Colditz Castle, April 1945
"Right, we've opened up the wall."
"Good work, Bill. Get the lads setting up the runway on the chapel roof."
It was amazing that they'd got this far. Tony remembered the day that he'd noticed that the chapel roof couldn't be seen by the German guards. He'd idly thought that the roof would make the perfect place to launch a glider over the river. He wasn't an airman himself, but he'd discussed the idea with Bill Goldfinch. By chance, Bill had noticed a book called Aircraft Design in the prison library. Together with Jack Best, they drew up plans to build and launch a glider. The design was for a two-seater monoplane. The wingspan would be 32 feet and the glider would be just under 20 feet from nose to tail.
He'd taken the plan to the Escape Officer, who'd immediately shot the idea down. "Look Tony, even if the glider can be built and flies like you say, it's going to take an awful lot of wood and material to build it. The Goons are bound to notice that and it's going to be impossible to keep the workshop secret."
So it would take a miracle to even get permission to build the thing.
"OK Tony, the runway's built and we're filling up the bathtub at the end."
"Let's get the glider out there and fasten the wings on."
The trouble with wishing for a miracle is that sometimes you get one. In this case, the miracle was a mass escape from Stalag Luft III. They'd managed to get 76 prisoners out through a tunnel, which was an amazing feat - they really should make a film about that. Unfortunately almost all of them were recaptured most of those were executed. The SS had decided to take extreme measures against escape attempts. The word came down that it was now too risky to try and escape - even a successful attempt could lead to reprisals against other prisoners.
The Senior British Officer came to Tony. "It's time to start working on that glider of yours. It'll probably never be finished, but it'll keep the men occupied. Now that we can no longer risk real escapes, we need to find something else for the men to do."
So Tony, Bill and Jack set up a workshop behind a false wall in an attic above the chapel. They recruited twelve other officers to help build the glider. They got wood for ribs and wing spars from bed slats and floorboards and control wires from electrical wires scrounged from unused parts of the castle. The fabric for the glider came from sleeping bags doped with boiled millet. Surprisingly, the guards didn't notice what was going on - it seemed like they spent so much effort looking down for tunnels that they didn't think of looking up.
They were helped in the building by Patrick Lorne Welch. He was one of the lucky escapers from Stalag Luft III - lucky in that after recapture he'd been sent to Colditz instead of being shot. Before the war Lorne Welch had worked as an engineer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment and had also been a member of the London Gliding Club. He was enormously helpful in refining the design of the glider.
Against all odds they finally managed to finish building the glider. However, the war was obviously coming to an end, so there was no reason to try and launch it.
"We're all set to go"
"That's great, Patrick - Let's get on board"
Like miracles, reasons can come when you least expect them. That morning Lieutenant Colonel William Tod learned from the German Chief of Security, Reinhold Eggers, that the SS were coming to take control of the prison. This was something that the prisoners had feared - that the SS would execute the Prominente (VIP Prisoners) out of spite. If they did that, then they'd probably make sure that there were no witnesses. It looked like Eggers also feared that, otherwise he wouldn't have let the Senior British Officer know what was going to happen.
The prisoners had plans to take over the castle in such a situation and it looked like now was the time to use them. Hopefully most of the guards would only put up a token resistance. However, even if they took over the castle, they wouldn't be able to hold it for long. They needed someone to go to the approaching Americans and try and get help. It was time for the Colditz Cock to leave its nest.
"Chocks Away!"
Two men pushed the bathtub full of concrete off the end of the roof. The rope attached to the falling weight pulled the trolley with the glider on top along the runway. This was it - it was time to Do or Die.
Cheers,
Nigel.
"Right, we've opened up the wall."
"Good work, Bill. Get the lads setting up the runway on the chapel roof."
It was amazing that they'd got this far. Tony remembered the day that he'd noticed that the chapel roof couldn't be seen by the German guards. He'd idly thought that the roof would make the perfect place to launch a glider over the river. He wasn't an airman himself, but he'd discussed the idea with Bill Goldfinch. By chance, Bill had noticed a book called Aircraft Design in the prison library. Together with Jack Best, they drew up plans to build and launch a glider. The design was for a two-seater monoplane. The wingspan would be 32 feet and the glider would be just under 20 feet from nose to tail.
He'd taken the plan to the Escape Officer, who'd immediately shot the idea down. "Look Tony, even if the glider can be built and flies like you say, it's going to take an awful lot of wood and material to build it. The Goons are bound to notice that and it's going to be impossible to keep the workshop secret."
So it would take a miracle to even get permission to build the thing.
"OK Tony, the runway's built and we're filling up the bathtub at the end."
"Let's get the glider out there and fasten the wings on."
The trouble with wishing for a miracle is that sometimes you get one. In this case, the miracle was a mass escape from Stalag Luft III. They'd managed to get 76 prisoners out through a tunnel, which was an amazing feat - they really should make a film about that. Unfortunately almost all of them were recaptured most of those were executed. The SS had decided to take extreme measures against escape attempts. The word came down that it was now too risky to try and escape - even a successful attempt could lead to reprisals against other prisoners.
The Senior British Officer came to Tony. "It's time to start working on that glider of yours. It'll probably never be finished, but it'll keep the men occupied. Now that we can no longer risk real escapes, we need to find something else for the men to do."
So Tony, Bill and Jack set up a workshop behind a false wall in an attic above the chapel. They recruited twelve other officers to help build the glider. They got wood for ribs and wing spars from bed slats and floorboards and control wires from electrical wires scrounged from unused parts of the castle. The fabric for the glider came from sleeping bags doped with boiled millet. Surprisingly, the guards didn't notice what was going on - it seemed like they spent so much effort looking down for tunnels that they didn't think of looking up.
They were helped in the building by Patrick Lorne Welch. He was one of the lucky escapers from Stalag Luft III - lucky in that after recapture he'd been sent to Colditz instead of being shot. Before the war Lorne Welch had worked as an engineer at the Royal Aircraft Establishment and had also been a member of the London Gliding Club. He was enormously helpful in refining the design of the glider.
Against all odds they finally managed to finish building the glider. However, the war was obviously coming to an end, so there was no reason to try and launch it.
"We're all set to go"
"That's great, Patrick - Let's get on board"
Like miracles, reasons can come when you least expect them. That morning Lieutenant Colonel William Tod learned from the German Chief of Security, Reinhold Eggers, that the SS were coming to take control of the prison. This was something that the prisoners had feared - that the SS would execute the Prominente (VIP Prisoners) out of spite. If they did that, then they'd probably make sure that there were no witnesses. It looked like Eggers also feared that, otherwise he wouldn't have let the Senior British Officer know what was going to happen.
The prisoners had plans to take over the castle in such a situation and it looked like now was the time to use them. Hopefully most of the guards would only put up a token resistance. However, even if they took over the castle, they wouldn't be able to hold it for long. They needed someone to go to the approaching Americans and try and get help. It was time for the Colditz Cock to leave its nest.
"Chocks Away!"
Two men pushed the bathtub full of concrete off the end of the roof. The rope attached to the falling weight pulled the trolley with the glider on top along the runway. This was it - it was time to Do or Die.
Cheers,
Nigel.
