DREADED PRISON

Evening Star, Issue 23382, 27 September 1939, Page 6

DREADED PRISON

DARTMOOR MAINTAINS RECORD " THE PLACE OF NO ESCAPES ” Six hours after making a dash for freedom from a farm milking party a Dartmoor convict was captured on the moors, and once again the grim prison walls closed on a man who thought he could make a getaway from “ the place where no one can escape.” From early morning, when the convict, George Albert Piper, broke away, a relentless comb-out of the moors was made by police and warders, who were assisted bv holiday-makers. ‘The hunt ended when Piper was found-by some officers on the moor adjoining the main road to Plymouth. He was taken into custody without a struggle. Warders stopped a passing car "whose sole occupant was a woman, and she drove the convict back to prison. Piper had served 15 months oi a sentence of three years’ penal servitude for larceny, and had earned full remission marks. The farm is just beyond the confines of the prison, and work on it is generallv recognised as a duty for good conduct men. The first warning ofthe escape was the sound of the prison siren, and a minute later every warder who could he spared was rushed from the prison. . . , Every police station was informed, and police officers were sent out to form a wide cordon round the district. The weather was clear when he disappeared, but less than an hour later a mist began to settle over the district. Local people, as well as many holiday-makers, joined in the chase. They were organised into groups bv police and warders, and were sent out in groups in different directions to <( comb n the moors.

COMPLETE SURPRISE. Piper’s escape came as a complete surprise, for during the 15 months he has been at Dartmoor his behaviour has been exemplary, and he has earned full remission marks. Decently he was promoted to. the category or a trusted ” convict, which meant that he received various privileges and was not under such strict supervision as the other prisoners. , ~ On the morning of tho break Piper was engaged in milking a cow, when he got up and went behind one of the farm buildings. , A warder saw him go, and when he failed to return after a couple of minutes walked behind the building and saw him disappearing in the distance on the moor. The remaining convicts were marched back to the prison, and the prison siren, blaring out its warning of an escape, summoned back all the prison officers who were off duty. Unofficial helpers in the man hunt were hundreds of soldiers from the Plymouth garrison who were undergoing manoeuvres in the vicinity of Yelverton. At 2.30 p.m. police, assisted by special constables and a few holidaymakers, started a concentrated drive over the, moors. After a few minutes, however, apparently due to false alarm, they began running back to the prison gates. They had just set out again when a van drew up. Tt contained Piper, who had been found by officers on the moor adjoining the main road to Plymouth. Ho gave himself up without a struggle. PREVIOUS BIDS. No convict has within living memory made a successful escape from the grim prison at Princetown. Last June a man who made a bid for freedom was at liberty for only 15 minutes before being recaptured behind the prison farm. The last man to try before him—in January, 1937—was found 10 hours later hiding in a quarry five n.iles from the prison. There have been some sensational attempts to escape. Two convicts who broke away in 1934 held up a van. knocked the driver unconscious, and drove to Mortonhampstead,'l4 miles away, where they were recaptured after a fierce fight with police and villagers, one of whom rammed a dust bin over the head of one of the fugitives, and so made him helpless. In the same year two others were free for six days. They were recaptured after the moors had been combed with the aid of bloodhounds. Two convicts sealed the prison wall with a ladder

whii4i thev had improvised in the blacksmith’s shop in 1931; but they were caught some days later after committing several robberies.