‘I’m going home’: The Uzbek teacher who escaped Nazi captivity and refused to stay in Britain

Based on a documentary tracing the legacy of Boqijon Akramov

A BBC video report about an Uzbek prisoner of war who escaped a German camp on the island of Jersey, was hidden by a farming family, and then returned to Uzbekistan – that report recently led a team from Kun.uz on a journey across the country. Their goal: to find the real descendants of the man known to some as “Uncle Tom.”

His name was Boqijon Akramov. And his story, preserved for nearly eighty years in a wooden trunk, in faded photographs, and in the memories of more than 45 descendants, is only now being fully told.

“These photos were brought from the UK,” says Sobirjon Haydarov, a grandson of Boqijon Akramov, opening a family album. “One features Boqijon Akramov with a woman named Phyllis.”

That photograph, along with a passport copy and handwritten notes, would become the key to unlocking a wartime legacy that connects Uzbekistan, Germany, and a small British island.

According to the BBC report that inspired our documentary, Boqijon Akramov was originally from Namangan. He was drafted into the Red Army in Ukraine in 1939. When war broke out in the summer of 1941, his unit was sent to the front. He was captured by German forces.

Imprisoned on the island of Jersey – located between France and the United Kingdom – he was forced to help build German defensive fortifications.

In 1943, he escaped.

The Le Breton family, local farmers on Jersey, hid him and saved his life. After the war, despite offers to remain in Britain, Akramov insisted on returning to Uzbekistan.

“No, I’m going home,” his family recalls him saying. “My family is waiting for me in Uzbekistan – my mother, my sisters, and my child.”

‘I was astonished – this story is about our family’

When Kun.uz began searching for Akramov’s relatives, there were no solid leads in Namangan. So the team turned to Bukhara and the Guzar district of the Kashkadarya region.

“Honestly, I had no information to start with,” recalls Sarvar Ziyoyev, the journalist who led the search. “The truth needs to be revealed.”

That truth emerged piece by piece from Akramov’s descendants.

“Boqijon Akramov had two children: my uncle Mels Akramov and my mother, Nazira Akramova,” says Sobirjon Haydarov. “Ever since we were young, our family has shared stories about our granddad. No matter where we live – Bukhara, Kashkadarya, Karshi, or Guzar – every part of our family values the story of our grandfather’s life.”

Shododat Fattaeva, Akramov’s niece, holds up an original photograph. “This is a real photograph of Uncle Boqijon. Every branch of our family keeps it as an heirloom. This is the original print he brought back. He’s wearing a suit his mother made, along with the tie and shirt he always wore.”

She recounts the family’s early hardships: the 1933 famine, his father’s death after years of finishing satin fabric with egg whites – bringing home the yolks to feed his children. Boqijon, the oldest of four children, was born in 1914. He left teacher training in Dushanbe after his father died and returned to Bukhara to support the family.

The trunk that held a life story

All the photos and belongings Boqijon Akramov brought back from England were stored in an old trunk in a shed.

“My father, Mels Akramov, said he stored all documents and family photographs in this old trunk,” says Akmal Khaydarov, another grandson. “Let’s open it to see what’s inside.”

Inside: handwritten notes about his life, photographs of ancestors, a photo taken just before he was drafted in 1939, and pre-war pictures of Boqijon Akramov himself.

“Look closely – this is the photograph we’ve been searching for,” Akmal says. “Yes, that’s it, the one we wanted. We’ve seen copies before, but this one is original.”

That photograph shows Boqijon Akramov with a woman named Dulcie. Also in the trunk: a copy of Akramov’s passport, which shows that after returning from the war, he was registered in Guzar. And a Bible that belonged to Dulcie’s mother.

“Everything connected to his story has been carefully preserved here,” Akmal says. “The photograph, the Bible, and other family keepsakes were handed down from generation to generation.”

Capture, escape, recapture – and survival

Shododat Fattaeva describes the war years in detail.

“In the summer of 1939, Boqijon-aka married Fazilat Pulatova. In November of that year, he was drafted into the Red Army in Ukraine. He had not yet completed his military service when the war began in the summer of 1941, and his unit was sent to the front.”

