Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada The Great Escape 70 years ago today

Interesting news article today. Of the 76 allied airmen to escape only 3 made it back to England. Another 23 were sent back to prison and 50 were executed by direct order from Hitler, many of them Canadians.
Despite Steve McQueen's great ride, no Americans were actually held in Stallag Luft 3.

One of our neighbors in England was one of those 23 sent back to prison...old Tom was a crazy old bastard....

As usual, Hollywood got most of the facts wrong, but we expect that. The lonk below gives some of the interesting facts about the real deal.

The Great Escape - in reality

Still ranks as one of my favorite movies.

Looks like Tom was one of the lucky ones. Maybe he was crazy like a fox.

tangozulu;
Thanks for the reminder sir, I'd not likely have stumbled across it on my own today.

Hopefully this finds you and yours well this cool spring morning too tango.

On the original topic I can't somehow make sense this morning of the fact that it was 70 years ago now. Growing up I knew so many veterans - some in my immediate family as I've mentioned here previously - and now of course most are gone.

My hope and prayer this morning is that our children's generation don't forget or better said underestimate the struggle our parent's generation put forth for our present freedoms. Hopefully that made sense?

Anyway sir, thanks again for the reminder and thanks to Brother Keith for the educational link. Have a good week tango.

Dwayne

http://tedbarris.com/2013/08/31/the-great-escape-a-canadian-story/

Sounds like a book that would be worth reading.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tvLm1nN_op0

My hat is off to those young men, who fought, even though they were prisoners. They displayed the grit that young men should have, be they Canadian, English or American.

May God bless and keep them.

Ever watch Chicken Run? Steve McQueen in feathers.

Thanks Dwayne,
On my bucket list is to take my 2 daughters to France , including Juneau Beach and especially to that piece of Canada over there called Vimy Ridge. I want to wait a few years untill they can understand how lucky we are today and how previous generation have always stepped up when evil needed confronting.
It is imprtant that we never forget that freedom is not free and that Canada has never denied the call.
I saw a comparison of Canadas ww1 lives lost as 62500 killed. Today that would be the eqivelent of 250000. Really puts things into perspective.
As a bit of a news junky
I find it very odd that I have seen no mention anywhere that WW1 began in 1914, 100 years ago this year.
Best Regards to you and family,
tango

Now that I think back your absolutely correct.

Tom was something else... his relationship with his wife, we use to think that the comic strip "Andy Capp" was based on Tom and Ella...

Tom was captured at Dunkirk in 1940, when he ran back to help a 'mate' whom had been hit... he was running and helping a wounded man, along with several other soldiers, when he realized that they were Germans....

Tom was involved in 17 escape attempts, and was rotated to a batch of different POW camps during the war.. he said the one reason he was never taken out and shot by the Germans... " was the Gerrys loved me, because I was a Scotsman and hated the English... plus they loved me good nature...." He was freed by Allied soldiers in April 1945...

his daughter was married to Peter Cook, who was part of the comedy team Peter Cook and Dudley Moore...I got to meet Dudley Moore at a Christmas Party at Tom's Home back in 1964...Dudley Moore was hilarious and very personable... but what I remember also, at 12 years old, I was a little taller than Dudley Moore was....

and yes, I LOVE CHICKEN RUN.... got the video when my son was much younger.. but we still enjoy watching it...shows the British sense of humor...

just a bit of trivia, I was surprised to learn that McQueen used a Triumph 655T for the movie, I owned an old Triumph 500 for a few years.