A ceremony to commemorate the Great Escape, the famous breakout of mainly British airmen from German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III on 24-25 March 1944, has taken place in Poland.
Survivors, families and UK and Polish officials gathered in Zagan in western Poland, 70 years after the escape plot.
Of those who broke out of the camp, only three reached safety and of the 73 recaptured, 50 were shot.
The ceremony was the first formal act of remembrance held in their honour.
A small number of survivors of the prisoner of war camp were among those who paid their respects.
The daring bid for freedom was immortalised in the classic 1963 Hollywood film The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. Despite McQueen playing an American in a leading role in the escape, in reality no Americans were involved in the escape at all.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the appropriately-named D ick Churchill, 94, is the last British survivor among the 76 escapees.
'The Great Escape' commemorated in Poland
BBC News
24 March 2014
Air Commodore Charles Clarke was a prisoner at the German camp immortalised in The Great Escape
A ceremony to commemorate the Great Escape, the famous breakout from German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III in 1944, has taken place in Poland.
Survivors, families and UK and Polish officials gathered in Zagan, 70 years after the escape plot.
Of those who broke out of the camp, only three reached safety and of the 73 recaptured, 50 were shot.
The ceremony was the first formal act of remembrance held in their honour.
A small number of survivors of the prisoner of war camp were among those who paid their respects.
Some 50 RAF service personnel will now march for four days to the cemetery at Poznan where they will lay wreaths at the graves of the 50 executed prisoners.
The RAF's Air Vice-Marshal Stuart Atha told those gathered the Great Escape was "an extraordinary chapter" in the history of the allied air forces "written by men with great courage and character".
During the war, Stalag Luft III was in Germany, but is now in western Poland
Those who escaped were "an exceptional band of airmen whose bravery, ingenuity and resilient spirit set an example for all time", he added.
"When first captured, they did not accept that for them the war was over.
"Far from it, they were not prisoners of war - they were prisoners at war.
"And through their activities, they opened another front that distracted and diluted enemy forces and demonstrated that no fence, no Stalag Luft, could contain allied airmen."
British ambassador to Poland Robin Barnett and former prisoner of war Charles Clarke were among others who spoke.
10,000 prisoners
RAF airmen were kept prisoner at Stalag Luft III
The daring bid for freedom was immortalised in the classic 1963 film The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough.
Stalag Luft III, which was 100 miles south-east of Berlin on the Polish border, held about 10,000 prisoners at the height of its occupation.
Members of the RAF, the US Army Air Force and other allied forces were among prisoners at the camp.
Because of border changes, the location of the camp is now in Poland.
An escape committee was formed at the camp in spring 1943 and the escape plan hatched under the leadership of Squadron Leader Roger Bushell.
Three tunnels, codenamed Tom, D ick and Harry, were started in April 1943.
The tunnels were dug to a depth of 30ft and shored up with wooden boards from the prisoners' beds.
On the night of 24 March 1944, about 200 mainly British prisoners prepared to escape through Harry, a tunnel measuring over 300ft long, beneath Hut 104.
Only 76 were able to make their break for freedom using the tunnel.
Norwegian pilots Per Bergsland and Jens Muller, and Dutch pilot Bram van der Stok - who all died in the 1990s - made it to safety.
Of the 73 who were recaptured, 50 were subsequently shot by the Gestapo on Adolf Hitler's orders.
According to the Daily Telegraph, D ick Churchill, 94, is the last British survivor among the 76 escapees.
The Great Escape
Stalag Luft III opened in spring 1942
Air forces personnel only
At maximum it held 10,000 PoWs, covered 59 acres, with five miles of perimeter fencing
Wooden Horse escape on the night of 29/30 October 1943
Great Escape on 24-25 March 1944
Of three tunnels, only one, Harry, completed
Harry was 336 ft (102m) long, 28ft (8.5m) deep
READ MORE: BBC News - 'The Great Escape' commemorated in Poland
Survivors, families and UK and Polish officials gathered in Zagan in western Poland, 70 years after the escape plot.
Of those who broke out of the camp, only three reached safety and of the 73 recaptured, 50 were shot.
The ceremony was the first formal act of remembrance held in their honour.
A small number of survivors of the prisoner of war camp were among those who paid their respects.
The daring bid for freedom was immortalised in the classic 1963 Hollywood film The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. Despite McQueen playing an American in a leading role in the escape, in reality no Americans were involved in the escape at all.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the appropriately-named D ick Churchill, 94, is the last British survivor among the 76 escapees.
'The Great Escape' commemorated in Poland
BBC News
24 March 2014
Air Commodore Charles Clarke was a prisoner at the German camp immortalised in The Great Escape
A ceremony to commemorate the Great Escape, the famous breakout from German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III in 1944, has taken place in Poland.
Survivors, families and UK and Polish officials gathered in Zagan, 70 years after the escape plot.
Of those who broke out of the camp, only three reached safety and of the 73 recaptured, 50 were shot.
The ceremony was the first formal act of remembrance held in their honour.
A small number of survivors of the prisoner of war camp were among those who paid their respects.
Some 50 RAF service personnel will now march for four days to the cemetery at Poznan where they will lay wreaths at the graves of the 50 executed prisoners.
The RAF's Air Vice-Marshal Stuart Atha told those gathered the Great Escape was "an extraordinary chapter" in the history of the allied air forces "written by men with great courage and character".
During the war, Stalag Luft III was in Germany, but is now in western Poland
Those who escaped were "an exceptional band of airmen whose bravery, ingenuity and resilient spirit set an example for all time", he added.
"When first captured, they did not accept that for them the war was over.
"Far from it, they were not prisoners of war - they were prisoners at war.
"And through their activities, they opened another front that distracted and diluted enemy forces and demonstrated that no fence, no Stalag Luft, could contain allied airmen."
British ambassador to Poland Robin Barnett and former prisoner of war Charles Clarke were among others who spoke.
10,000 prisoners
RAF airmen were kept prisoner at Stalag Luft III
The daring bid for freedom was immortalised in the classic 1963 film The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough.
Stalag Luft III, which was 100 miles south-east of Berlin on the Polish border, held about 10,000 prisoners at the height of its occupation.
Members of the RAF, the US Army Air Force and other allied forces were among prisoners at the camp.
Because of border changes, the location of the camp is now in Poland.
An escape committee was formed at the camp in spring 1943 and the escape plan hatched under the leadership of Squadron Leader Roger Bushell.
Three tunnels, codenamed Tom, D ick and Harry, were started in April 1943.
The tunnels were dug to a depth of 30ft and shored up with wooden boards from the prisoners' beds.
On the night of 24 March 1944, about 200 mainly British prisoners prepared to escape through Harry, a tunnel measuring over 300ft long, beneath Hut 104.
Only 76 were able to make their break for freedom using the tunnel.
Norwegian pilots Per Bergsland and Jens Muller, and Dutch pilot Bram van der Stok - who all died in the 1990s - made it to safety.
Of the 73 who were recaptured, 50 were subsequently shot by the Gestapo on Adolf Hitler's orders.
According to the Daily Telegraph, D ick Churchill, 94, is the last British survivor among the 76 escapees.
The Great Escape
Stalag Luft III opened in spring 1942
Air forces personnel only
At maximum it held 10,000 PoWs, covered 59 acres, with five miles of perimeter fencing
Wooden Horse escape on the night of 29/30 October 1943
Great Escape on 24-25 March 1944
Of three tunnels, only one, Harry, completed
Harry was 336 ft (102m) long, 28ft (8.5m) deep
READ MORE: BBC News - 'The Great Escape' commemorated in Poland
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