Remember The 50.. The Great Escape !

Great Escape Documentary..a worthy post !

Thanks to that individual who relinked by question yesterday on the new dvd documentary on The Great Escape. Noted the wonderful information & information given here . Much has been written & researched about this March 1944 event…one of my favorite works on the subject is the book ” The Longest Tunnel ” by Alan Burgess. Yes..the 1963 film was for me an introduction into this chapter in WW II history and in later years I came to learn what really happened with this historical event. The events of that day has many of us here…myself included having much respect & admiration for the character of these men who risked all to continue to fight against their enemy ! To me it mattered not that the real escapers were not GI’s or “YANKS” but men in a difficult situation doing all they could to carry the war against Nazi Germany. Each March 24th…this Yank offers his own personal prayer & salute to those men from many nations responsible for the freedom’s I enjoy today…..& the 50 murdered by the Nazi’s ! Looking forward to getting my dvd & seeing what this production holds !

Remember The 50 !!!!!!!!!!

BlueNoser352!

A link to photos of Sagan Observance !

Here is a link to some photos shot at the Sagan event …. sent by someone who like us here ..remembers the 50’s !!!!!!!!

BlueNoser352!

http://s250.photobucket.com/albums/gg272/reenactmentcz/Sagan%202009/

Thanks Moggy for the update on Bodney !

Flypast forum members…. BlueNoser352 here saying thanks for posting the great photos of the Sagan program and photos and memories from the past..just glad to see this event being remembered. Just today to show how history still lives on.. I was coming out of the library here in Spartanburg SC USA I saw and elderly gentlemen getting out of his car wearing a sweater with a P-51 on the front. Upon introducing myself .the older man was a WW II Eighth AF B-17 pilot from the Triangle C boys from Molesworth. Shot down in Jan of 1944. He did have some time in a Mustang during his time in the UK.
We had nice talk and I hope to meet with him later on to pay my respects.
Moggy thanks as always for your words on the control tower at Bodney..will pass them on to several BlueNoser veterans I know here ! I know they will welcome any news on their former base !

A salute to the 50 from :

BlueNoser !

Two of the survivors Sydney Dowse on the left and Raymond Van Wymeersch on the right, Jersey September 1999.

Sadly Raymond moved on in 2000 and Sydney took his final flight last year.

I’m presuming the names of the three who successfully escaped and evaded capture are the ones in green?

Yes, they are.
Names in black are the 50 who were murdered by the Germans. In blue – those who were sent back to the camp.

I’m presuming the names of the three who successfully escaped and evaded capture are the ones in green?

I read van der Stok’s book, War Pilot of Orange, not so long back – thoroughly good read.

Some of the crucial men behind the celebrations were:
A/Cdre (Retd) Charles Clarke OBE RAF, President of the RAF POW’s Association
Sgt Neil Galloway MBE RAF, Project Officer (despite his name he’s from Dundee!)
Dr Howard L. Tuck, Deputy Project Officer (hard at work all the time)
Jacek Jakubiak, Director of the Museum (here talking to the Canadian Military Attache, Col. Petryk)

Apart from the solemn celebrations there was also a reenactment show at the Sagan PoW camp museum, which also attracted a huge audience.

Later in the afternoon there was a CoE service at the original wartime cemetery. The memorial there has recently been renovated by the RAF. Note that the last digit in WW2 dates is still missing on the plaque – when it was originally made in 1944 nobody knew when the war would end.

There were diplomatic representatives of all the escapers’ nations. On the military side, there were Polish army troops and the Central Band of the RAF. A large number of RAF personnel involved in clearing and rearranging the site and the ‘Hut 104’ Project were present.
Notably, there were numerous NZ and US-based relatives of the Maori F/O Porokoru Patapu (Johnny) Pohe, who was one of the 50.

The memorial stone at the tunnel exit, where the main celebrations took place.
The stone was unveiled on the 60th anniversary of the Escape. The inscription reads:
TO THE ALLIED AIRMEN
PRISONERS OF STALAG LUFT III
PARTICIPANTS OF
THE GREAT ESCAPE

I was able to participate in the Great Escape anniversary commemoration at Zagan last Saturday. This is the HARRY tunnel memorial with the names of all the escapers.

