William Ash died last week

Val says  Talking to Chris Barlas at the ceremony yesterday, he told me he was there as well as to remember the dead also  to remember his friend William Ash, who had died age 96 last week. William was the real life Steve McQueen character in the film " The Great Escape" Below a snippet from the Express. In the Daily Mail they have an article about another man who they say was the role model ! I have asked Chris to clarify.

If anyone was the real Steve McQueen character Virgil Hilts in the 1963 film The Great Escape it was the indomitable figure of William Ash. That was the conclusion of author Tim Carroll in his book of Second World War hero Ash, who has died aged 96. 

William Ash had a remarkable life filled with adventure and excitement. He flew Spitfires and was shot down over France. He narrowly escaped execution in one of the Nazis’ most notorious jails. He worked as a journalist and as a cub reporter saw the dead bodies of outlaws Bonnie and Clyde in their bullet-ridden car.

He gained two university degrees – including one from Oxford – and even co-formed a political party. And most famously of all the brave and irreverent Texan was a multiple escapee from German PoW camps throughout the war. 

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