The Longest Walk Home
The Epic 2,000-Mile Escape of a WWII Prisoner of War
Published on 11. September 2025
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-5294-4706-4 (ISBN)
Description
In 1940, Private Raymond Bailey, a 21 year old Vauxhall motors apprentice, serving with the 1st Kensington Regiment, was captured in Northern France, becoming a Nazi prisoner of war. But he wouldn't remain one for long...
The Longest Walk Home is the incredible account of his daring 2,000 mile escape across Europe and over the Pyrenees, to the safety of British Gibraltar, and home in time for Christmas. Along the way Ray has nerve-shredding encounters with German soldiers and the Spanish Civil Guard. Often he is exhausted and starving. All that keeps him going is his youthful energy, unfailing optimism, and the kindness of strangers who risk their own safety to help him.
Ray's escape is remarkable, but so too is his memoir. It was written within a year or two of the events it describes, when Ray was just 22, and despite Ray's obvious writing talent it was lost for decades until it was discovered at auction in an unmarked box of WWII memorabilia by David Wilkins. Ray's is a true unheard voice, and one of the last from this time.
The Longest Walk Home is the incredible account of his daring 2,000 mile escape across Europe and over the Pyrenees, to the safety of British Gibraltar, and home in time for Christmas. Along the way Ray has nerve-shredding encounters with German soldiers and the Spanish Civil Guard. Often he is exhausted and starving. All that keeps him going is his youthful energy, unfailing optimism, and the kindness of strangers who risk their own safety to help him.
Ray's escape is remarkable, but so too is his memoir. It was written within a year or two of the events it describes, when Ray was just 22, and despite Ray's obvious writing talent it was lost for decades until it was discovered at auction in an unmarked box of WWII memorabilia by David Wilkins. Ray's is a true unheard voice, and one of the last from this time.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
10 integrated b/w images
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 166 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
552 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5294-4706-4 (9781529447064)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Ray Bailey | David Wilkins
The Longest Walk Home
The Epic 2,000-Mile Escape of a WWII Prisoner of War
E-Book
09/2025
Quercus
€7.99
Available for download
Persons
Raymond Bailey was born in 1919, the son of a miner. He left school aged fourteen and began work as an apprentice lathe operator at the Vauxhall Car Works in Luton. In 1939 he was in the first wave of young British men called up to fight in the Second World War. After basic training, Ray's battalion was posted to France and thrown into some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire conflict. In June 1940, just a few weeks after arriving in France, Ray found himself among the thousands of British soldiers captured at the catastrophic Battle of St Valery.