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
Wentworth Beaumont, 3rd Viscount Allendale shot down by flak. Having injured his leg in the crash, he was taken captive and transported to Stalag Luft III, a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. He was promoted to flying officer (war substantive) on 16 July 1942 and to flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 16 July 1943. In March 1944, the Great Escape occurred from Stalag Luft III. He was not involved in the escape itself on account of his leg injury, but was part of the map-making team. Having spent three years as a prisoner of war, he was released following the end of World War II in