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Watch a trailer of The Great Escape - The Reckoning, which airs on Channel 4 on Monday 2 November 9pm. I took part in the documentary as a POW expert. It tells the story of the Great Escape itself, and examines the lesser known aspect of the RAF's post-war pursuit of the Gestapo who killed 50 of the escapers on Hitler's orders.
Labels: Military History, The Great Escape
‘Captured: The Extraordinary Life of Prisoners of War’ – at IWM North, from 23 May 2009 to 3 January 2010.
This exciting exhibition looks at the whole POW experience: not just the escapes and tales of derring-do, but also the realities of day-to-day life for the hundreds and thousands of British, Commonwealth and Empire prisoners captured by Axis forces during World War II.
There's a strong interactive element that includes the sights, sounds and smells of a POW camp hut, the contents of a life-saving Red Cross parcel, and a replica of the famous Colditz glider. Among the exhibits on show is a sheet embroidered with the names of the 1,100 internees held by the Japanese at Stanley Camp in Hong Kong, secret radios and the cap worn by the Great Escaper, Jimmy James.
This is the first major exhibition of its kind held by the Imperial War Museum, one which provides us with a rare and welcome opportunity to see the physical artefacts of POW life. Well worth a visit.
Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1TZ (tel: 0161 836 4012). IWMN website.
Find out more about the exhibition
Voices of the Foreign Legion: The French Foreign Legion in its Own Words is published by Mainstream Books on 7 May 2009. The book considers the Legion’s unique approach to recruitment, training and discipline, and provides a vivid history of the Legion at war from 1831 to the present. Available now from Amazon
National Army Museum, Chelsea, 12.30pm: Adrian Gilbert will be giving a lecture on the top British escapers from POW camps in Germany and Italy during World War II and analysing their quite extraordinary escapes – whether over, under or through the wire. In the process an attempt will be made to find out who were the greatest escapers. Should the accolade be shared between an RAF sergeant and an Australian infantryman? National Army Museum, Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3. www.national-army-museum.ac.uk
Adrian Gilbert is currently writing a book on the French Foreign Legion for Mainstream Publishing. Due to be published in 2009, Voices of the French Foreign Legion tells the story of the the world's toughest fighting force using a wealth of first-hand accounts. www.mainstreampublishing.com