First hand accounts of adventure and bravery from RAF pilots shot down and forced to flee enemy forces.

Thousands of airmen shot down over enemy soil between 1940 and 1945 miraculously escaped capture. This compelling narrative reveals their stories, based on first-hand interviews, photographs and official documents, featuring heroes from Britain, Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries.

These men knew extreme adversity: hunger, thirst, injury, isolation and the constant fear of capture. They also knew great kindness from the local people who risked everything to help them. Their journeys to safety - often across savage terrain - tested human endurance and ingenuity to the very limit.

Graham Pitchfork MBE served in the RAF for 36 years and was a Director of Military Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence. He is the author of many books including Shot Down and in the Drink and Shot Down and on the Run.

Foreword
Preface
Abbreviations

Part One: The Escape and Evasion Organization
1 Evasion
2 The MI 9 Organization
3 Preventive Training
4 Escape Aids

Part Two: North-West Europe
5 Introduction
6 France and Belgium
7 Holland
8 Scandinavia

Part Three: The Middle East and Mediterranean
9 Introduction
10 The Western Desert
11 Greece
12 Italy
13 Poland

Part Four: The Far East
14 Introduction
15 Environment and Training
16 Burma
17 South-East Asia
Epilogue

Appendix
Bibliography
Author's Acknowledgements
Index