POW attempts Great Escape
The Abbotsford News
Canadian Second World War veteran Tom Jackson was a bomber pilot with the RAF. He was captured by the Germans and sent to the famous prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft 111, which was the basis for the movie The Great Escape.
By SHEENA JACKSON
Abbotsford News
On the night of March 24, 1944, Canadian prisoner of war Tom Jackson sat nervously in an escape hut, anxiously waiting for his chance to break free from Stalag Luft III, Nazi GermanyÕs most secure POW camp.
The RAF bomber pilot escaped death a year earlier when he was shot down by the Germans, only to be captured a short time later.
He spent his days in the camp helping dig three escape tunnels Ð code-named ÒTom,Ó ÒDickÓ and ÒHarryÓ Ð simultaneously.
ÒI used a small metal pail to scoop up sandy-type dirt and put it in a bag,Ó he said.
The dirt would be transferred to other prisoners and eventually hidden.
ÒTomÓ would be discovered, proving a major blow, but Jackson and the others continued with their escape plans and completed digging ÒHarry.Ó
A date was set for what would become legendary stuff and later portrayed in a Hollywood blockbuster, The Great Escape.
In the most daring, mass escape attempted in the Second World War, lots were drawn for almost 200 places.
Jackson drew #139.
ÒI was sitting on a sawn-off log used as a chair in the hut. I had food prepared. I had saved my chocolate for, oh, I donÕt know how long, but that was mainly what I had,Ó the 91-year-old remembers.
ÒI was wearing a brown army overcoat, a big heavy thing over a lot of clothes because it was cold weather, freezing cold.Ó
As he sat waiting, Jackson heard the shrill sound of gunfire spraying the camp, his chance to escape gone.
ÒIt was all over. I had failed in this attempt to escape.Ó
The tunnel, 20 feet short of the woods that would provide cover, was discovered.
ÒOnly 76 guys got through the tunnel and three of them [escaped], so 73 were loose. The Germans started picking them up,Ó said Jackson.
Of the 73, 23 were returned to camp.
The remaining 50 paid a high price for their escape and were executed.
ÒOne was my good friend, squadron leader James Catanac from Australia.Ó
Jackson stayed in the camp until near the end of the war, but when the Russians advanced, the Germans moved the prisoners out of the camp.
Walking for days, not knowing where they were headed, Jackson calls it ÔThe Death March.Õ
ÒThey put machine guns at the end of the march and shot anybody who didnÕt keep up. Then they shipped us in box cars. You know how they put the Jews in box cars? Well, same deal.Ó
Jackson escaped from the German guards in the open countryside and eventually made his way to southern Germany where he boarded an aircraft for England.
ÒWhen we were flying over the English Channel, Churchill announced, ÔTomorrow will be V-Day.Õ It was just wonderful the way things worked out.Ó
Although bitterly disappointed at being denied his part in the Great Escape, Jackson is certain had he made it through the tunnel, he would not have survived.
Looking back on the German attack that led to his capture, Jackson says he thought he would die.
When the burst of gun fire began, a stream of bullets flew past both sides of the aircraft, causing the fuselage and the inferno to become an inferno.
ÒI remember the wireless operator saying, ÔSay skipper, weÕre on fire.Õ That was about the most ominous words IÕve ever heard. It meant, this is the end. There really wasnÕt much more than that to say.Ó
Within seconds, Jackson ordered his crew to bail.
ÒI could hear the clatter of their feet before that. When I gave the order they just disappeared.Ó
When Jackson tried to jump out the aircraft, which was still on fire, it went out of control and into a furious spin.
ÒI couldnÕt move. I was pinned against the side of the cockpit. I couldnÕt even move my face off the side of the aircraft.Ó
When he managed to release himself, it was only a few seconds until he hit the ground.
ÒBy the time I got out and opened my chute I didnÕt swing twice, only once, and I went down into a ploughed field.Ó
Shortly after, Jackson was captured and interrogated by the Germans and taken to Stalag Luft 111.
ÒI was very lucky to survive,Ó he says, recalling the rough shape he was in.
He suffered extensive burns, of which there are no trace today, and spent time in a German hospital recovering.
ÒIt was the worst time of my life,Ó he said.
But remembering happier days, Jackson recalled his return to Canada and reuniting with his parents.
Choked with emotion and tears in his eyes, he paused and, after a few seconds, said, ÒWhen I got back, my mother said, ÔWell done,Õ and I thought it was reward enough.Ó
Once back home, Jackson quickly settled and soon returned to teaching in his native Saskatchewan, where he stayed for almost 30 years.
He then moved to B.C. and started a real estate company. Later, he moved to Abbotsford where he has lived since 1987.
Looking back on his days in the RAF and as a prisoner of war, Jackson doesnÕt see himself as a part of history.
ÒI donÕt think of it that way.Ó
Rather, Jackson is fairly blunt about his involvement.
What he did was necessary.
ÒIt was a national emergency.Ó
For all that Jackson endured and his brush with death, he is proud to have served his part.
ÒI wouldnÕt want to live in a country that we might have had if we had lost the war. We would have had a very poor country. The way we are is much preferable to that and well, I like being part of an independent country. ThatÕs what I like.Ó
© 2007 Abbotsford News
A Division of Black Press Group Ltd.