Magic at War

*** COMING SOON - FROM THE MAGIC AT WAR TEAM *** The Colditz Conjurer  tells the amazing true story of Flight Lieutenant Vincent ‘Bush’ Parker. A school-boy magician from the Australian outback,  ‘ Bush ’  left home to become an assistant to a master illusionist. With World War Two looming, he gave up this promising career to train as a Spitfire pilot.   One of Churchill ’ s  ‘ Few, ’  he fought in the Battle of Britain until he was shot down in a dramatic dogfight. As a prisoner-of-war in Germany, Vince Parker earned a reputation as a persistent escaper. He ended up in the infamous Colditz Castle, a high-security fortress from which the Germans thought escape was impossible. In the footlights of the castle ’ s theatre, this charismatic officer used his magic skills to boost the morale of his fellow prisoners. But, behind locked doors, he applied the secrets of stage magic and escapology to the real-life challenge of getting back home. A remarkable tale of perseverance, courage and cun

Dutch magician and illusionist The Great Cortini got caught up in the war in the Far East and ended up a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese. He used his magic skills to boost the morale of his fellow POWs and to survive the brutal and harsh conditions of captivity and hard labour. Note: This blog was updated in October 2022 with additional information and images. Prisoner of the Japanese When the Japanese army overran vast areas of Southeast Asia and the Pacific during World War Two, they took almost 200,000 Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen captive. Thousands more died resisting the invasion. The war in Europe had weakened the commitment of Britain, France, and The Netherlands to the region. The Far East was wide open to Japan's dream of dominance throughout Asia. One of the captured servicemen was a Dutch entertainer known as The Great Cortini or Professor Cortini.  Born on 29 December 1912, Cortini (real name Johan Hubert Crutzen) came from Vaals in the south-eastern corner of