# 75th Anniversary of The Great Escape



## dangerboy (24 Mar 2019)

Tonight is the 75th anniversary of _“The Great Escape_”.  On the night of 24/25 March 1944, 77 POWs escaped via tunnel from Stalag Luft III. Of the escapees, 3 of them were successful and made it back to allied lands, Flight Lieutenant Bram van der Stok made it to Spain and Sergeant Per Bergslamd along with Second Lieutenant Jens Muller made it to Stockholm. Unfortunately, the remainder of the prisoners were recaptured by the Germans. When Hitler found out about the escape he wanted all the captured POWs to be killed as punishment for escaping, however, Luftwaffe commander Reichmarschall Herman Goring fearing reprisals against German POWS convinced him only to only execute kill 50 POWs.
Of the 50 escapees that were killed, six were Canadian:


Flying Officer Henry Birkland, 72 Sqn RAF, from Caldwell Manitoba
Flying Officer Gordon Kidder, 152 Sqn RAF, from St. Catharines, Ontario 
Flight Lieutenant Patrick Langford, 16 Sqn RAF, from Edmonton, Alberta
Flight Lieutenant George McGill, 103 Sqn RAF, from Toronto, Ontario
Flight Lieutenant James Wernham, 405 Sqn RCAF, from Winnipeg Manitoba
Flight Lieutenant George Wiley, 112 Sqn RAF, from Windsor, Ontario


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## mariomike (24 Mar 2019)

dangerboy said:
			
		

> Of the 50 escapees that were killed, six were Canadian:
> 
> 
> Flying Officer Henry Birkland, 72 Sqn RAF, from Caldwell Manitoba
> ...



Worth noting that in WW2, most RCAF Bomber Command aircrew were posted to other than RCAF squadrons.


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## dangerboy (24 Mar 2022)

As tonight is the anniversary of the escape from Stalag Luft III by 76 POWs. Here is an interesting article that looked at "The Great Escape" from a Project Management point of view.   https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/project-lessons-great-escape-wwii-6716 



> Abstract
> This paper takes the hard-learned lessons from a gritty, down-in-the-mud historical project and applies them to today's projects. It analyzes the project that planned and executed the escape from Stalag Luft III, in an inhospitable and escape-proof environment designed to stop such a contemplation dead in its tracks. In what seemed a hopeless and dire situation, and with limited resources, the escape committee (project team) was able to organize itself and remove each obstacle it faced. The project evolved to where difficult and complex problems were systematically addressed, and ideas and solutions were continuously tested and refined in a determined and resilient project atmosphere. The project is examined from a modern perspective and looks at how the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fourth Edition Knowledge Areas came into play 40 years before they were formally defined.


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