A TRUE STORY OF THE GREAT ESCAPE

He survived the air war. He broke out of Germany’s toughest POW camp. Now his fate lies in Hitler’s hands.

John 'Willy' Williams was a medical student and passionate surfer turned Squadron Leader and World War II ace. In the larrikin tradition, he insisted on fighting his war in non-regulation attire and led his squadron into air combat over Libya and Egypt; dressed in sandals and shorts. Shot down in the Western Desert in 1942, he ended up a POW in Stalag Luft III near the German-Polish border. Willy was among the 76 POWs who tunnelled their way out of the supposedly escape-proof camp under the Germans' noses in what later became famous as the Great Escape. Willy and former schoolmate Reg 'Rusty' Keirath, together with two other POWs, made it to Czechoslovakia and were captured by the Gestapo. Hitler was so enraged by the Great Escape he personally ordered the secret execution of 50 of the 73 captured men, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention. Willy, Rusty and their two friends were driven by the Gestapo deep into the forest near the town of Most and shot; Willy was just 24 years old. Despite the later war crimes investigation into the Great Escape murders, no one was ever brought to justice for the murders of the Most Four. LOUISE WILLIAMS is a journalist and niece of John 'Willy' Williams. She has recreated Willy's story from family memories, letters, documents, and interviews with survivors of the Great Escape.