Great Escape

The Great Escape

from

Stalag Luft III, 24th March 1944

On 24th March, 1944, 76 prisoners of war escaped from Stalag Luft III, 3 made it home, of the 73 re-captured 50 were shot on Hitler’s orders..[v]

'An extraordinary claim that Allied prisoners of war involved in the Great Escape were betrayed by two of their own side has come to light in files at The National Archives, 2024. As recorded in a record held by The National Archives, Flt Lt Desmond Plunkett (see below) told British authorities when he was released from the camp in May 1945: “There are two individuals… whose activities have a direct bearing on the fate of the 50 executed prisoners of war.' link

Stalag Luft III, a German prisoner of war camp, was situated in Sagan, 100 miles south-east of Berlin, now called Zagan, in Upper Silesia, Poland

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These three men, part of the 'Great Escape', had connections with Hanworth aerodromes:

GILBERT (TIM) WILLIAM WALENN, The Forger [i]

24 February 1916 – 29 March 1944

1936: Founder (Instructor) of the Midland Bank Flying Club at Hanworth, Middlesex.

1941, 9 th/10th September: Prisoner of war, master forger and worked with Des Plunkett.

24 March 1944: He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the Gestapo on 29 March 1944.

Ian Cross[ii]

04 April 1918 - 31 March 1944

12 Oct 1936: Posted to the civil flying school at Hanworth - No 5 E & RFTS

Feb 1942 – 31 March 1944: Prisoner of war: Digging team

31 Mar 1944 He took part in the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the Gestapo.

Desmond Plunkett:[iii] The Mapmaker

21Feb1915 - Feb2002

1939-1940: Aug 1939 - 01Jan1940, Sgt. D.L. Plunkett, Flying Instructor at No 5 E&RFTS, Hanworth; staff member at mobilisation.[iv]

Jun 1942- 2 Sept 1945: Prisoner of war: led the team of map-makers and worked with Tim Walenn.

24 March 1944: He took part in the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III, but was one of the men re-captured. He was the 13th man out – he volunteered because no one else wanted that number. He was recaptured near the Austrian border and interrogated by the Gestapo who held him for eight months before moving him to POW camp Stalag Luft I. He died in 2002, age 86.

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The 77th man to break out was Squadron Leader Leonard Henry Trent VC, who was caught in the act and surrendered. He lived to tell the tale and died in his native New Zealand in 1986, aged 71

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Portrayed in the film ‘The Great Escape’

The film returned to cinemas on Sunday 24 March 2019, the 75th anniversary of the escape, for a special screening hosted by historian Dan Snow.

Flt Lt Colin Blythe RAF ("The Forger") was based on Tim Walenn and played by Donald Pleasence.