What is the difference between an escaper and an evader ?
I believe the Geneva Convention gives an exact definition but MI9 (see ‘Saturday at MI9’ pg.21) classified escapers as those who escaped from enemy hands, whilst evaders were those who had not been captured by enemy forces. The importance as far as evaders were concerned was that while escapers could be repatriated should they be subsequently caught in a neutral country, evaders were liable to be interned for the duration. That is why most evaders claimed to be escapers if arrested in (say) Spain. There was a slight problem of classification for allied servicemen held in Unoccupied France up until November 1942 as they were technically internees rather than prisoners of war.
