Birendra Nath Mazumdar
Birendra Nath Mazumdar M.D. (1914 or 1915 – December 1997) was an Indian medical officer in the
Early life
Mazumdar was the son of a surgeon, born into a wealthy Bengali
Second World War
Mazumdar joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1939 when war broke out.
In June 1942, several months after arriving at Colditz, he was summoned to Berlin to meet with
Mazumdar was eventually transferred to a camp in Chartres. On 3 June 1943, he escaped along with his friend Dariao Singh.[4] The two walked 900 kilometres in 6 weeks to Switzerland and freedom.[1]
Post-war career
Mazumdar returned to the United Kingdom in 1946.[5] He resumed his medical career and worked as a GP firstly in Wales and then in Essex before retiring to Galmpton in Devon.[1] In 1996 an archivist from the Imperial War Museum made several oral recordings with Mazumdar on the basis that these would not be released until after his death. Following his death in December 1997 aged 82, his widow Joan agreed to allow public access to the tapes.[6][7]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780241408520.
- ^ a b c Amit Roy (1 October 2022). "The forgotten tale of Captain Birendranath Mazumdar". The Telegraph. Kolkata. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ "Mazumdar, Birendra Nath (Oral history)". Imperial War Museum Collection. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- ^ Ben Macintyre (10 September 2022). "How the only Indian ever imprisoned in Colditz escaped the Nazis". The Times. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "The Indian war hero who stood up to the Nazis". Rediff. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Bill Frost (4 February 1997). "Colditz secrets of Indian doctor who defied Nazis". The Times. p. 6 – via The Times Digital Archive (Gale).
- ^ Lincoln Shaw (29 January 1997). "Heroic Tale of Colditz hero". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. p. 16. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.