Finding soldier Tom

Finding soldier Tom

From The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

June 6, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode explores the story of a Soviet prisoner of war who escaped the Nazis and the subsequent investigation into his fate by BBC journalists.

For more than 80 years, no-one knew what happened to a Soviet prisoner of war who escaped from the Nazis on the Channel Island of Jersey and spent the rest of World War Two hiding from the German occupiers with a local family, the Le Bretons. Known only by his first name, Bokejon, or simply Tom, he was one of about 2,000 Soviet prisoners and forced labourers brought to the island of Jersey to build Nazi fortifications. After liberation, Tom and the other surviving PoWs were sent back to the USSR and the Le Breton family, particularly their daughter Dulcie, always wondered what became of him. That was until BBC teams tracked down his descendants. BBC Russian's Olga Ivshina was one of the journalists who tracked him down. Political violence has been a problem in Kenya for decades now. It is often carried out by gangs of young people, known as 'goons', who are sponsored by politicians to threaten, disrupt and attack rivals. After the general election in 2007 over 1500 people were killed and with another election planned for 2027, there are fears violence could erupt again. Wycliffe Muia of BBC Africa has been looking into these politically sponsored violent gangs and what can be…

Topics covered

  • Soviet prisoners of war
  • World War Two
  • political violence
  • Kenya
  • fortune telling culture
  • Saju

Keywords

  • Soviet prisoner
  • World War Two
  • political violence
  • Kenya
  • fortune telling
  • Saju
  • Channel Island of Jersey

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC Russian, BBC Africa

Places: Kenya, Channel Island of Jersey, South Korea

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