Convicted for Courage

Released from Strangeways Prison, his sentence as a Conscientious Objector commuted to exile as a farm labourer, Eric Chapman, ex Sheffield cutler, is intrigued by the Prisoners of War he is billeted with. Befriending Palmiro 'Pam' La Banca leads him to explore the 'Officially Secret' world of the 168,000 Italian POWs who built the first 80 Standard Camps in the nationwide system.Estranged from his pregnant wife, Eric seeks friendship among Britain's enemies. By the time 402,000 Germans are added, he realises he is the only one interested, so sets out on a quest to record the POWs' experiences in Britain.Then came the Ukrainians.Kevan Pooler has collected testimonies of those involved in most aspects of the POW camp system since the 1980s. He has transposed the memories into this contemporaneous 'memoir' of Eric Chapman, a Conscientious Objector: The only complete story of the POW camps in Britain 1940-1950