The Great Escape: A Canadian Story (37 page)

introduction: “heroes resurface”

1.
“has created a classic”:
Time
magazine, July 1963.

2.
“take notice and find inspiration”: Arthur A. Durand, quoted in
The Making of the Great Escape
documentary, produced by Prometheus Entertainment in association with Van Ness Films, Foxstar Productions, Fox TV Studios, and A&E TV Network (Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Home Entertainment Inc.).

chapter one: the king’s regulations

1.
“a way through”: Winston Churchill quoted in Charles Messenger,
“Bomber” Harris and the Strategic Bombing Offensive,
1939
–
1945
(London Arms and Armour Press, 1984), p. 39.

2.
“dropping leaflets”: Tony Pengelly, diary notes, courtesy of Chris Pengelly collection.

3.
strategic bombing campaign: Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt,
The
Bomber Command War Diaries, An Operational Reference Book:
1939
–
1945
(Penguin, London, 1985) p. 92.

4.
Fairey Battles: Ibid., p. 93.

5.
apprehension: Russell Braddon,
Cheshire V.C., A Study of War and Peace
(Evans Brothers Limited, London, 1954), p. 60.

6.
“remarkable breed of men”: Leonard Cheshire quoted in ibid., p. 69.

7.
“chute off and buried it”: Daniel G. Dancocks,
In Enemy Hands, Canadian Prisoners of War
1939
–
1945
(Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, 1983), p. 8.

8.
“protect the Security”: “The Responsibilities of a Prisoner of War” (RAF Air Publication 1548, RAF Command of the Air Council, March 1936).

9.
“name, rank and number”: Ibid.

10.
“give him in return”: Ibid.

11.
“you chaps down”: Dancocks, p. 10.

12.
“succeed in escaping”: “The Responsibilities of a Prisoner of War”

13.
“private flying machines”: Certificate of Competency and Licence to fly Private Machines, C.A. Form 64, issued by Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

14.
first mass escape: Sydney Smith,
Wings Day: The Man Who Led the RAF’s Battle in German Captivity
(William Collins, London, 1968), p. 77.

15.
“prison camp life”: Tony Pengelly, “X For Escape,” by Flt.-Lieut. Tony Pengelly, as told to Scott Young, with permission from
Maclean’s
magazine, November 1 and 15, 1945.

16.
“organize to be successful”: Ibid.

chapter two: bond of wire

1.
“anything about this”: John Weir, note to Frances McCormack, 1940, with permission.

2.
“bomber pilot”: Frances Weir (née McCormack) interview, June 19, 2012, Toronto.

3.
“scruffy looking individual”: Sandra Martin, “He played a role in The (real) Great Escape,”
Globe and Mail
, November 11, 2009.

4.
war work herself: Frances Weir interview, June 19, 2012.

5.
“in the least”: Ibid.

6.
“first ever sweep”: Hugh Godefroy,
Lucky Thirteen
(Canada’s Wings Inc., Stittsville, Ontario, 1983), p. 100.

7.
“Weir and Gardiner are missing”: Ibid., p. 107.

8.
“a perpetual clown”: Ibid., p. 107

9.
“an important prisoner”: Robert Stanford Tuck, quoted in Larry Forrester,
Fly For Your Life: The Story of R. R. Stanford Tuck
(Nelson Doubleday, New York, 1956), p. 275.

10.
seventy yards wide: Arthur A. Durand,
Stalag Luft III: The Secret Story
(Patrick Stephens Ltd., UK, 1989), p. 79.

11.
“safe and sound in Germany”: John Weir, letter to Frances McCormack, December 13, 1941, with permission.

12.
“back to you soon”: John Weir, letter to Frances McCormack, December 22, 1941, with permission.

13.
door-to-door salesman: Jonathan Vance,
A Gallant Company: The Men of the
Great Escape
(Pacifica Military History, Pacifica, California, 2000), p. 120.

14.
mining companies’ sports teams: Barbara Hehner,
The Tunnel King, The True
Story of Wally Floody and The Great Escape
(HarperCollins, Toronto, 2004), pp. 3, 7.

15.
Luftgau
: Durand, p. 134.

16.
“how many, four”: John Weir, letter to Frances McCormack, February 26, 1942, with permission.

17.
“no similarity between the two”: Wally Floody, interviewed by the National Air Force Museum, CFB Trenton, c. 1970.

18.
“a total success either”: Wally Floody, interviewed by the National Air Force Museum, CFB Trenton, 1989.

19.
collapse tunnels: Durand, p. 81.

