GEORGE (7TH EARL OF HAREWOOD) LASCELLES - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 09/19/1967 - HFSID 80113

GEORGE LASCELLES, 7th EARL OF HAREWOOD
The seventh Earl of Harewood, nephew of Great Britain's King George V, signed this typed letter to a fellow World War II prisoner of war in 1967 to say that he wasn't at the infamous POW camp Stalag 8B.
Typed letter signed "Harewood". 1 page, 5x 6 ¾, on stationery of Harewood House in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Great Britain with beveled corners. Affixed to 6¼x9¼ sheet of paper with black ink notations at bottom in unknown hand. Sept. 19, 1967. Addressed to Victor W. Croxford, Esq., Croydon, Surrey, Great Britain. In full: "Dear Mr. Croxford, Thank you for your letter of September 13th. I am sorry to disappoint you but I was never in Stalag 8B (unless my memory plays me false) and so could not have been the hungry, French-army-overcoated member of a working party at Breig whom you remember. When I told my family of your letter, they were inclined to doubt that my memory was accurate as I maintain it is, basing their contention on your insistence that the prisoner you knew was invariably hungry! All the same, I think I am right, though I am sorry to disappoint you. Yours sincerely,". Stalag 8B was a German POW and civilian prisoner camp near Lamsdorf, now Lambinowice, Poland. About 100,000 prisoners passed through the camp between its opening in 1939 and 1945. Stalag 8B is probably best known as one of the starting points of an infamous death march that lasted between January and March of 1945 and that claimed the lives of thousands of Allied prisoners of war. According to thenotations on the mounting paper: "The 'double' of above, 6 feet, pudgy, languid, ugly heavy chin; beautiful deep cultured voice telling he must not reveal his name, appeared suddenly from Stalag 8B to our POW arbeit party of 60 men, hand-labouring at German airfield fent Doug Baden with 4 other RAF and Army officers came disguised as ordinary soldier prisoners, for escape attempts, which failed." According to our research, Lascelle was instead imprisoned at Oflag IV-C, a prisoner of war camp for officers at Colditz Castle in the German state of Saxony. However, Oflag IV-C often held POWs who had made escape attempts, so this letter is worthy of further research. Lascelles, born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Great Britain in 1923, was the first child of Great Britain's Princess Royal Mary, herself the daughter of King George V. He was made seventh Earl of Harewood in 1947, after the death of his father the sixth earl. Lascelles fought in Italy during World War II and was captured as a prisoner of war by the Germans from 1944 until May 1945. After the war, he became editor or Opera magazine from 1950 to 1953 and served as director of the Royal Opera House at Covent Gardens twice (1951-3 and 1969-1972) and chairman of the English National Opera from 1986 to 1995. Lascelles was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1986. Lightly toned and creased. Letter has light tear at top edge and light impressions in lower right corner which do not touch signagure. Mounting paper has irregular edges, light tear at top and right edges and punched hole with reinforcer at bottom edge and has paper loss on verso (no show-through). Letter is folded once and unfolded. Mounting paper is folded once horizontally and vertically. Otherwise, fine condition.