Alex’s Wellington, a twin-engine bomber, was shot down over Germany in 1941. At first hospitalised with hopes of repatriation, he unexpectedly found himself a prisoner in a German POW camp. Throughout those trying four years he was held captive, Alex kept a secret diary. This book reproduces his diary entries in a fascinating account of all aspects of life in a wartime prison. He describes being part of the infamous ‘Long March’ during which he and his comrades were strafed by Allied aircraft; 60 POWs were killed and 100 wounded. Alex escaped the march with a mate, passing through the front lines between the British and German forces to commandeer a German mayor’s car and drive back to Brussels to take the next aircraft to freedom. Alex’s charm and optimistic outlook will buoy the reader throughout, and the camaraderie between he and his captive comrades is always entertaining. This is an authentic World War II adventure — from being shot out of the sky, to incarceration and the ultimate triumph of escape and the end of the war. Alex Kerr was an Australian NCO prisoner and, as such, his account offers a rare non-officer perspective. He was incarcerated in Stalag IIIE, Kirchhain (where he participated in the (at that stage) largest mass breakout), then Stalag Luft III, Sagan (Centre Compound), Stalag Luft VI, Heydekrug, Stalag 357, Thorn and Stalag XIB, Fallingbostel. viii, 199 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits, facsimiles ; 21 cm Signed by Author (inscription). First Edition. #0121 ISBN 10: 1925275175 ISBN 13: 9781925275179