20.
“I got claustrophobic”: Barry Davidson, “Barry Davidson—Prisoner of War,” Bomber Command Museum of Canada, courtesy of Barry Davidson Jr., 2000.

21.
“pound bombs”: Ibid.

22.
“for the duration”: Ibid.

23.
cutting or digging tool: Jean Morrison McBride, quoted in Patricia Burns
They
Were So Young: Montrealers Remember World War II
(Véhicule Press, 2002), p. 239.

24.
plastic surgery: Eric Howald, “Mac Jarrell Remembers: Spent 45 months as prisoner of war,”
The Kincardine Independent
, November 11, 1979.

25.
“the prisoners hated it”: Ibid.

26.
“kick from a mule”: Dick Bartlett, quoted Stuart E. Soward’s
One Man’s War: Sub Lieutenant R. E. Bartlett, RN Fleet Air Arm Pilot
(Neptune, 2005), p. 53.

27.
“into the camp”: Ibid., p. 90.

28.
“news and intelligence”: Ibid., p. 90.

29.
“be home again”: John Weir, letter to Frances McCormack, January 21, 1942, with permission.

30.
“escape campaign”: Vance, p. 32.

31.
“operational function”: Smith, pp. 58–60.

32.
“slippers, gloves, and cap”: John Weir, letter to Frances McCormack, April 29, 1942, with permission.

33.
“lots of fresh air”: Ibid.

34.
“is fatten me up”: Ibid.

chapter three: “spine-tingling sport”

1.
“fenced-in feeling”: John Hartnell-Beavis,
Final Flight
(Merlin Books, Braunton, Devon, UK, 1985), p. 31.

2.
Kommandantur
: Durand, p. 103.

3.
both his artificial legs: Paul Brickhill,
Reach for the Sky, The Story of Douglas
Bader
(Collins, London, UK, 1954), p. 335.

4.
months to accomplish: Les Allison,
Canadians in the Royal Air Force
(self-published, Roland, Manitoba, 1978), p. 177.

5.
“flown over Berlin”: Andrew Thompson, quoted in documentary “The Great Escape: The Canadian Story,” 2004, courtesy of producer Don Young.

6.
“courtesy and consideration”: Tommy Thompson, quoted in Ibid.

7.
back to England: Vance, p. 39.

8.
night fighters: Ibid. p. 192.

9.
“escape proof”: Floody interview, 1970.

10.
Göring’s luxury camp: Paul Brickhill,
The Great Escape
(Faber and Faber Ltd., London, UK, 1951), p. 24.

11.
thousand-foot area: Durand, p. 258.

12.
cutting through the soil: Brickhill,
The Great Escape
, p. 28.

13.
“noses of the Germans”: Floody interview, 1970.

14.
“expert at it”: Ibid.

15.
“a minor one”: George Harsh,
Lonesome Road
(W. W. Norton & Co., New York, 1971), p. 176.

16.
“flamboyant
beau geste
”: Ibid., p. 132.

17.
4.3 per cent loss rate: Middlebrook and Everitt, p. 297.

18.
“you’re an American”: Harsh, p. 187.

19.
“secure all this”: Ibid., p. 191.

20.
“he’s an ex-convict”: Ibid., p. 192.

21.
“the black hole”: Kingsley Brown,
Bonds of Wire, A Memoir
(Collins, Toronto, 1989), p. 50.

22.
“propaganda job”: Ibid., p. 57.

23.
“Hitler kaput”: Ibid., p. 58.

24.
“free side of the wire”: Ibid., p. 65.

25.
Red Cross parcels: A. K. Ogilvie, “Tigers in the Tunnel,” Air Intelligence Training Bulletin, Vol. XIV, No. 1, January 1962.

26.
wallet on the floor: Ian Darling,
Amazing Airmen: Canadian Flyers in the Second World War
(Dundurn, Toronto, 2009), p. 27.

27.
“my mittens. Everything”: Don McKim, interview Simcoe, Ontario, January 2, 2011.

28.
Germans guarding them: Durand, p. 159.

29.
five-foot-two: Lyn Tremblay, “Veteran prisoner of war took part in the Great Escape,”
Simcoe Reformer
, December 3, 2009.

30.
“doing anything else”: McKim interview, 2011.

31.
“a little longer”: Bob McBride, quoted by Jean Morrison McBride in Burns,
p. 239.

32.
“burned forever”: Ibid., p. 240.

