suspected of a heel-clicking ‘policy of appeasement’ towards the Germans, but within a month he had won the camp’s respect for the tough stand he took against the Germans on behalf of the growing number of Very Important Prisoners, those peers and relatives of Royalty and Winston Churchill whom the Germans seemed to think might come in useful as hostages, and whom they called the ‘Prominente’. ”
‘Padre in Colditz’, The diary of J.Ellison Platt
‘Willie’ Tod
Liet.-Col. W.Todd, Royal Scots Fusiliers, MC
SBO from November 1943 until the Camp was liberated in April 1945.
“Aged about fifty-four, Willie Tod was a regular officer of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, tall, grey-haired and good-looking, with strong features and bright blue eyes.”
‘The Latter Days at Colditz’ by P.R.Reid, M.C., M.B.E.
“A regular soldier, an officer and a gentleman. In the view of we Junior Officers he was the embodiment of everything a senior officer should be.
In an individualist’s camp such as ours, that was not too easy. The task of keeping the internal side of the camp happy is far from simple. Irrespective of what order is given or what conditions are laid down, somebody is always willing to complain it is “grossly unfair” or that somebody is working “a racket”. That is because human nature is what it is, and not what we would like to think it is.
In dealing with the Germans it was a case of fighting from morning till night for everything we got. Generally speaking, an SBO must differentiate between what does matter and what does not matter; giving way to the Germans on what does not and alternatively taking a definite stand on what does.”
‘Detour’ edited by J.E.R Wood, MC.
“Colonel “Willie” Tod, the SBO of the camp, came into his own as the man to be relied upon in a crisis. He was recognised as the senior officer of the whole camp and represented all nationalities in the routine dealings with the Germans. He watched the mounting tide of chaos around the Castle with cool detachment, and, having the confidence of his own officers, he was able to handle the Germans with skill. He was all that a soldier should be.
‘The Latter Days at Colditz’ by P.R.Reid, M.C., M.B.E.