Of course, many people have seen the film “The Great Escape” and many will have read books on the subject, but in this talk I can give some personal “insight” from the experience of my Father-in-Law, who was shot down over Holland and ended up in Stalag Luft 3 – the location of the Great Escape itself. Having visited the site of the Camp itself a few years ago, I am able to show the sites as they are today from my own experience. I will show what life in the camp was really like, what the daily routines were and how the PoW’s spent their time. I then show how the Escape plan unfolded and how the tunnels were actually built. I have some exhibits to show just how difficult this was and what courage it must have taken to accomplish the task. I’ll give a timeline on what happened on the night itself and how they got away followed by the intensive search and the brutal way in which the escapees were dealt with. After this, I will show how the camps were emptied by the Germans fearing the Red Army approach in January 1945 and then the eventual liberation of the Allied prisoners after the forced March (Often referred to as the Long March). A serious talk due to its nature but intertwined with some humour from my Father-in-Law’s point of view. A reminder that in the midst of adversity, courage, ingenuity and fortitude come to the fore. Slides with letters, Telegrams and other personal memorabilia are shown. Monies paid go to RAF Benevolent Fund