Coming in July "The Fifty: The Fallen Heroes of the Great Escape"
 

The Fifty: The Fallen Heroes of the Great Escape
(Fighting High Ltd July 2026)
By Steve Darlow and Sean Feast
240 pages w/ b&w photographs - hardback (23 x 15 cm)
$35 US

"The Great Escape has gone down in history as a story of bravery and cunning that ultimately led to the killing of fifty prisoners of war, all officially recorded as ‘beim Fluchtversuch erschossen’ – shot whilst attempting to escape.

While the names of surviving escapers may be familiar, having lived to tell their stories, most of the murdered fifty are less well known, and many receive no more than a footnote in the stories, films and documentaries created thus far. So, who were these men? Where did they come from? How much fighting had they done? And how did they come to be prisoners of war?

In The Fifty – The Fallen Heroes of the Great Escape, authors Steve Darlow and Sean Feast present the stories of the killed escapers. They look at their early lives, operational careers, and how they came to be in Stalag Luft 3. They touch upon the very human side of the escape and its aftermath, how the families came to be told, and their practical struggles even thirty years after the event to conclude their loved ones’ affairs in obtaining proof of how, where, and when they died. Crucially, the authors look at the way in which the lives of the murdered men are commemorated, and how their families wished them to be remembered.

Brought together in a single volume, The Fifty presents a series of profiles of the fallen heroes – an homage for those whose bid for freedom ended in the most tragic circumstances."

The Authors
Steve Darlow is a British author, publisher, and documentary consultant renowned for his extensive work on the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. With over twenty books to his name, Steve has established himself as a leading author in the field of military aviation. His deep connection to the subject is personal; his grandfather served as a Pathfinder pilot with RAF Bomber Command, flying thirty-two operations before becoming a prisoner of war.

Sean Feast had a 40-year career in PR and advertising, and is the author of numerous highly respected books focusing on the lives and experiences of wartime airmen and women. His meticulous research and vivid storytelling have earned him a strong reputation in the field of military aviation, and he is especially passionate about RAF Bomber Command and the élite Pathfinder Force. His work has consistently brought forgotten voices to life, resonating with readers and historians alike.

https://fightinghigh.com/collections...ucts/the-fifty

Re: Coming in July "The Fifty: The Fallen Heroes of the Great Escape"
 

Two histories of the effort to track down and prosecute the Germans who murdered the 50.
Tip of the hat to Jim Oxley.

Exemplary Justice
(Harrap 1976)
by Allen Andrews
238 pages - hardback

"An official account the RAF Police Special Investigation Branch investigation into the murders of 50 POWs following their escape from Stalag Luft III."

Human Game: The True Story of the 'Great Escape' Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen
(Berkley 2012)
by Simon Read
352 pages - hardback

"Not long after the escape, fifty of the recaptured airmen were taken to desolate killing fields throughout Germany and shot on the direct orders of Hitler. When the nature of these killings came to light, Churchill’s government swore to pursue justice at any cost. A revolving team of military police, led by squadron leader Francis P. McKenna, was dispatched to Germany seventeen months after the killings to pick up a trail long gone cold.

Amid the chaos of postwar Germany, divided between American, British, French, and Russian occupiers, McKenna and his men brought twenty-one Gestapo killers to justice in a hunt that spanned three years and took them into the darkest realms of Nazi fanaticism."

Re: Coming in July "The Fifty: The Fallen Heroes of the Great Escape"
 

This is where I meant to post.

Sounds like a good read. Should nicely provide 'the other side to the story' to a book I'm currently reading, namely:
Human Game: The True Story of the 'Great Escape' Murders and the Hunt for the Gestapo Gunmen by Simon Read.

Wasn't aware of the book 'Exemplary Justice'. Shall have to find a copy.