Stalag Luft III it as a longer third-person narrative under the title "The Wooden Horse", which was filmed as "The Wooden Horse" in 1950. He included many details omitted in his first book, but changed his name to "Peter Howard", Michael Codner to "John Clinton" and Oliver Philpot to "Philip Rowe". Williams also wrote a prequel, "The Tunnel", an extended study of the mentalities of life as a prisoner of war. Although not an escape novel, it shows the profound urge to escape, and explores the ways that camp life affected men's emotions. Paul Brickhill was an Australian-born Spitfire pilot, shot down in
Stalag VII-A Americans were captured in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Among the last arrivals were officers from Stalag Luft III who had been force-marched from Sagan in Silesia (now Żagań), Poland). They arrived on 2 February 1945. They were followed by more prisoners marched from other camps threatened by the advancing Soviets, including part of the American officers that had been marched from Oflag 64 in Szubin, via Oflag XIII-B, under their senior officer Lt.Col. Paul Goode. During the 5½ years about 1,000 prisoners died at the camp, over 800 of them Soviets. They were buried in a