Prologue

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Spitfire pilot Keith “Skeets” Ogilvie waited shivering in the cold and dark of a March night in 1944 to make his bid for freedom from Stalag Luft 111 in Sagan, 161 kilometres southeast of Berlin. Snow still crusted the ground, and the temperature was below freezing. The pilot’s nerves were on edge as he watched the prisoners ahead of him shuffle through the tunnel, code-named “Harry,” one of three escape tunnels designed by Canadian Flight Lieutenant Wally Floody. The prisoners passed in front of Skeets … 72, 73, 74 … He remembered that Floody had been unexpectedly transferred to another camp the previous night, and his thoughts drifted for a moment … 74, 75 …

Number 75! It was his turn! He crouched down and inched his way slowly through the dark, dank tunnel, trying desperately to control his breathing. Empty jam tins had been telescoped together and periodically positioned along the tunnel to make ventilation pipes. As he emerged from the tunnel, a shout stopped him cold. The German guards had seen the steam rising from the escape hole outside the wire. Gunfire shattered the night. In a sudden moment, Skeets’s hopes and dreams were dashed.

The flying ace was recaptured almost immediately, as were 73 of the 75 escapees. Soon after, 50 of the would-be escapees were executed by firing squad in nearby woods. Skeets Ogilvie’s name was not on that list of 50, and he went through life wondering why he had been spared.

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Keith “Skeets” Ogilvie was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). After the war, he stayed in the RCAF and served as a squadron leader in Trenton, Centralia, Rockcliffe, and Downsview. He retired in April 1962 and passed away
May 26, 1998.