Roger Bushell
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Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell (August 30, 1910 - March 29, 1944) was a South African born Auxiliary Air Force pilot in Britain who organised and led the infamous escape from the Nazi prisoner of war camp, Stalag Luft III. The escape was later used as the basis for the film The Great Escape. The character played by Richard Attenborough, Roger Bartlett, is modelled after Roger Bushell.
Birth and early life
Bushell was born in South Africa on August 30, 1910 to a wealthy British father who had immigrated there.Because of his father's wealth Bushell was able to receive an excellent education and originally went to school in Johannesburg, South Africa before moving to England and attending Wellington College. In 1929 Bushell matriculated to Cambridge University to read law.
Bushell was keen to pursue non-academic interests from an early age. Roger Bushell excelled in athletics and represented Cambridge in skiing.
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. He even had a black run named after him in Switzerland. This naming was in recognition of the fact that he had set the fastest time to complete the run.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 Bushell recovered from this accident he still had a dark drooping in his left eye due to scarring from his stitches.
Career
RAF Auxiliary and Legal Career
Despite his academic and sporting prospects Bushell's primary wish was to fly and in 1932 he joined the RAF Auxiliary. His first posting was to 601 Squadron, which was often referred to as "The Millionaires' Mob" for the number of wealthy young men who paid their way solely to learn how to fly during training days (often at weekends).Although Bushell was pursuing a career with the RAF he wasn't hampered in his attempts to become a barrister. From the outset of his legal career many commented on his ability as a lawyer, particularly in criminal defence. After a while Bushell was appointed in military cases to prosecute RAF personnel charged with various offences. These often involved pilots charged with dangerous flying.
Regular Military Career
Roger was the Commanding Officer of No. 92 Spitfire Squadron when he was shot down on May 23, 1940. He was a POW at Stalag Luft III. He became head of the camp escape committee ( known as big "X") and was the driving force behind the mass escape from the camp. On the night of March 24, 1944, Roger and his partner Bernard Scheidhauer escaped along with 74 other men. He was captured near the town of Saarbrücken, Germany, and killed along with 49 other escapers by the Gestapo. Those alleged to have carried out these executions, which were a violation of the Third Geneva Convention, were later tried and executed by the Allies.See also
Further reading
The Great Escape by Paul BrickhillStalag Luft III: The Secret Story by Arthur Durand, Ph.D.
A Gallant Company by Jonathan Vance, Ph.D.
External links
- [Biography from Pegasus-one.org]
- [PBS.org] Story of the Great Escape
- [link] Roger Bushell website
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