Jonathan F Vance Simon Pearson Popular Books

Jonathan F Vance Simon Pearson Biography & Facts

Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell (30 August 1910 – 29 March 1944) was a South African RAF aviator. He masterminded the "Great Escape" from Stalag Luft III in 1944, but was one of the 50 escapees to be recaptured and subsequently murdered by the Gestapo. Birth and early life Bushell was born in Springs, Transvaal, South Africa, on 30 August 1910 to English parents, Benjamin Daniel and Dorothy Wingate Bushell (née White). His father, a mining engineer, had emigrated to the country from Britain and he used his wealth to ensure that Roger received a first-class education. He was first schooled in Johannesburg, then aged 14 went to Wellington College in Berkshire, England. In 1929, Bushell then went to Pembroke College, Cambridge, to study law. Keen on pursuing non-academic interests from an early age, Bushell excelled in rugby and cricket and skied for Cambridge in races between 1930 and 1932, captaining the team in 1931. Skiing One of Bushell's passions and talents was skiing: in the early 1930s, he was declared the fastest Briton in the male downhill category. After the war he had a black run named after him in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in memory of his efforts to organize the Swiss-Anglo ski meetings. He additionally won the slalom event of the annual Oxford-Cambridge ski race in 1931. At an event in Canada, Bushell had an accident in which one of his skis narrowly missed his left eye, leaving him with a gash in the corner of it. Although he recovered from this accident, he developed a dark drooping in his left eye as a result of scarring from his stitches. Bushell became fluent in French and German, with a good accent, which became extremely useful during his time as a prisoner of war. Career Auxiliary Air Force and legal career Despite his sporting prospects, one of Bushell's primary wishes was to fly. In 1932 he joined No. 601 Squadron Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), which was often referred to as "The Millionaires' Mob" because of the number of wealthy young men who paid their way solely to learn how to fly during training days (often on weekends). He was commissioned on 10 August 1932 and promoted to flying officer on 10 February 1934, and flight lieutenant on 20 July 1936. Although Bushell was pursuing a career with the RAF, he was not hampered in his attempts to become a barrister-at-Law of Lincoln's Inn, London. From the outset of his legal career, many commented on his ability as a lawyer, particularly in criminal defence. After a period, Bushell was appointed to military cases in prosecuting RAF personnel charged with various offenses. These often involved pilots charged with dangerous flying. In October 1939, acting as assistant to Sir Patrick Hastings, he successfully defended two RAF pilots, John Freeborn and Paddy Byrne, court-martialled after the friendly fire incident known as the Battle of Barking Creek. Byrne would later be incarcerated with Bushell at Stalag Luft III. Regular military career Bushell was given command of No. 92 Squadron in October 1939. His promotion to squadron leader was confirmed on 1 January 1940. During the squadron's first engagement with enemy aircraft on 23 May 1940, while on a patrol near Calais, to assist with the Dunkirk evacuation, he was credited with damaging two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter aircraft of ZG 26 before being shot down himself, probably by future ace Oberleutnant Günther Specht. He crash-landed his Spitfire on German-occupied ground and was captured before he had a chance to hide. Bushell became a prisoner of war and was sent to the Dulag Luft transit camp near Frankfurt with all the other captured aircrew. Prisoner of war On arrival at Stalag Luft, he was made part of the permanent British staff under the senior British officer Wing Commander Harry Day. The permanent staff's duty was to help newly captured Allied aircrew to adjust to life as a prisoner of war. Escape, which was regarded as an important duty of all prisoners of war of officer rank, was never far from his mind and, fortunately, he was in good company with Day and Fleet Air Arm pilot Jimmy Buckley. Day placed Buckley in charge of escape operations, with Bushell as his deputy. The three of them formed the escape committee responsible for all escape attempts. First escape The permanent staff of the camp started several escape tunnels, one of which was completed in May 1941. Bushell was given a place in the tunnel but elected to escape on the same day as the tunnel break by cutting through the wire surrounding a small park in the campgrounds. His decision not to use the tunnel was to allow him an earlier getaway, thus enabling him to catch a particular train. The exact date of the escape is not known but is believed to have occurred in June 1941. Bushell hid in a goat shed in the campgrounds and, soon as it was dark enough, he crawled to the wire and made good his escape. Bushell was recaptured on the Swiss border, only a few hundred yards from freedom, by a German border guard. He was treated well and returned to Dulag Luft before being transferred to Stalag Luft I with all the 17 others who had escaped in the tunnel (including Day and Buckley). Bushell was at Stalag Luft I for only a short period before being transferred to Oflag X-C at Lübeck. At this camp, he participated in the construction of another tunnel, but this was abandoned unfinished when the camp was evacuated. Second escape All British and Commonwealth officer POWs were removed from the camp on 8 October 1941 and were entrained for transfer to Oflag VI-B at Warburg. During the night of 8/9 October 1941, the train stopped briefly in Hannover, where Bushell and Czechoslovak Pilot Officer Jaroslav Zafouk jumped from the train and escaped, unnoticed at the time by the German guards. Earlier in the journey, six other officers had escaped by jumping off the train while it was moving slowly; one was immediately recaptured and one officer was killed when he fell under the wheels. Bushell and Zafouk made their way to Prague in occupied Czechoslovakia. Using Zafouk's contacts, they made contact with the Zeithammel family – Otto, his son, Otokar, and his daughter, Blazena — who were known to the Czech underground movement. The two airmen stayed with the Zeithammels in their apartment in the Smichov area of the city while the family tried to make arrangements for their onward journey. Bushell and Zafouk remained with the family for nearly eight months, and Bushell developed a relationship with Blazena. In mid-May 1942 the RAF officers were betrayed by a former Czech soldier called Miroslav Kraus, who had had an affair with Blazena some years previously and was working as a Gestapo informer. The RAF officers were arrested on May 19, and questioned at Gestapo headquarters, a building known as the Petschek Palace. Bushell was then sent to Stalag Luft III at Sagan, while Zafouk continued to be held in Prague. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a leading light of the SS an.... Discover the Jonathan F Vance Simon Pearson popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jonathan F Vance Simon Pearson books.

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