Here's a story and a half. "As Bernard Green prepared to crawl out of the Nazi Stalag Luft III camp during the single greatest freedom attempt of the Second World War, the distinct smell of the muddy tunnel was all too familiar. For Bernard - one of 76 men who bravely tried to flee from the POW camp as part of the Great Escape - had already been awarded the Military Cross for fighting on the Western Front and was now serving in his second world war. Despite sustaining SERIOUS INJURY on two occasions, Bernard had spent four years enduring the mud, destruction and death of some of the First World War's fiercest battles, including Ypres, the Somme and Passchendaele. But, when Britain declared war on Nazi Germany more than 20 years later, Bernard decided it was his duty to fight for his country once again - at the age of 52. After signing up, Bernard's bomber was shot down during his first mission over Denmark and he was forced to swim ashore to safety. But he was captured as he tried to escape to Sweden. He was then taken to the infamous camp, where his fellow POWs were starting to orchestrate the elaborate plot, which was immortalised in the 1963 film The Great Escape. Then, on the morning of March 24 1944, Bernard - by far the eldest of the men - found himself tunnelling with his comrades beneath the barbed wire, in an attempt to flee the tyrannous camp. Incredibly, hours before the planned escape took place, Bernard, from Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, wrote a POSTCARD to his beloved son, Adrian. Signing it off in the same way as he did every letter, the Cambridge graduate gave no indication that he was about to embark on a staggering act of mass bravery which has become legendary in wartime history. But, in an unexplained episode which was to haunt Bernard for the rest of his life, he emerged physically unscathed after his recapture, despite 50 of his comrades being shot dead almost instantly on Hitler's orders. His incredible tales of heroism during both of the world wars has now been recorded in a book by his grandson Laurence Green. Mr Green felt compelled to write about Bernard's exploits after delving into old letters and notes that his family had kept from his time as a POW." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2839050/Incredible-tale-British-soldier-survived-WWI-signed-aged-52-fight-Nazis-air-gunner-shot-emerged-unscathed-reprisals-aftermath-Great-Escape.html#ixzz3JTSprfMi
