Stolen Journey (escape From Stalag Luft Iii – The Wooden Horse) -signed, First Edition

Description

Foxing to the fore edge. No dj. Faded spine and fading to the boards. Signed first edition Line drawings by Ronald Searle Stolen Journey is a famous 1950 wartime memoir written by Oliver Philpot, a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who successfully escaped the notorious German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III during World War II. The Wooden Horse Escape – Philpot is best known as one of the three men—alongside Eric Williams and Michael Codner—who executed the legendary “Wooden Horse” escape in October 1943. The Cover: Prisoners built a gymnastics vaulting horse out of plywood and packing cases to conceal the entrance of an escape tunnel. The Digging: While other prisoners used the horse to vault over daily, Philpot and his co-conspirators took turns hidden inside, quietly digging a 20-foot-deep tunnel beneath the camp perimeter. The Flight: After breaking out, Philpot traveled alone disguised as a Norwegian commercial traveller named “Jon Jorgensen”, successfully making his way to neutral Sweden and eventually returning to England