One of my favourite movies of all time must be the Great Escape. Watching Steve McQueen try and hurdle the barbed wire on his German motor bike, and losing my mind when Gordon Jackson gets caught out at the train station with the simple words “Good Luck”. It is one of the greatest War movies of all time, capturing the spirit of Allied POWS trying to continue the war effort, and their never say die initiative and ingenuity. Its a classic, although its roots are firmly entrenched in the horror and suffering of war.

When you read Bob Vanderstok’s book about the escape you can see how the movie captures the actual events and personalities involved so well. As a Dutch pilot Vanderstok actually had to first of all escape Holland and make his way to England where as a RAF pilot he was then shot down, captured and sent to Stalag Luft III. So in reality he escaped twice. The book is a riveting read from start to finish. The lengths the prisoners went to, from unsuccessful escapes, to planning and resourcing via any means necessary, are just amazing. The escape was a fantastic achievement and a great climax to the book, although obviously tainted with great sadness as many of the escapees were captured and killed.

If you love the movie you will love the book, so I suggest you buy a copy! If you haven’t watched the classic The Great Escape you need to sort that out too quicksmart!