Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the patient indulgence of many friends who have heard me tell versions of this story for too many years. Jamie Bradbeer for suggesting I begin to write the details down. Helen Garner for challenging me to find more of the story’s heart. Heather Morris for assuring me that the story needed a wide readership. Jurij Rifelj for being a tireless promoter of Slovenian–Australian friendship. Jana Grilc for opening so many doors in Slovenia. Herman Novak for being my first Slovenian trail guide (and mushroom hunter). Špela Strasser and Matej Pistor for mapping The Crow’s Flight trail and being such excellent company, day after day. Dare Alič for bringing Partisan history to life in stories along the escape route. All the Slovenians I have met anywhere in the world who have encouraged me with generous hospitality, kindness and pride in this story. Monty Halls who invited me to Slovenia to talk about my father on film. Liberty Smith who found so much archival material. Edmund Goldrick who was a gift from heaven, the perfect researcher, historian, critic and enthusiast, the story would not be grounded by documentation without him. My brother Steven who gave endless practical suggestions and highly amusing critiques, as well as proofreading. My mother Ronte for her recollections and her patience with questions and opinions as to my father’s motives. Lisa Charter for her delighted interest and feedback, particularly in the early draft stage. Mary Smith for being a disinterested reader, seeking clarification and more direct structure, as well as for just keeping my feet on the ground. My daughter Lucy for travelling to Slovenia with me, walking in Ralph’s footsteps and wanting to know the story. To my father for his outrageous character, his way of making his own crazy luck and for finding his way home.
Edmund Goldrick would like to thank Diane and Phil Sullivan, without whose love and kindness his participation would not have been possible. Špela Gašperšič and Jaka Kolbl Krokar for their endless generosity and kindness. Luka Kolbl for inadvertently setting up this adventure, and providing invaluable materials and translation assistance. Ahmad Elmouniery for going above and beyond to extract material from the UK National Archives. Rebecca Banović for her wise counsel. Živa Jahr for further translation help. Dare Alič, Gregor Joseph Kranjc, Deidre Mussen, Roger Stanton, Blaž Torkar, and Eduard Vedernjak, for their historical expertise. The late Brian Sims and his friend Dennis Hill for providing Brian’s research. That research led to the ‘eureka’ moment that confirmed the involvement of Allied intelligence in the escape. The staff of the Australian National Archives, the Australian War Memorial Archives, the Manildra Library, the National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia, and the UK National Archives, for their tireless assistance. The families of escapees for personal insights and materials, foremost Shirley Jorritsma, Steve Luckett, and Geoff Rendell. My godfather, Eric Grove, for his historical inspiration. Sadly, Eric did not live to see this published. Lastly, my parents, James and Ruth, for their constant love and support.
Children and teenagers stand in a single file in the increasing order of their height from left to right in a garden. They hold the shoulders of the person standing in front of them and smile for the camera.
Churches family (including Ralph, far left), 1918 Kulkami.
Two women and a child stand in a garden filled with flowering plants and pose for the camera. A house made of tin sheets is behind them.
Settlers in Murray Mallee.
Ralph, wearing a striped blazer, poses for the camera next to his bicycle.
Ralph about to begin shoe repair sales, 1934.
Ralph, wearing a pinstriped suit and a tie, poses for the camera.
Ralph starts at the State Bank, 1935.
An area with grass and small bushes in the foreground and single-storey buildings and trees in the background.
Wudinna, 1936.
Ralph, two male friends and a small boy sit on bicycles in the middle of a street in a street and pose for the camera. A car is behind them and a shop to their right.
Ralph (far left) and friends in Wudinna, late 1930s.
Ralph, wearing a military uniform and slouch hat, poses for the camera.
Ralph enlisted, 1940.
Thirty men in rows, wearing military uniforms and slouch hats, pose for the camera.
Men of 2/48th battalion AIF, 1940.
Ralph, wearing a military uniform and slouch hat, and Ronte, wearing a dress with a geometric print, lean against a picket fence, smile, and pose for the camera. A brick building with wooden awnings and two women are in the background.
Ralph and Ronte on honeymoon, 1940.
A large group of men, wearing military uniforms, eat biscuits and drink beverages from their cups in a room set with long tables. They are all looking at the camera.
Ralph (middle left, second from front) and A company, 2/48th Battalion, pre-embarkation, Adelaide, 1940.
A group of men crouch behind a small mound of sand and aim their rifles at something off camera.
AIF firing drill, Palestine, 1940.
Ralph and another man, both wearing military uniforms, pose for the camera. A young man, wearing a tunic and head covering stands between the other two men. Ruins of Grecian buildings are in the background.
Ralph (right) on leave in Athens, March 1941.
