image of person or book cover 5235653149071725244.jpg
Cover image courtesy of publisher.
Alternative title: Great Escaper : The True Story of John 'Willy' Williams
Issue Details: First known date: 2015... 2015 A True Story of the Great Escape : A Young Australian POW in the Most Audacious Breakout of WWII
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The first book to tell the story of an Australian POW in the famous Great Escape from Stalag Luft III in World War II, this is a moving account of the far too short life of a talented young man and a family hit hard by the Depression and war.

'Shot down in 1942, young Australian fighter pilot John Williams DFC became a POW in the notorious Stalag Luft III camp in Germany. John had joined the air force shortly before the outbreak of war and, in the larrikin tradition, led his squadron into air combat over the deserts of Libya and Egypt dressed in sandals and shorts.

'John and his best mate Rusty Kierath were among the 76 POWs who tunnelled their way out of the supposedly escape-proof camp under the noses of their German guards in what later became the Hollywood blockbuster, The Great Escape. Their families never learned what really happened once the pair made it out into the forest.

'John's niece Louise Williams has pieced together his life, from his upbringing in a tight-knit family hit hard by the Depression, to his exploits in the air, and the many missing details of the tragic escape. It is a powerful and intimate story of one of the most dramatic episodes of World War II.' (Publication summary)

Exhibitions

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Great Escaper : The True Story of John 'Willy' Williams
    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 5235653149071725244.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 296p.
      Note/s:
      • Published September 2015
      ISBN: 9781743313893
    • Stroud, Stroud area, Upper Hunter - Dungog - Gloucester area, Newcastle - Hunter Valley area, New South Wales,: Amberley Publishing , 2015 .
      image of person or book cover 2232814781584605017.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 285 p, 8 unnumbered pages of platesp.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Published January 19, 2016
      ISBN: 9781445654010

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