Captive Scorpion: The Story of PoW Trooper Mick Holland of the Long Range Desert Group and his Nine Escape Attempts

Trooper Mick Holland served seven months with the Long Range Desert Group as an interpreter, medical orderly, and gunner until his capture in September 1942.From there until the end of the war he spent more time ‘on the run’ than in PoW camps.He made seven escape attempts in Italy and two in Germany.Holland’s accounts take the reader on an incredible journey that exhibit an exceptional man with great tenacity and determination. The story begins with his time in the LRDG and the events leading up to his capture.This is followed by an overview which describes the life and conditions in the PoW camps in Europe, subsequential chapters outline the dramatic stories of his nine escape attemptsHis evasion skills were reflective of the LRDG motto ‘Not by Strength, by Guile’.Holland was a persistent and determined escaper who preferred to operate alone to bring less attention to himself.He gave his whole focus to the problems of planning escapes and was alert to seizing every opportunity and, if