Bill Lawrence’s photos, taken in secret, at Stalag VIIIB/344

These photographs were taken by Seargeant (later Warrant Officer) Bill Lawrence in Stalag VIIIB. He constructed the camera in a Red Cross food parcel box with the aid of two lenses which were smuggled into the main camp from an outside working party.

After each shot he had to move the frame on manually under the blanket of his bed whilst an accomplice wathced out for guards.

He carried the box under his arm and had a hole cut in one end which he covered with his hand. He had friends who were medical orderlies and they obtained x-ray chemicals for developing, and film.