The "Great Escape" was a World War II mass escape from the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III. It resulted in the murder of 50 recaptured escapees.
It was the basis of The Great Escape, a book by Paul Brickhill describing the escape and The Great Escape, a film based on the book.
Murdered
Name | Rank | Nation | Unit | Date of death/ Last seen alive |
Cremated |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Birkland, Henry J.[1] | Flying Officer | CAN | No. 72 Sqn RAF | 30 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz (Legnica) |
Brettell, E. Gordon[2][3][4] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 133 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig (Gdańsk) |
Bull, Leslie G. "Johnny"[5] | Squadron Leader | GBR | No. 109 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Brüx (Most) |
Bushell, Roger J.[6][7] | Squadron Leader | GBR[b] | No. 92 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Saarbrücken |
Casey, Michael J.[8][9] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 57 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
Catanach, James[10][11] | Squadron Leader | AUS | No. 455 Sqn RAAF | 29 March 1944 | Kiel |
Christensen, Arnold G.[12] | Pilot Officer | NZL | No. 26 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Kiel |
Cochran, Dennis H.[13] | Flying Officer | GBR | No. 10 OTU RAF | 31 March 1944 | Natzweiler (Natzwiller) |
Cross, Ian E. K. P.[14] | Squadron Leader | GBR | No. 103 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
Espelid, Halldor | Lieutenant | NOR | No. 331 Sqn (Norwegian) RAF | 29 March 1944 | Kiel |
Evans, Brian H.[15] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 49 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Fuglesang, Nils Jørgen[16] | Lieutenant | NOR | No. 332 Sqn (Norwegian) RAF | 29 March 1944 | Kiel |
Gouws, Johannes S. | Lieutenant | ZAF | No. 40 Sqn SAAF | 29 March 1944 | Munich |
Grisman, William J.[17] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 109 Sqn RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau (Wrocław) |
Gunn, Alastair D. M.[18][19] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 1 PRU RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
Hake, Albert H.[20] | Flight Lieutenant | AUS | No. 72 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
Hall, Charles P.[21] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 1 PRU RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Hayter, Anthony R. H.[22][23] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 148 Sqn RAF | 6 April 1944 | Natzweiler |
Humphreys, Edgar S.[24][25] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 107 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Kidder, Gordon A.[26] | Flying Officer | CAN | No. 156 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Mährisch Ostrau (Moravská Ostrava) |
Kierath, Reginald V.[27][28] | Flight Lieutenant | AUS | No. 450 Sqn RAAF | 29 March 1944 | Brüx |
Kiewnarski, Antoni[29] | Flight Lieutenant | POL | No. 305 Sqn (Polish) RAF | 31 March 1944 | unknown |
Kirby-Green, Thomas G.[30][31] | Squadron Leader | GBR | No. 40 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Mährisch Ostrau |
Kolanowski, Włodzimierz A. | Flying Officer | POL | No. 301 Sqn (Polish) RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Król, Stanisław Z. | Flying Officer | POL | No. 64 Sqn RAF | 12 April 1944 | Breslau |
Langford, Patrick W.[32][33][34] | Flight Lieutenant | CAN | No. 16 OTU RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Leigh, Tom[35][36] | Flight Lieutenant | AUS | No. 76 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
Long, James L. R.[37][38] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 9 Sqn RAF | 12 April 1944 | Breslau |
Marcinkus, Romas[39] | Flight Lieutenant | LTU | No. 1 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
McGarr, Clement A. N.[40] | Lieutenant | ZAF | No. 2 Sqn SAAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
McGill, George E.[41] | Flight Lieutenant | CAN | No. 103 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Milford, Harold J.[42][43] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 226 Sqn RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
Mondschein, Jerzy T.[44] | Flying Officer | POL | No. 304 Sqn (Polish) RAF | 29 March 1944 | Brüx |
Pawluk, Kazimierz[45] | Flying Officer | POL | No. 305 Sqn (Polish) RAF | 31 March 1944 | unknown |
Picard, Henri A.[46][47] | Flight Lieutenant | BEL | No. 350 Sqn (Belgian) RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
Pohe, John[48][49] | Flying Officer | NZL | No. 51 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
Scheidhauer, Bernard W. M.[50] | Lieutenant | FRA | No. 131 Sqn RAF | 29 March 1944 | Saarbrücken |
Skanzikas, Sotiris[51] | Pilot Officer | GRC | No. 336 Sqn (Greek) RAF | 30 March 1944 | unknown |
Stevens, Rupert J. | Lieutenant | ZAF | No. 12 Sqn SAAF | 29 March 1944 | Munich |
Stewart, Robert C.[52][53] | Flying Officer | GBR | No. 77 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Stower, John Gifford[54][55] | Flying Officer | ARG | No. 142 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Liegnitz |
Street, Denys O.[56][57] | Flying Officer | GBR | No. 207 Sqn RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
Swain, Cyril D.[58] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 105 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Tobolski, Paweł | Flying Officer | POL | No. 301 Sqn (Polish) RAF | 2 April 1944 | Breslau |
Valenta, Arnošt[59] | Flight Lieutenant | CZE | No. 311 Sqn (Czechoslovak) RAF | 31 March 1944[a] | Liegnitz |
Walenn, Gilbert W.[60] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 25 OTU RAF | 29 March 1944 | Danzig |
Wernham, James C.[61][62] | Flight Lieutenant | CAN | No. 405 Sqn RCAF | 30 March 1944 | unknown |
Wiley, George W.[63][64][65] | Flight Lieutenant | CAN | No. 112 Sqn RAF | 31 March 1944 | Görlitz |
Williams, John E. A.[66][67] | Squadron Leader | AUS | No. 450 Sqn RAAF | 29 March 1944 | Brüx |
Williams, John F.[68][69] | Flight Lieutenant | GBR | No. 107 Sqn RAF | 6 April 1944 | Breslau |
Survivors
In boldface, the three escapees who managed to reach freedom.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Flying Officers Włodzimierz Kolanowski, Robert Stewart and Henry Birkland and Flight Lieutenants Ernst Valenta, Edgar Humphreys, George McGill, Cyril Swain, Charles Hall, Patrick Langford and Brian Evans. The men had been taken to Breslau for interrogation, and at about 7 p.m. one evening, they were placed in a lorry and taken on the road to Sagan, with a car driven by Schröder[who?] in the lead. The night was freezing, and about halfway to Sagan, the vehicles stopped. Walters[citation needed]
- ^ Born in South Africa
References
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