The true story that inspired the movie.
This is the attempt to have 250 men escape at one time from Stalag-Luft III by creating three tunnels at once.
Due to circumstances only one was used and only 70 men escaped on the night.
Of these 70 only three actually made it back to England with 50 of them being rounded up by the Gestapo and murdered. The remainder were returned to this camp or to concentration camps.
The bravery and ingenuity of those involved is staggering. They constructed 250 compasses, moulding the casings from broken gramophone records and then adding needles and glass. The entire construction is detailed and is amazing.
They moved hundreds of tons of sand, made bellows for moving fresh air about, forged papers. All this was done by scrounging and stealing the required materials. Then the talents of the prisoners were put to use in making what was required.
This camp was the one where Eric Williams and colleagues escaped from and was immortalised in The Wooden Horse.
The author Paul Brickhill was also a prisoner at this camp at this time but he did not partake in the tunnelling or escape due to his claustrophobia.
This a a very moving tale of bravery and determination and another reminder why ANZAC Day is so important, - that we never forget -what previous generations have done for us.
This copy is a 1952 edition but I believe its still in print and widley available.
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