A True Story of the Great Escape. A young Australian POW in the most
Audacious Breakout of WWII
Allen & Unwin, September 2015, 284 pages
ISBN: 9781743313893
$29.99
Louise Williams
Published in Flightpath, February 2016, Volume 27, Number 3
The
author of A True
Story of the Great Escape is the niece of John
Williams, one of five Australians killed on Hitler’s order after the mass
breakout from Stalag Luft III.
This is not simply a
retelling of the Great Escape from an Australian perspective. Williams gives
considerable attention to John Williams’ background, training and pre-war
flying career. He excelled as a trainee pilot and was granted a pre-war short
service commission. Instead of a posting to an operational squadron, he became
an instructor. After transferring to the Western Desert, he gained experience in
RAF squadrons before notching up a series of victories for 450 Squadron RAAF as
one of its new flight commanders. He gained a reputation as an aggressive pilot
and the culmination of his flying career came when he was promoted to commanding
officer. The 23-year-old’s promising leadership stint, however, was cut short
when he was shot down by one of his own men in October 1942 and taken prisoner.
John was sent to Stalag
Luft III where he became involved in the escape organisation. He was in charge
of the carpentry department and was responsible for acquiring bed slats used to
shore up the three escape tunnels that were constructed for the ‘Great Escape’.
Little was known about John’s life in camp, his
rationale for joining in the escape effort or the specifics of his fate. Louise
Williams has devoted much of her life to discovering exactly what happened and the
result is a warm, compelling yet poignant account of the life and career of an Australian
airman, and the events that led to his terrible death.
