Initially, von Werra is sent to No 1 prisoner-of-war camp Grizedale Hall in the Furness area of Lancashire. His first escape involves dropping over a wall he is lying on during a group walk. He is spotted by some land army girls in the field but their frantic waving to the guards is mistaken for fraternisation. Only when the count is run at the end and it registers 23 instead of 24 do they realise he is missing. The CO retraces their route on horseback but it is too late, and the horse shoes give advances warning of his approach, allowing von Werra to hide. He heads into the hills. Von Werra wears his leather flight jacket donning his Iron Cross during this. This results in an intense manhunt by troops and police. He has the cheek to tauntingly wave to them from a hilltop. He lies flat in the mud on an open moor in heavy rain, and they almost miss him, but being the over cover around, he is located.