Escape from Stalag Luft III, Bram Vanderstok
Escape from Stalag Luft III, Bram Vanderstok
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Escape from Stalag Luft III
The True Story of My Successful Great Escape: The Memoir of Bob Vanderstok

Author: Bram Vanderstok

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 10 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/16/2019


Synopsis

On the night of March 24, 1944, Bram Vanderstok was number eighteen of seventy-six 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.

About Bram Vanderstok

Bram Vanderstok, MBE, was born on October 13, 1915 in Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies. he was a world war II fighter pilot and still holds the record as the most decorated aviator in Dutch history. After the war he studied and practiced medicine as well as working with the U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary, participating in 162 rescues. He died in February 1993.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kenneth

The story of The Great Escape! Enough said.......more

Goodreads review by Mark

If you have ever seen the 1963 movie “The Great Escape” you might remember that in the film one of the three aviators that managed to successfully escape out of Germany and make it back to England was an Australian called Sedgwick (played by American actor James Coburn). His character was based on D......more

Goodreads review by Dennis

This is a superb account of one of the highlight stories of World War 2 - The Great Escape. Dutch RAF pilot Bram Vanderstok was the 18th POW to gain his freedom through the tunnel from Stalag Luft III. and only one of three to make it back to active service. The book is detailed, yet flowing and mai......more

Goodreads review by Monroe

Should have retained the original title “War Pilot of Orange” The book was interesting but way too long. Probably more than half was about his flying time, the title of the book is misleading, although it did a good job of describing the POW camp and the attempts at escape. One of the reasons I gave i......more