The Great Escape 70th Anniversary

http://rafbf.org/4402/About-TheGreatEscape.html

70 years ago on the night of the 24th and 25th March 1944, two hundred men planned to escape from Stalag Luft III, Zagan in Poland, through man-made tunnels.  Seventy-six managed to get free, 73 officers were captured and 50 shot.

The prisoners begged, borrowed and stole equipment from around the camp to assist them with digging the tunnels and they made clothes, maps, compasses and German passes to help them escape.  According to German accounts, after the escape, the missing items totalled:

4,000 bed boards

1699 blankets

161 pillow cases

34 chairs

478 spoons

30 shovels

1,000 feet of electric wire

600 feet of rope

192 bed covers

3,424 towels

The film "The Great Escape" starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Colin Blythe and James Garner ensured that this daring deed was never forgotten.

Ken Rees, who Steve McQueen played, is 90 years old and is the sole survivor.  He now lives in North Wales.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/26/article-2120630-125771A3000005DC-573_634x476.jpg