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Prior to WWI, capture and captivity in enemy hands had been regarded as a somewhat ignominious fate. However, experience of escape attempts during the Great War had resulted in a marked shift in attitudes. The value of MI9’s new philosophy of ‘escape-mindedness’ was clear: not only did it boost the morale of both families and comrades when the successful escapers made it back to these shores, it served to engage enemy resources in seeking to prevent the escapes and trying to catch the escapers, it maintained the morale of the PoWs in the camps who knew that their escape committees were in contact with MI9 and kept the PoWs occupied in planning and executing every aspect of escape. And in the final analysis, the escapers could often provide valuable intelligence on the state of the enemy’s war machine.
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