RAF Great Escape POW Dies

[Jimbuna]

A Second World War pilot who was involved in the Great Escape has died aged 101, according to an RAF charity.

In 1941, Jack Lyon’s bomber plane was struck by flak near Dusseldorf in Germany, the RAF Benevolent Fund said.

All the crew survived the crash-landing, only to be captured by the Nazis and taken to prisoner of war camps.

Mr Lyon, who was a flight lieutenant, ended up in the Stalag Luft III camp, where he was recruited by other prisoners to carry out surveillance of the compound ahead of the famed 1944 Great Escape breakout.

The plot was uncovered by guards before Mr Lyon, who died on Friday, was able to make his bid for freedom.https://www.itv.com/news/2019-03-12/...dies-aged-101/

RIP Sir
~SALUTE~

[Commander Wallace]

A real life hero.


Rest in Peace.

[u crank]

R.I.P. Mr. Lyon.

[Eichhörnchen]

Now he finally escapes these mortal coils

[fumo30]

In theory, when a POW escapes he no longer enjoys the status of a POW and instead is turned again an enemy fighter so being a legal target for use of weapons.


What did naz...err, Germans do with the escapees in case they got on their trails?
Did they open fire at them without hesitation, or were they gentlemen enough to just recapture them and send them back to the camp?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by fumo30

In theory, when a POW escapes he no longer enjoys the status of a POW and instead is turned again an enemy fighter so being a legal target for use of weapons.


What did naz...err, Germans do with the escapees in case they got on their trails?
Did they open fire at them without hesitation, or were they gentlemen enough to just recapture them and send them back to the camp?

I'd suggest watching the movie because iirc they were (approx. 50) taken to a forested area and machine gunned.

Two weeks later the remaining prisoners at Stalag Luft III receive news that 42 of the recaptured escapees had been shot “resisting arrest or making further escape attempts after arrest”. When the list of victims was posted it amounted to 47 names, and a few days later another three were added, bringing the total to 50. Among the dead were 25 Britons, six Canadians, three Australians, two New Zealanders, three South Africans, four Poles, two Norwegians, one Frenchman and a Greek. A further 23 were sent back to various other Nazi prison camps. Only three of the escapees - two Norwegians and a Dutchman - made it home.http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/pr...ape/index.html

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by fumo30

In theory, when a POW escapes he no longer enjoys the status of a POW and instead is turned again an enemy fighter so being a legal target for use of weapons.


What did naz...err, Germans do with the escapees in case they got on their trails?
Did they open fire at them without hesitation, or were they gentlemen enough to just recapture them and send them back to the camp?

You can read the articles of the 1929 Geneva convention here

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/geneva02.asp.

What they were supposed to do?

An escaped POW is subject to recapture and if rested, can be shot. They have to be given a chance to surrender and once taken into custody can't be harmed.

POWs have the right to escape and any attempted escape makes the POW subject to disciplinary punishment. If, during the escape, a POW breaks any of the laws, Judical Punishment may apply.