Jonathan F. Vance (1963–)

Like the author, I too was familiar with this story through watching the movie (one, I am unashamed to say, I watch repeatedly - how I do love a good war story, and Steve McQueen - definitely eye-candy). I had always wondered whether this was based on one true event or was a compilation of smaller events rolled into one by Hollywood executives. What utterly escaped my notice was that the script was based on author Paul Brickhill's book, also of the same title (which had I bothered to read show more the dust jacket of "Reach For The Sky" the penny would have dropped), and that he himself was involved!

Back to this book. Vance has made considerable use of the stories of the survivors to piece together a truly remarkable tale of this one or many historic episodes from World War II. I loved reading about the backgrounds of the men involved which puts a much more human face on the characters - and having watched the film, so can see some semblance. And these personal stories were intersperse with events as they were unfolding within Stalag Luft III. For the most part, the movie does follow the actual story, and whilst I was reading, scenes from the movie would replay in my head.

What I found utterly soul destroying was that the fate of these men was sealed by the whim of one man - for embarrassing Hitler, a lesson had to be learnt, a warning sent out. These men were it.

I appreciated the follow up - of the 76 who escaped, 50 were executed (lets not mince words), 8 were unaccounted for (presumed dead), 3 managed to escape to freedom, the rest were returned to their prison camp. What I didn't know was that those responsible were brought to trial in 1947, with the last trial taking place in 1968.

This is a must read - whether a fan of the movies or of the history, or just someone who wants to know more. It is more than a history - it is a personal, tragic story. I was left with so many thoughts after reading this; I wanted to know more; and when I was done, I was left feeling drained but mostly humbled. show less

During WWII, the Brits started an organization that they planned to use to sabotage the Nazis behind enemy lines, and to help support and grow the French resistance. This was a secret organization, and the best of the best worked there – whether under cover in the field, or in administrative positions, or even teaching those who would go out in the field.

Two of the soldiers who were sent to France were Canadians, Ken Macalister and Frank Pickersgill. Unlikely Soldiers is their story.

The show more Review
Okay. So, I first heard about this book in the London Free Press in autumn of 2008, and knew I wanted to read it. Less than a month later, there was a series of posts up at The Savvy Reader (Remembering Remembrance Day, The Least We Can Do to Remember and Recognizing the Silence of Sacrifice) that convinced me I absolutely must read it… and it had been sitting on my TBR list ever since. (Goodness, don’t you hate it when that happens??)

Finally, its call to me could no longer be quieted and I was in desperate need of reading it. And oh my goodness!! I am so so so happy I didn’t put this off any longer!

The first thing I noticed about this book when I finally did pick it up was how readable it was – and how not-dry it was. It was extremely informative, and yet it was also exciting and oh-so-interesting! It told some of the stories about WWII that I didn’t know about previously. Like how when the Nazi’s took over part of France, and people who were not citizens of France had to go to prison, while regular French citizens didn’t necessarily have to. Or even the whole story about the SOE, which I hadn’t realized even existed.

One of the things that amazed me the most about both Ken Macalister and Frank Pickersgill was how parallel their lives were before even meeting. Both of their fathers fought in WWI, both were just born when their fathers went off to war, both studied at U of T, both studied in France, both weren’t able to enlist into the regular army (one due to bad eyesight, the other due to partial deafness)… and the way that Vance wrote the book made the parallels even more obvious (a chapter on growing up, a chapter of education, a chapter on their time in France, etc.).

A good portion of the second half of the book got me really super annoyed. I couldn’t understand (and this is no fault of Vance’s, but non-understanding at the situation) why the people heading the SOE wouldn’t believe that the SOE had been infiltrated, that their under-cover soldiers were captured and in custody of the Germans. If they had all these security measures in place, and these security measures were obviously not being followed by those communicating with SOE headquarters, why didn’t they see that their field offices had been compromised? Was it wishful thinking that just maybe all of their field officers had forgotten their true security codes? Was it carelessness? Was it denial? Because, due to this overlooking of missing security codes, they sent in numerous additional men and women to their deathes, and they provided the Nazis with weapons, and they weren’t able to help the French resistance. It was … somewhat infuriating.

