Episode 1529
The Great Napoleonic Escape
How a young British naval officer made an extraordinary escape across Europe from a French prisoner-of-war camp.
Dan Snow's History Hit · History Hit
October 20, 202435m 31s
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Show Notes
<p>Lieutenant Charles Hare was a young British naval officer who made an extraordinarily elaborate escape from a French prisoner-of-war camp during the Napoleonic Wars... with the help of his English Terrier dog. Captured at just 14, Hare spent years in captivity before devising an audacious plan to flee dressed in the uniform of a French customs officer. He took a convoluted 'trains, planes and automobiles' style journey up the Rhine, through Germany, to the Netherlands and finally back home to England, deceiving both locals and officials of his true identity.</p><br><p>This tale of ingenuity and bravery was recently uncovered thanks to Hare's descendants, who recently handed over his disguise and firsthand account to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Curator Dr Katherine Gazzard regales Dan with the story in a world-exclusive story when he visited the museum to see the uniform for himself.</p><br><p>You can see Hare's disguise and discover more about his story at a new exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and see it in our new History Hit documentary. Sign up <a href="https://eu1.hubs.ly/H09Dmh10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>HERE</u></a> for 50% off for 3 months using code ‘DANSNOW’ to watch it.</p><br><p>Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore</p><br><p>Other episodes mentioned in this episode:</p><p><a href="https://podfollow.com/dan-snows-history-hit/episode/705b9ba13ea52bdbdfa52154a34e247a9e914dd7/view" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thomas Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander</a></p><br><p>We'd love to hear from you - what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>.</p><br><p>You can take part in our listener survey<a href="https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6FFT7MK" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> here</a>.</p>
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