In February 1944, Hugo Wilmar left for London as an Englander to enlist as a war volunteer.
Razzia
The story goes that Hugo Wilmar was arrested by the German occupiers in late 1943. When arrested, he pretended to be mentally handicapped. German doctors examine him for two months at the Ursula Clinic in Wassenaar. A friendly doctor mixed his spinal fluid with that of a real patient. This leads to the diagnosis, that Hugo is harmless, and he is unfit for employment in Germany because of his disability.
Niet lang na zijn vrijlating uit de Ursula-kliniek bezoekt Hugo Wilmar zijn vriend Jan Woldijk. Hugo Wilmar vraag Jan of hij hem kan helpen te ontsnappen uit bezet gebied. Jan zit bij het verzet, en geeft vanuit Wassenaar clandistine kranten uit. Jan Woldijk helpt Hugo en Bob Hubbelding op weg naar Parijs, waar hij contacten heeft. Op 27 maart 1944 vertrekt het tweetal vanuit het Haagse Bezuidenhout.
"Holland - England was generally lousy; the food position hopeless; the road: long, dangerous yet brilliant; people and organizations: unreliable, powerless, likewise afraid. (…)"
Paris
Hugo undertook the first part of the long journey largely on foot. Arriving in the city of lights, he informed the home front through some cryptic letters, written under pseudonyms. Because of news of the Allied invasion of Normandy, his stay in Paris does not last long. Hugo gets in a hurry to continue his journey.
In the reflection of a train compartment can be seen the German newspaper that Hugo has tucked under his arm. Without a travel permit and reservation, Hugo manages, with luck, to board the train toward Pau at Gare de Lyon.
From Pau, the trek crosses the Pyrenees on foot. In his letters to The Hague, he mentions the beauty of nature and the overwhelming vistas around Pic du Midi. This impressed Hugo more than the danger of the German patrols, which they encountered during the hike.
From the snowy peaks of the Pyrenees, Hugo and his traveling companions, via during a long, very arduous, journey through various concentration camps in Spain and North Africa, finally arrive in the United Kingdom. However, the fanfare on the docks of Glasgow is not for the Englanders on board. Hugo is hastily transported in a special train to London for thorough interrogation by MI5 and the Dutch police outpost.
London
Nine months after leaving The Hague, Hugo finally walks around London at large on December 1, 1944. The Englander, he immediately reports to the RAF, where, much to his frustration, he is rejected for all front-line service because he wears glasses. After some consideration, Hugo signs on with the Dutch Marines. He will undergo his training, along with the first group of war volunteers, in America.