ESCAPE FROM STALAG III The True Story of My Successful Great Escape

Bram “Bob” Vanderstok emerges in contemporary accounts as a naturally gifted storyteller, a quality reflected in his descriptions of aerial operations as a Spitfire pilot, his experiences as a prisoner of war, and his eventual escape across the Pyrenees—episodes conveyed with such immediacy that, as Prof. Dr L. de Jong observed, they compel sustained reading. Jonathan Vance similarly highlights the contrast between Vanderstok’s personal modesty and the dramatic nature of his narrative.
The memoir includes Vanderstok’s own vivid recollections, such as his account of cautiously surfacing from the escape tunnel at Stalag Luft III, where he was the eighteenth of seventy-six men to pass beyond the camp’s perimeter on the night of 24 March 1944. Although popularised by the 1963 film The Great Escape, Vanderstok’s account represents the authentic story of one of only three individuals who succeeded in reaching safety.
The narrative encompasses his wartime service prior to imprisonment, followed by a detailed reconstruction of successive escape attempts culminating in the March breakout. After escaping, Vanderstok traversed large areas of Europe—through Leipzig, Utrecht, Brussels, Paris, Dijon, and Madrid—before ultimately reaching England. He reported to the Air Ministry and, three and a half months after his escape, rejoined No. 91 Squadron on 30 May 1944, subsequently flying near-daily missions over France, escorting bombers and intercepting V-1 rockets.
Upon returning home in August 1944, Vanderstok learned of the severe reprisals inflicted upon his family: two brothers had died in concentration camps following their involvement in resistance activities, while his father had been tortured and blinded by the Gestapo but had refused to betray his son.