For more than eighty years, the fate of a Soviet prisoner of war known only as Bokejon, or Tom, remained a mystery. He escaped a Nazi labor camp on the island of Jersey in 1943 and was hidden by farmers John and Phyllis Le Breton until liberation in 1945. After being repatriated to the USSR, his promise to keep in touch went silent.
Now, BBC teams have tracked down his family in Uzbekistan. Bokejon Akramov rarely spoke of the war. He died in 1996, but his grandson, Shamsutdin Akhunbaev, was stunned to see the photographs from Jersey.
In an emotional video call, Shamsutdin thanked Dulcie Le Breton, now nearly 90, for her family’s courage. “Our grandfather survived the war and gave us life only because of you,” he said. Dulcie, who still lives on Jersey, replied: “My parents did what they did simply because it was the right thing to do.”
In recognition, the government of Uzbekistan is posthumously awarding John and Phyllis Le Breton the Order of Friendship.