author
Mervin C. Simmons
A Canadian First World War soldier, prisoner of war, and escapee, he is best known for the gripping memoir Three Times and Out. His story brings together frontline experience, repeated escape attempts, and an unusually vivid account of captivity during the war.
1 Audiobook
Three Times and Out Told by Private Simmons, Written by Nellie L. McClung
by Mervin C. Simmons, Nellie L. McClung
About the author
Born in 1886 near Verschoyle in Oxford County, Ontario, Mervin Cecil Simmons later worked as a carpenter in Trail, British Columbia. When the First World War began in 1914, he enlisted and went overseas, serving with the 7th Battalion.
Simmons was captured in 1915 and spent time in German prisoner-of-war camps. His wartime story became remarkable for his repeated escape attempts; after two failed tries, he eventually made his way to safety in the Netherlands and returned to England.
He is remembered in print through Three Times and Out (1918), a memoir told by Simmons and written by Nellie L. McClung. The book remains notable as a firsthand Canadian POW narrative, valued for its direct, adventurous account of war, imprisonment, and survival.