Oliver Philpot

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Oliver Philpot was a World War II Beaufort RAF pilot shot down over the North Sea. In his book Stolen Journey[1] he recounts daily life as a prisoner in various POW camps, leading up to his escape from Stalag Luft III [2] with Lieutenant Richard Michael Codner and Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams [3] as one of the 'Wooden Horse' officers. Eric Williams wrote a book about this escape which was later made into the film The Wooden Horse.

A vaulting horse, used as a staging post from which a tunnel was dug, was built from Red Cross parcel boxes. The tunnel (starting about 90 feet from the wire) was excavated with bowls and, apart from the first few yards, had no shoring. The men dug for 114 days whilst the other officers vaulted the horse, and the finished tunnel finally stretched for about 100 yards. The breakout was on October 29 1942. A week later, disguised as a Norwegian Margerine salesman, Philpot reached a ship to neutral Sweden via the Danzig train. All three made 'Home Runs' from Sweden, and were the only ones to do so from the Stalag Luft III East Compound. Much of their equipment is now on show at the Imperial War Museum.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Philpot, Oliver Stolen Journey (Hodder and Stoughton, 1950)
  2. ^ Note: Stalag Luft III was also the site of the "Great Escape", depicted in the film The Great Escape
  3. ^ Note: A navigator in a Vickers Wellington

[edit] External links

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