I am so thoroughly impressed by Vance after reading this book. You can tell that he took the writing of this book and the subject matter so very seriously. It does nothing but honour the memories of Ken Macalister and Frank Pickersgill, and what they did during WWII to fight against the Nazi occupation of a country they had both grown to know and love after they had left Canada. Vance reminds his readers how real the people who fought and died in this war were, makes them real to us through the exploration of who they were. And even though we know how things are going to end, it is still so horrible and heartbreaking to read about how events unfold.

There was only one thing that I didn’t like about how this book was written. The book is split into two parts – everything up to the point where the two men join the SOE is in the first part, and the second part contains everything afterwards. The first part focuses on Macalister and Pickersgill when they are growing up, going to school, traveling to Europe, and so there’s a lot of time to get to know the two men. And the second part spent more time telling logistics about the SOE and logistics of the concentration camps and whatnot, and it seemed at times like what happened to Macalister and Pickersgill was a side story. I can understand why this happened – obviously, it’s important for the reader to have the background on what is going on. There’s also the fact that most of the people the two men spent their time with in France were killed as well, so we wouldn’t necessarily have an in depth report of what the two men did or said during that period of time. But I really would have liked to get to know these two men more.

The Bottom Line
Okay. So obviously this is going to be a tear jerker… but it’s an amazing read. Informative, interesting and heartbreaking. It helps you get to know two of the people who fought and died in WWII. And I highly highly HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is a Canadian and/or interested in learning more about the Second World War. show less

Inspiring and tragic story of the escape that inspired the Hollywood epic The Great Escape. In March 1944, 76 men escaped through a tunnel named Harry from the main POW camp run by the Luftwaffe, Stalag Luft III, near Sagan, now in Poland. The mass escape caused panic in Germany, and literally thousands of police and troops were diverted to recapture the escapees, of whom all but three were caught. Hitler, infuriated by the escape, ordered all of them to be shot, but his underlings, show more terrified of the repercussions for German prisoners in Allied hands, managed to get the number of executions reduced to 50. And so 50 Allied servicemen, from Britain, France, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Norway, Belgium, Greece and Lithuania, were loaded into cars by the Gestapo taken to isolated places and shot. The executions caused outrage among the Allies, Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden vowed revenge upon the killers, and revulsion and anger swept through the Allied countries. A special unit of the RAF was assigned to bring justice to the killers. Eventually 21 of those responsible were hanged and 17 imprisoned. This is a great book which not only covers the meticulous planning of the escape and the ingenious ways the POWs fooled their captors, but gives a humorous and sometimes wistful account of life behind barbed wire. Although the result of the escape was eventually horrendously tragic, the author gives a wonderful account of brave men so determined to escape and rejoin the war effort that they were prepared to risk the ultimate penalty to do so. And so they died unbowed and defiant to the end.

In memory of The Fifty. show less

For more reviews and bookish posts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The True Story of the Great Escape: Stalag Luft III, March 1944 by Jonathan F. Vance is the historical account of the largest prison break during World War II. Mr. Vance is a Canadian author and educator.

Many people only know of the events in this book from the fictionalized 1963 Hollywood account, but as often occurs, truth is stranger than fiction, and often much more mesmerizing. In The True Story of the Great show more Escape: Stalag Luft III, March 1944 by Jonathan F. Vance the author recounts the evens which led to the escape, and the aftermath.

This book is being re-released to honor the 75th anniversary of what we call now the “Great Escape”. Mr. Vance’s well researched and very readable account of the men of Stalag Luft III is exciting and personal. Each soldier gets a mini-biography (peppered throughout the book as they are introduced) , and it is obvious that the author really looks up to these guys.

The English officers saw it as their duty to escape, this they reasoned, helped the war effort by keeping the German troops busy with them instead of on the front lines (amazingly, they were correct). The fascinating thing is that the German officers understood this (in this case, where airmen are concerned at least), and while still punished the captured men, it was with a wink and appreciation of their efforts.
Like a cat and mouse game.

The author goes to describe how the prisoners made their escape materials, clothes, fake documentation, money, and more. They had to be careful and alter their uniforms so they won’t be caught with civilian clothes and executed as spies.

After the “Great Escape”, at the personal command of Hitler all the officers were executed, a war crime which reverberated throughout this horrible war. Even the German guards were shaken and quietly pointed out that it wasn’t them (the Luftwafa) who committed this atrocity.

While the book drags on in parts, I still found it very powerful. The story is remarkable and, while dealing with a short timeline, had much larger implications. show less