A large group of men, wearing military uniforms, sit in a shallow ditch with their rifles and canteens. Most are wearing helmets. Trucks and cars move in a single file on the road next to the ditch.
Lusterforce (2nd NZEF) troops retreating in Greece, April 1941.
A group of men, some wearing military uniforms, sit on the deck of a ship. A flag with Union Jack on the top left corner flutters from a pole on the ship.
Troops evacuated from Greece, April 1941.
Hitler and other Nazi officers, wearing military uniforms, walk down a paved street in Maribor.
Adolf Hitler visiting Maribor, 26 April 1941.
A group of men stand in a circle in a quarry and talk amongst themselves. Some men stand away from them and look on. Mountains with snowy slopes are in the background.
Red Cross inspectors at a Stalag XVIIIA Arbeitskommando quarry, 1941.
A crowd of men in large overcoats and hats are gathered, with two small buildings in the background. Some are looking in the direction of the camera, and appear wary.
Soviet POWs arriving at Stalag XVIIIA, late 1941; this was the photograph subsequently smuggled out of Maribor by Alexander M. Connor.
A group of soldiers stand on a dirt path next to a field. Dark smoke rises in the background.
Italian 2nd Army burns Slovenian village, 1942.
Men sit and lounge on beds in a wooden building and look at the camera. Some have blankets over their legs. A few unframed pictures or photographs are visible on the walls.
Arbeitskommando 3GW, Šentilj, 1943.
Eight men in row, most seated with one standing, lean against the outside wall of a wooden building with bars on its window.
Arbeitskommando 1046GW, Maribor, 1943–44. Left to right: Phill Cullen, Unknown, George Hagan, Jock Hall, Donald Funston, Jock Osgood, Kit Carson, ‘Macgrath’.
Two men greet each other in a friendly manner outside a wooden building. Other men stand around them and look on.
Arbeitskommando 1046GW, Maribor, 1943–44.
Left to right: Walter Lacy, Jock Hill, ‘Lloyd’ (could be Ewart Floyd), Donald Funston, Ralph Churches, ‘Macgrath’, Noel Herman.
Leslie Lewis, wearing a shirt and a tie, poses for the camera. Text at the bottom right corner reads, Best wishes, Les Laws.
Arbeitskommando 1046GW, Maribor, 1943–44. Leslie Laws.
Six men, all clean shaven and with short hair, wearing military uniforms, pose for the camera.
Arbeitskommando 1046GW, Maribor, 1943–44.
Back row, left to right: Ralph Churches, Henare Turangi, William G. Bunston. Front row, left to right: ‘Hank’ Dale (possibly Leslie G. Dale), Eric Lane, Kit Carson.
Soldiers, wearing military uniforms stand outside a doorway, smile, and pose for the camera alongside several women.
4th Zone HQ with local women and Franklin Lindsay (front row, far right), Gornji Grad, August 1944.
Soldiers hike up a path on a grassy hill in single file. The man who appears to be leading them has a moustache and wears a large knapsack.
Escape march leaving Gornji Grad, 6 September 1944. Left to right: ‘Čolo’ Karl Čolnik ‘Svejk’ Franc Gruden (behind), ‘Franjo’ Franj Vesenjak, Ralph Churches, Leslie Laws.
Soldiers load an aircraft at a remote-looking airfield. Several other aircraft are parked alongside, but there are no visible buildings. There are mountains in the background.
Nadlesk Airport, 1944.
Ronte, wearing furs, and Ralph, wearing a tuxedo and white tie, smile and pose for the camera.
Ronte and Ralph Churches, Adelaide, 1954.
An elderly Svejk Franc Gruden, Ralph Churches, and Franjo Franj Vesenjak, wearing suits, smile and pose for the camera.
Ralph with Partisans Maribor, 1977.
Left to right: ‘Švejk’ Franc Gruden, Ralph Churches, ‘Franjo’ Franj Vesenjak.
A mountain, covered with trees and grasses, is behind a river lined with rows of trees and bushes.
Escape site from across the Drava River, Ožbalt, 1972. Lisa Zavodnik’s house is visible.
A railway track curves through a narrow gap between two hills that are covered with trees.
Ožbalt, escape site, 1985.
An elderly Ralph Churches, Joze Boldan, and Leslie Laws, wearing suits, pose for the camera outside a building. A wooden wagon is visible in the background.
Lovrenc na Pohorju, 1985.
Left to right: Ralph Churches, Jože Boldan, Leslie Laws.
Leslie Laws, Ivan Kovvacic, Ralph Churches, and Franc Cresnar stand in front of a railway track in casual dress and pose for the camera.
Ožbalt, 1985.
Left to right: Leslie Laws, Ivan Kovačič, Ralph Churches, Franc Črešnar.