One of the last survivors of the Great Escape team of World War II, Ian Tapson, has died in Port Alfred at the age of 84. An essentially modest man, he rarely divulged he was one of five South Africans who were part of the team that planned and executed the escape from a German prisoner-of-war camp.
The escape was immortalised in Paul Brickhill’s book The Great Escape and in a Hollywood film with the same title, starring Steve McQueen.
According to Norman Abbott, a fellow member of the South African Air Force Association, Tapson passed away on March 30 in the frail-care unit of Settler’s Park, a retirement complex. A memorial service was held for him on Wednesday.
Abbott said Tapson, who was survived by his wife, June, and a son who farms in the area, worked as a municipal engineer in East London until his retirement. ”He was a very quiet person, most approachable and very knowledgeable,” he Abbott.
Tapson’s link with the escape might have remained within his family had he not mentioned it years later to a woman who had attended commemoration services in Italy for airmen killed helping Italian partisans. He was then prevailed upon to tell his story, publicly, for the first time.
Tapson was a lieutenant in the South African Air Force flying Kittyhawk fighter-bombers when his plane was crippled by anti-aircraft fire over Tunisia and he was forced to crash-land. He was captured and was sent to Stalag III prisoner-of-war camp at Sagan, Silesia, near the Polish border.
Roger Bushell, a squadron leader, decided to organise a mass escape by tunnelling to a point outside the perimeter fence.
The team members were all volunteers. Tapson, aged just 20, was one of them. His task was to scrounge for wood to shore up the tunnels.
Seventy-six men managed to escape before an alarm was given by a guard. Only three managed to reach safety. Fifty were recaptured and murdered by the Gestapo.
According to Wally Vandermeulen, chairperson of the Port Alfred branch of the South African Air Force Association, Tapson was not one of those who escaped.
”When they drew the lots for those who were involved in digging and construction of the tunnels, he missed out,” Vandermeulen said. ”He survived until after the war when they were liberated by the allies.” — Sapa