Following the footsteps of a WW2 prisoner of war

Welcome to the History Extra podcast. How close can we truly get to the experiences of Second World War POWs? Historian Malcolm Gaskill sets out to tackle this question in his new book, The Glass Mountain, which explores the forgotten wartime experiences of his great-uncle Ralph, a Coldstream guard turned prisoner of war in Italy. From daring escape attempts, To unexpected alliances with Italian villagers, Malcolm tells his relative's story in tandem with his own mission to stitch together the events as faithfully as possible.

It's a name which, as Malcolm reflects in conversation with Eleanor Evans, comes with its own set of challenges. Today we welcome Malcolm Gaskill back to the podcast. Malcolm, you joined us last time to talk about 17th century witch hunts, and today's episode is a bit of a shift, isn't it? It is, yeah. I've swerved off in a in a very different direction geographically and also across time too.

So I'll try and explain. Well, I'm so glad you have because it's a it's a wonderful shift. It's a story of historical fragments of family love and law and a real labour of love and skill on your part too. And I hoped we could start by hearing from you on what brought you to your great uncle's story. Well

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