MICHAEL Charles Alexander, who has died peacefully in his sleep at his home in London aged 84, was the last of the veterans of Colditz, the notorious Nazi PoW citadel castle. After being a hero in the Second World War, he went on to carve out a career for himself as writer, poet, explorer, connoisseur, life-enhancer extraordinaire - and become promoter of the Highlands and Islands inflatable boat race.
The son of a rear-admiral, Alexander was educated at Stowe and Sandhurst. He served with Fifth (Ski) Bn Scots Guards.
He transferred to the Special Boat Service and as a commando captain he was captured by the Germans in North Africa after blowing up ammunition dumps and fuel tanks at the rear of Rommel's positions. He only escaped death because he lied that he was related to General Alexander, 8th Army commander. He was swiftly visited by Field Marshall Rommel and the decision to execute him in the field was waived. He was sent to Oflag IVC in Saxony ? the famous Castle Colditz. There he became one of a group of Prominente, high-class, wellconnected prisoners whom the Nazi elite regarded as valuable bargaining counters in the event of the war going wrong for them.
When German defeat seemed certain, Hitler and Himmler ordered the privileged prisoners to be led away from Colditz by SS guards to be executed. By a stroke of luck they escaped this. Alexander had been a PoW from 1942-44.
After the war, he worked for the intergovernmental committee for refugees, helping to place many Yugoslavs and Ukrainians in South America.
He also became an adventurous traveller and in 1952 he located the remote area of Firuzkuh in Central Afghanistan.
Another adventure involved a journey to North Africa to "spring" an old friend, West de Wend Fenton, from the French Foreign Legion, which he had joined in the romantic tradition after having his proposal of marriage rejected. He found Fenton, persuaded him to run away and told the tale in The Reluctant Legionnaire in 1955.
His use of inflatable boats also continued long after his Special Boat Service days.
Alexander took part in the Himalayan hovercraft expedition of 1972, the Yucatan Straits hovercraft expedition of 1975 and the Upper Ganges hovercraft expedition of 1980.
He was founder and honorary president of the British Inflatable Boat Owners'Association.
He wrote an account of his experiences in Colditz, with his cell-mate Giles Romilly, The Privileged Nightmare, in 1952 which was republished as Hostages at Colditz in 1975.
Other books included Offbeat in Asia (1953);
The True Blue (1957); Mrs Fraser on the Fatal Shore (1972); Omai: Noble Savage (1977); and Queen Victoria's Maharajah (1980).
Michael Charles Alexander, Colditz veteran; born November 20, 1920, died December 19, 2004.
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