The Great Escape takes place at Stalag Luft 3, a Nazi run World War 2 prisoner of war camp located in Poland. The book is based on the true events witnessed and participated in by one of the prisoners, namely the author of this book, Paul Brickhill. The plan was to have two hundred and twenty prisoners escape from the camp at the same time which would tie up many axis troops and police as they hunted down the prisoners. This is the story of the planning, execution, and aftermath of The Great Escape and those who were involved.
Website links for more info below including The Great Escape Movie Theme, the best whistle along with theme of all time!
Paul Brickhill (1916-1991) was born in Melbourne Australia and was the third of five children. He had problems with stuttering though it didn’t deter his eventual success. Because of the worldwide Great Depression in the 1930s, Paul had to quit school at age 15 to get a job and help support the family. He was chosen to work since his grades were the poorest. Paul eventually became a copy boy at a newspaper and worked his way up to journalist. In 1941 he joined the Australian Royal Airforce and received advanced training in Canada and Britain before being assigned to Number 92 Squadron RAF. Flying a Spitfire, he engaged in battles over north Africa where the British were fighting General Rommel’s German armies. Shot down in 1943, he became a prisoner of war and ended up in Stalag Luft (air) 3. His involvement with The Great Escape included being a ‘stooge’ or lookout, and digging tunnel Tom. The digging caused him to experience severe claustrophobia and so the leaders decided that he should not participate in the escape which was probably a good thing. After the war he continued with his journalism and wrote several books, the most successful of which were: The Great Escape, The Dam Busters, and Reach for the Sky, the true story about a legless man who was a WW2 fighter pilot. These three fine books were made into three fine movies. The Dam Busters, about a secret project to destroy German dams by air during the war, stars Richard Todd the actor who reads/performs this audiobook. And Buster, he does a Dam fine job of it!
Richard Todd (1919-2009) was an Irish born British actor who also served as a British paratrooper during WW II (1939-45). In 1949 Mr. Todd costarred with future president Ronald Reagan in the WW2 film The Hasty Heart which takes place in Burma. Richard Todd’s performance got him nominated for an Academy Award. He lost, but did win a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. While not in The Great Escape movie, he was in Dambusters which was another famous Paul Brickhill book. One extraordinary event of Mr. Todd’s acting career was when he portrayed his superior officer in the movie The Longest Day, a movie about the D-Day invasion. Mr. Todd had heroically (weren’t they all heroic?) taken part in the D-Day invasion as a paratrooper. Richard Todd the paratrooper was played by another actor. If you need some divine inspiration, Richard Todd starred as Reverend Peter Marshall, in the well-respected film, A Man Called Peter.
Richard Todd was married twice. Each marriage, (22 and 21 years long respectively) produced two children. His life was not without tragedy as two of his sons took their own lives, the first was age 20, the next eight years later was age 53. He died at age 90 having experience success, love, and heartbreak.
People in The Great Escape
Roger Bushell - Royal Air Force Squadron Leader and in charge of the great escape.
Tim Walenn - The head forger.
Al Hake - Compass maker
Des Plunket - Map tracer who made a mimeograph, remember they're in a dangerous prisoner of war camp, to reproduce maps.
Tommy Guest - the head of the tailors.
John Dodge - one of the escapees. Transferred prior to escape
Online sites with more information Copy and Paste
The Theme to The Great Escape Movie (1963).
• FSO 2016 Oficial | The...
An informative article about The Great Escape
www.dday.org/2...
The site below tells the story of three (Great) escapees who made it home.
www.pbs.org/wg...
A eulogy of Richard Todd and the tragedy of his sons.
www.dailymail....
A brief video showing Luft Stalaag III as it is today.
• 'The Great Escape' sit...
In memory of those who escaped and those who died.
Every generation has the terrible duty to defend their freedom or the freedom of others against the war mongering tyrants and terrorists of the world who wish to conquer and control. Freedom is never free.
21 окт 2024