Many soldiers were taken prisoner, including her uncle. “Escaping was extremely difficult and dangerous. He managed to escape once but was recaptured. Later, he attempted to escape again and was captured a second time. He endured labor camps and concentration camps, experiencing every hardship that prisoners of war faced.”

“My mother often said that he was a very strong, intelligent, and educated man,” Fattaeva adds. “She regarded him as the intellectual of our family.”

A final request to his wife

After the war, Akramov returned to Bukhara but could not find his family. They had relocated to Guzar. He traveled there himself, and the family was finally reunited. He worked as a mathematics teacher at the school named after Ernst Thälmann.

But the hardships he endured in captivity had destroyed his health.

Before his death in November 1946, he told his daughter Nazira: “I’m entrusting my son to you. Raise him, give him an education. Fazilat will struggle on her own… take care of my boy.”

He was 32 years old.

His wife Fazilat was widowed at 27. She never remarried.

Sobirjon Haydarov adds another family memory: “Our grandmother and Boqijon were together for only a year and eight months. Yet in that short time, they brought two children into the world. When my mother was just one month old, Boqijon became seriously ill. Knowing that his time was running short, he made one final request to his wife: ‘These two children are my greatest responsibility. Raise them well, take care of them…’”

“Those words stayed with our family for generations.”

The Le Breton family’s eighty-year search

When the family learned that the Le Breton family – the farmers who hid Boqijon Akramov – had been honored by the President of Uzbekistan, they began looking through old albums.

“The very first photograph we came across was this one – with our grandfather alongside a woman named Phyllis,” says Sobirjon Haydarov.

He reflects on what might have been. “According to family memories, Mrs. Le Breton once offered Boqijon to stay in Britain. His answer was simple: ‘No, I’m going home. My family is waiting for me in Uzbekistan – my mother, my sisters, and my child.’”

“That was his devotion to his homeland.”

Family statement: ‘That humanity preserved this story for 80 years’

On behalf of the entire family, Shododat Fattaeva and relatives issued a statement:

“Recently, some claims appeared on social media that are not supported by verified evidence. We understand there may be people with the same name, but Boqijon Akramov who lived with the Le Breton family was our ancestor from Bukhara. Sayfulla Khaydarov, son-in-law of Boqijon Akramov, is 86 years old and confirms this connection. Today, Boqijon Akramov has more than 45 descendants. We are deeply moved that people risked their lives to save him. That humanity preserved this story for 80 years.”

The grave in Guzar, built in the style of Bukhara

At the grave of Boqijon Akramov in the Guzar district of Kashkadarya, his grandson Shukhrat Akramov pays his respects.

“This is my grandmother’s grave, and here is Boqijon Akramov’s grave,” Shukhrat says. “He passed away in 1946 after returning from the war.”

The tombstone is built in the Bukhara style – like a mazar. “In Guzar they normally use a different style, but the family decided to honor his origins,” Shukhrat explains. “The bricks, headstone, and metal grilles were brought from Bukhara by his sons and sons-in-law.”

A prayer is recited: “Alhamdulillahi rabbil alamin. Ar-rahmanir rahim.”

Three things brought back from war

At the family courtyard in Guzar, Shahló Akramova, granddaughter of Boqijon Akramov and daughter of Mels Akramov, shares more details.

“According to my father, Boqijon returned from the war with three things: photographs, a Bible, and a gold pocket watch with a chain and a cover. He gave the watch to our grandmother, and it remained a family heirloom passed through generations.”

She holds up the Bible he brought back. “We are deeply grateful to Dulcie for bringing this story to light. We invite you to Uzbekistan.”

She adds: “Those photographs have always been part of our family memory. We are proud of this story. Dulcie, we sincerely thank you and your family for preserving our grandfather’s memory. If possible, we would love to meet you. Thank you very much.”

A legacy reclaimed

Shukhrat Akramov sums up the family’s feelings.

“When I saw the BBC report, I realized it was about our family.”

After returning in 1945, Boqijon Akramov reunited with his family and worked as a teacher. He passed away about a year later – due, his family says, to the hardships he endured.

However, his story, hidden for decades in a trunk in Bukhara, is now known. In addition, the words he spoke to the family who saved him – “I’m going home” – have become a testament to his love for his homeland and his family.

This reporting is based on a documentary produced by Kun.uz, with family archives and on-site documentation from Bukhara and the Guzar district, Kashkadarya region.