With the 65th anniversary of his murder occurring early tomorrow, we stopped off at the memorial to Bernard Scheidhauer this afternoon to pay our respects.

I took the attached picture of the stone and cross to share here.

Have not been to the UK the last few years …. has anyone driven by the home of the 352nd FG at Bodney lately ???? Hope the old control tower is still standing .

It still stands, silent, neglected, but more or less intact. Home to several Barn Owls who silently patrol the East Anglian skies in sharp contrast to the growl of the Packard Merlins of their predecessors

Moggy

Remembering

Hampden Project,

Many thanks for posting the items relating to ‘Cookie’ Long. I was fortunate enough to become a long distance friend of Tony Bethell, who was one of the Great Escapers during my research into the history of No.268 Squadron Royal Air Force,of which Tony had been a member. This was before Tony passed away in early 2003. ‘Cookie’ was one of Tony’s great mates in the camp and they shared a cell at Gorlitz after being recaptured after the escape. Tony always remembered ‘Cookie’ with a great deal of sadness.

Unfortunately, reviewing a number of the various media reports, a number of journalists are showing a degree of laziness in their research, sometimes getting facts wrong, and in one instance a journalist has incurred the wrath of surviving PoWs for maybe going a bit PC by stating that the 50 were “shot whilst escaping”, not the actual murdered by the Gestapo after being recaptured on the orders of Hitler.

Lest We Forget

Thanks for the post here Fly Past Forum !

BlueNoser352 checking in :

Great to see the many replies to this topic and knew I could count on this fine group to offer up some good post on The Great Escape. Nice & very proper to see we continue to remember this brave band of airmen who risked all to regain their freedom and take a fight to the Nazi’s despite the deck really stacked against them. I am sure many of you have seen the outstanding documentary that is on the extra’s disc ..on the dvd The Greatest Escape release I think back in 2004. Tells the very sobering story of the demise of the 50 and how the Allies did their best to track down those responsible and render them proper justice. The film still gets many plays here in the US and has always been on of my favorites …despites its historical flaws . It did lead me to research and read all I could on the event in March of 1944. These men without question were very brave and resourceful.. God Bless their Memory ! Always enjoy reading the marvelous post here on this historical forum….. … thanks again from the Colonies !!!!!

A salute to all at Stalag Luft III from:

BlueNoser352 !

PS

Have not been to the UK the last few years …. has anyone driven by the home of the 352nd FG at Bodney lately ???? Hope the old control tower is still standing . The spirit of the famed ” BlueNose *******s of Bodney” will always be on guard against anyone who challanges our way life and freedoms out two great nations share !!!!!!!!!

One of the fifty

Photo of “Cookie” Long,s flying helmet and oxygen mask, obtained by a Dutch boy after his crash landing and donated into the care of 9 Squadron. And a photo of JLR “Cookie” Long,s grave.

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I was reading today that the scene in the film in which the POW ‘Archie Ives’ in commits suicide by climbing the fence in broad daylight was based on a real life incident

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1164630/Veteran-British-POWs-visit-Stalag-Luft-III-mark-65th-anniversary-REAL-Great-Escape.html

Says he was ‘Jimmy Kiddel’ actually this appears to be RN FAA Sub Lt JOHN BARTRAM KIDDELL

http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2194314

He was the pilot of a Swordfish of 825 Squadron, FAA [operating from HMS Kestrel, RN Air Station at Worthy Down] which was shot down while attacking Schiphol airfield, near Amsterdam on 02.07.1940

By coincidence, I was at Hendon yesterday with a 99 Squadron veteran who knew three of those who were shot and who served on the same unit. He particularly recalled Tom Kirby-Green, and had some great stories to recount about him.

John Weir, one of the four original founders of Canadian Warplane Heritage back in 1970, was a ‘Great Escaper’.

Mark