In either World War, only one German escaped from mainland Britain: Gunther Pluschow. “Escape From England” tells his story.

But this book is special for more reasons than that: it gives a unique account of the siege of Tsingtao, describing possibly the first aerial combat of WW1. Perhaps most fascinating of all, it tells of the British Home Front in 1915 – but as seen through German eyes!

In 1914, airman Gunther Pluschow was based in the German enclave of Tsingtao in China (the German equivalent of Hong Kong). Japan declared war on Germany in 1914 and besieged the colony. Pluschow flew reconnaissance missions until the colony fell, when he escaped to China. He subsequently had to escape from internment and caught a ship to San Francisco. From there he travelled overland across the USA and caught another ship to Europe. The ship was stopped by the British at Gibraltar - Pluschow was disguised as a Swiss but was betrayed and recaptured. From Gib, he was taken to England and imprisoned at Donington Hall. It was then that he made his daring escape.

Pluschow spoke English well enough to pass off as an American sailor on the streets of London. Whilst waiting to try and stowaway on a neutral vessel, he was nearly “press-ganged” into being recruited for the British Army – irony indeed.

As well as his escape from the P.O.W. camp, “Escape from England” contains Pluschow’s narrative of the little-known siege of Tsingtao. During his reconnaissance sorties, he was unofficially credited with shooting down a Maurice Farman aircraft – an aviation first.

Pluschow’s book has been out-of-print in English for seventy-eight years. “Escape from England” at last brings this remarkable man’s stories back into press. To say it has been too long in coming is an understatement.