Keys to Colditz Castle

Artefact

Keys to courtyard of Colditz Castle

These are the keys to the courtyard of Colditz Castle (Oflag IV-C) which were removed by Lieutenant (later Major) Richard Morgan, Royal Ulster Rifles and No.2 Commando in 16 April 1945 after liberation by 3rd Bn. 273 Infantry (Colonel Shaughnessy) 69 Infantry Division (Fighting 69th) United States Army.

Lieutenant Dick Morgan and Lieutenant Corran Purdon MC, Royal Ulster Rifles and No. 12 Commando fought in the ranks of this battalion until evacuated to England.

The keys were presented by the Morgan family, Randsburg, South Africa, November 1999.

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'I turned over one poor chap on a rocky, bloody crag on Tanngoucha. He was facing the right way, the last round of a clip in the breech and three dead Germans in front of him. His name was Duff. After all is over - and the remainder of the Empire is understandably irritated with Ireland - I hope these countless Duffs, from both the North and the South, and in all three services, will be remembered.
(Brigadier Nelson Russell, Commander 38 (Irish) Brigade, 1942-44)

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Keys to Colditz Castle

Welcome to the Virtual Military Gallery

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