Escape from Stalag Luft III

The True Story of My Successful Great Escape: The Memoir of Bob Vanderstok

By: Bram Vanderstok

Narrated by: John Lee

On the night of March 24, 1944, Bram Vanderstok was number 18 of 76 men who crawled beyond the barbed wire fence of Stalag Luft III in Zagan, Poland. The 1963 film The Great Escape was largely based on this autobiography but - with Vanderstok's agreement - filmmakers chose to turn his story into an Australian character named Sedgwick.

His memoir sets down his wartime adventures before being incarcerated in Stalag Luft III and then, in extraordinary detail, describes various escape attempts which culminated with the famous March breakout. After escaping, Vanderstok roamed Europe for weeks, passing through Leipzig, Utrecht, Brussels, Paris, Dijon, and Madrid, before making it back to England.

He reported to the Air Ministry and two months after escaping returned to the British No. 91 Squadron. In the following months, he flew almost every day to France escorting bombers and knocking down V1 rockets.

In August, 1944, he finally returned to his home. He learned that his two brothers had been killed in concentration camps after being arrested for resistance work. His father had been tortured and blinded by the Gestapo during interrogation. He had never betrayed his son.

©1983 Estate of Bram Vanderstok; Foreword copyright 2019 by Robert Vanderstok; Simon Pearson Preface copyright 2019 by Greenhill Books (P)2019 Tantor

Excellent Book

A great book about an amazing event. This will keep you engaged cover to cover

Incredible story

I am very pleased with this story. Good narration, sometimes the accent is a distraction, but this narration is complimentary. The story is incredible!

Honorable Life of a WWll Pilot

Wonderful historical story, well written, with excellent narration. Too much “ taking the Lord’s Name in vain”.

Excellent read

Maybe the best book written on the Great Escape and a must read for those interested in that part of history

Fantastic!

A truly incredible story of an absolutely incredible man before, during and after the war.