The Great Escapee

The last living New Zealander involved in The Great Escape of World War II has died in Masterton aged 92. Mick Shand was an RAF fighter pilot who fought in the Battle of Britain and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1942. The same year, he was captured and imprisoned in the infamous Stalag Luft III camp south of Berlin. Along with 75 other RAF pilots, Shand succeeded in tunnelling out of the camp. He was among the 73 prisoners to be recaptured, but not one of the 50 who were subsequently executed. The daring break out was immortalised in the 1963 film The Great  Escape, starring Steve McQueen.

Mick Shand: February 20 1915 – December 20 2007