33.
hidden him in Prague: Brickhill,
The Great Escape
, p. 32.

chapter four: escape season

1.
Goleb Plasov: Brown, p. 63.

2.
North Compound: Brickhill,
The Great Escape
, p. 34.

3.
“the enemy has ears”: Kingsley Brown, “The Good Grey Days of Stalag III,”
The Globe Magazine
, May 18, 1957, p. 10.

4.
“a sense of danger”: Ibid., p. 10.

5.
“better luck next time”: Kingsley Brown quoting arresting police officer,
Bonds of Wire
, p. 75.

6.
war was forgotten: Op cit, p. 11.

7.
Hut 101: John S. Acheson,
A World War II Tale of Stalag Luft III and of The
Great Escape
(unpublished manuscript housed at the Kitchener Public Library, 2002, with permission). p. 9.

8.
half a minute or less: Soward, p. 114.

9.
“swing a stunted cat”: Brickhill,
The Great Escape
, p. 42.

10.
“or we’ll start shooting”: Gordon King, interviewed by Byron Christopher, Edmonton, October. 20, 2011.

11.
“just something to do”: Ibid.

12.
“German shepherd dog”: Floody interview, 1970.

13.
“three major tunnels”: Brickhill,
The Great Escape
, p. 34.

14.
“a lot more troops”: Floody interview, 1970.

15.
“vertical shaft to Harry”: Henry Sprague, interviewed by the National Air Force Museum, CFB Trenton, 1989.

16.
“complete surveillance”: Floody interview, 1970.

17.
“twenty to thirty seconds”: Floody interview, 1989.

18.
“toward the showers”: Pengelly, “X For Escape.”

19.
Bob van der Stok: Vance, p. 138.

20.
cardboard holster: Larry Forrester,
Fly For Your Life: The Story of R. R. Stanford Tuck
(Nelson Doubleday, New York, 1956), p. 282.

21.
“dressed as German soldiers”: Pengelly, “X For Escape.”

22.
“our cheapest commodity”: Ibid.

23.
“rolled around the pebble”: Arthur Crighton,
Memories of a Prisoner of War
(privately published memoirs, 3
rd
edition, February 2012), p. 21.

24.
“whole of Kriegiedom”: Ibid., p. 22.

25.
“weren’t digging tunnels”: Arthur Crighton, interviewed by Byron Christopher, Edmonton, Alberta, March 18, 2012.

26.
tunnel projects: Durand, p.116.

27.
“it’s foolproof”: Michael Codner, quoted in Eric Williams,
The Wooden Horse
(Collins, London, UK, 1955), p. 38.

28.
weary of inspecting the horse: Edward Patrick Nurse,
The Last Glorious Flight of Halifax Bomber Lima Quebec Papa
741
: A chronicle of the wartime experiences of Edward Patrick Nurse
(unpublished manuscript, 2012, with permission), p. 48.

29.
“heavens beyond the wire”: Williams, p. 122.

30.
had been killed in action: Ian Crofton,
Great Escapes
(Quercus, London, UK, 2009), p.145.

chapter five: servant to a hole in the ground

1.
Eastern Townships of Quebec: Betty Sorensen, family wartime letters transcription, 1939, courtesy of Vicki Sorensen.

2.
“Roskilde boys”: Frank Sorensen address to Denmark via BBC Radio Free Europe, October 15, 1942, courtesy of Vicki Sorensen.

3.
“driven out of Denmark”: Ibid.

4.
thirteen operational sorties: Mikkel Plannthin, “Fra Roskilde Katedral Til Stalag Luft III—Og Den Store Flugt”/“From Roskilde Cathedral School to Stalag Luft III—and the Great Escape,” published in
Flyvehistorisk Tidsskrift
/
Journal of Aviation History
, Dansk Flyvehistorisk Forening/Danish Aviation Historical Society, Forening, December 2011.

5.
“Bay of Tunis”: Frank Sorensen letter to brother Eric Sorensen, July 23, 1945, courtesy of Vicki Sorensen.

6.
“home on the deck”: Ibid.

7.
“Hands up”: Ibid.

8.
“is reported missing”: letter to Mrs. M. B. Sorensen, from F/L W. R. Gunn, RCAF Casualties Officer, Department of National Defence, Ottawa, April 17, 1943, courtesy of Vicki Sorensen.

9.
“a prisoner of war”: letter to Mr. M. B. Sorensen, from S/L A. B. Matthews, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, RCAF Overseas, London, May 11, 1943, courtesy of Vicki Sorensen.

10.
“one of them”: Frank Sorensen letter to parents, April 19, 1943, courtesy of Vicki Sorensen.