He was captured during the North African Campaign at Tobruk in June 1942 and taken to Italy.He was imprisoned with fellow O. I. Lieutenant Ken Lowe at the infamous Campo 21 at Chieti. They were then moved to a transit Camp at Sulmona on their way to Germany. When the Italian Government surrendered to the Allies in late 1943, they then spent 19 days with 3 other prisoners hiding in the roof of one of the huts at Sulmona. They left the roof in order to escape but the two of them had bad luck and were caught but the 3 others reached freedom. He wrote a diary of his 19 days' experience in the roof a copy of which is at the Sulmona Scientific High School, together with other papers about the event.The diary was written on a small paper covered calendar for 1943 containing a few hymns with music and Christmas greetings from the late Pope Pius X11 to all prisoners of war. The writing was on the few blank pages, between the the lines of music and hymns and in the margins.

. He was then sent with Ken as a P.O.W. to Oflag 79 in Germany. The Diary itself was left hidden in the rafters of the hut just under the tiles of the roof where they hid and was left behind when they escaped. It remained there until the summer of 1962 when, thanks to Ken Lowe, who wrote to the Mayor of Sulmona seeking his help to try to recover it, the hut was searched and the original diary returned to him via the Italian War Office. Bev Edge wrote that mice, or more probably moths, had nibbled a few holes in the paper cover but that, otherwise, it was in good condition and every word was legible.