Magic at War

In this three-part blog, we tell the story of Wilfred ('Wilf') Ponsonby, a British army officer and  amateur  magician  captured  by the Germans in the  Battle  of France in 1940. In a remarkable set of events, Ponsonby ends up heading an escape  committee, writing coded letters to British  military intelligence, and supervising the use of secret escape devices. At the same time, he boosts the morale of his fellow POWs as the camp's resident magician. Ponsonby takes part in several escapes and makes it back to England before the war is over... An early escape, discovering magic and joining the army   Wilfred Montague Ponsonby (1905-1999) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. His mother was Canadian. His father, a British Army officer stationed there. The family left Canada when Wilfred was still a baby, to live in England, Ireland, and Malta, accompanying his father on different military assignments. On 4 August 1914, the day Britain de...

An incredible true story of how the brotherhood of magic saved a life in the midst of world war... Magician Jac Olten (1913-c.1995) was born as  Alfred Mihiel in  Marseilles, France.  Performing as a faux 'Count,' he developed a silent cabaret act which featured manipulation and other magic. Wearing white gloves, he worked with billiard balls, cards, silks and cigarettes in an act styled on those performed by Cardini and Jose Frakson. By his twenties, Olten had turned professional. He toured throughout Europe, achieving success, particularly in Germany. Alongside magic, he was a professional gambler. Jac Olten ( Alfred Mihiel) (Source: Author's collection) Near the start of the war, Olten was performing in Weimar in central Germany. Unlike other foreign performers who had left Germany as war-clouds loomed, Olten chose to stay - gambling that war would be averted - or else he didn't leave fast enough after the war started. It was the wrong bet. One evening, during the mi...