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The Escape Committee
Some of the finest escape artists in the Allied Air Forces
arrived at Luft III. Squadron Leader (S/L) Roger J Bushell, CO of No 92 (Spitfire)
Squadron had been shot down in May 1940, during the Battle of France. On a previous escape
he had been hiding in Prague and was caught in the aftermath of the Heydrich assassination. The family
hiding him were all executed by the Gestapo and Jack Zaphouk, his Czech co-escaper,
was purged to Colditz Castle. Bushell developed a cold unyielding hatred for the enemy but
failed, however, to distinguish between the Gestapo and the far better type represented by
the Camp Kommandant.
Although the first SBO (Senior British Officer) was Group
Captain Harry "Wings" Day (57 Sqdn, shot down 13-Oct-39, Blenheim I, L1138),
he was succeeded by the arrival in June 1942 of a more senior officer, G/C Herbert M
Massey, a rugged veteran WW1 pilot, and in October 1942 Wings Day was sent to
Offizierlager (Oflag, or Officer Camp) XXIB. Bushell masterminded the Luft III Escape
Organization, together with an executive committee of Flying Officer (F/O) Wally Floody
(J5481), Peter 'Hornblower' Fanshawe RN and Flight Lieutenant (F/L)
George Harsh (102 Sqdn, shot down 5/6-Oct-42, Halifax II W7824).
(Ranks Page)
Bushell collected the most skilled forgers, tailors, tunnel
engineers and surveillance experts and announced his intention to put 250 men outside the
wire. This would cause a tremendous problem and cause the enemy to divert men and
resources to round up the escapers. His idea was not so much to return escapers to the UK
but mainly to cause a giant internal problem for the German administration. He went about
this task with a typical determinedness, despite having been officially warned that his
next escape and recapture would result in him being shot.
Key Personnel
Tunnel engineering was in the expert hands of Floody, a
Canadian Spitfire pilot and prewar mining engineer. The original 'Tunnel King', he
masterminded the construction of all three tunnels, aided by F/Lt R. G.
"Crump" Ker-Ramsey (Fighter Interception Unit, shot down on a night patrol
13/14-Sep-40, Blenheim IVF Z5721), Henry "Johnny" Marshall, Fanshawe, and
a host of others. The dapper Rhodesian Johnny Travis and his team of manufacturers
made escape kit such as compasses from fragments of broken Bakelite gramophone records,
melted and shaped and incorporating a tiny needle made from slivers of magnetised razor
blades. Stamped on the underside was 'Made in Stalag Luft 3 - Patent Pending'.
F/L Des Plunkett (218 Sqdn, shot down 20/21-6-42,
Stirling I, W7530 HA:Q) and his team assumed responsibility for map making. Real ID papers
and passes were obtained by bribery or theft from the guards and copied by F/L 'Tim'
Walenn and his forgers. These two departments were known as "Dean and
Dawson" after a well-known firm of travel agents. Service uniforms were carefully
recut by Tommy Guest and his men, who also produced workmens' clothes and other
'civilian' attire. These were often hidden in spaces created by ace carpenter Pilot
Officer (P/O) "Digger" Macintosh (12 Sqdn, shot down 12-May-40,
Battle I, L5439 PH:N).
A surprising number of guards proved co-operative in
supplying railway timetables, maps, and the bewildering number of official papers required
for escapers. One tiny mistake in forgery, or one missing document would immediately
betray the holder, a problem complicated by the fact that the official stamps and
appearance of the various papers were changed regularly by the Germans. It was necessary
to obtain details of the lie of the land directly outside the camp, and especially
ascertain the location of the nearest railway station. Bribery by cigarettes or chocolate
usually worked. In one case, a less than intelligent guard provided key information for
which he was paid in chocolate. The prisoner asked him to sign a receipt, explaining that
it was necessary to account for the chocolate. The guard obliged, and was soon blackmailed
into bringing in a camera and film, Bushell being quite ruthless in exploiting such
opportunities.
Forged papers included Dienstausweise (permission to be on
Wehrmacht property), Urlaubscheine (military leave pass), Ruckkehrscheine (for foreign
workers returning home), Kennkarte (general identity card), Sichtvermark (visa), Ausweise
and Vorlaufweise (pass and temporary pass). Many of these required weeks of work to
reproduce.
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