Posted on 08/25/2015 2:40:57 PM PDT by naturalman1975
Theirs is the previously untold Australian side of the 'The Great Escape' - best mates who surfed together, flew RAF missions together and finally tunnelled out of Stalag Luft III prison camp together in the most daring breakout of the Second World War.
The brief flight to freedom by 76 prisoners of war, in which Australians John Williams and Rusty Kierath played a pivotal part, was immortalised by Hollywood - although the film largely glossed over a key part played in the daring ploy by Australian captives.
Now there's a book that reveals details of their role and events that led up to that historic day - including how surfboard-making skills helped them dig their way to temporary freedom.
Williams grew up on the beach at Manly while Kierath was a country boy from Narromine but the pair became friends when they were at school together during the Great Depression.
The rugby team-mates later headed to England to take up separate assignments with the RAF in Egypt. After being shot down they became barrack mates inside the notorious Stalag Luft III camp, and escaped in the tunnel known as "Harry".
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Actually, I'd say the 'Hollywood myth' of the Great Escape showed more of a British story than an American one (which is historically accurate - there were no American escapees, as the American prisoners in the camp had been moved to a different compound - yes, the film does include more American involvement than was strictly factual, but it still presented things as primarily British.
What you mean there was no motorcycle jump over a barbwire fence?
The group with the fewest deaths from diseases was the Dutch; their prison camp doctors were much more familiar with tropical diseases, because they had grown up in Dutch Indonesia. The British died in larger numbers, because their doctors didn't listen to the Dutch, and kept treating the men in their own way. There were two groups of Americans on the railroad, and the one that had the Dutch doctor suffered less than 10 deaths out of almost 200 men, while the group under the British doctor had many more deaths in proportion to their numbers.
Yes, but it was Steve McQueen! No one gets cooler than that.
What you mean the “cooler king” Vigil Hilts was not a hip 1960’s Californian?
Read The Railway Man, about English prisoners on the
railroad.
A dead brit for every sleeper, or so they said.
GE Theater when hosted by Ronald Reagan produced The Great Escape story in one of its hour long shows of that series. Which came out a year before or earlier then that famous cycle ride. It was much closer to facts than the film. It related no American participation .
Hope some FR looks and links it up it’s worth a look.
Great Escape ping
Another book by a POW of the Japanese that Id recommend...it’s been published here under three different titles. This is the latest printing. Very moving.
http://www.amazon.com/END-ALL-WARS-Ernest-Gordon/dp/0007118481/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440546502&sr=1-4&keywords=%22To+End+All+Wars%22
Thanks for the ping.
M4L POWs
I saw the movie made from that book, but I’m sure the book is much better!
I’ll have to see if my library has that book in it’s statewide database!
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