Last New Zealand Great Escape survivor dies aged 92

WELLINGTON, Saturday (AFP) - The last New Zealander involved in the famous World War II Great Escape from a German prisoner of war camp has died aged 92, it was reported today. Mick Shand, a Battle of Britain fighter pilot, died at his home in Masterton, near the New Zealand capital Wellington, according to a death notice in the Wairarapa Times-Age newspaper.

A specialist in low-level attacks, Shand was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in September 1942 after his 60th sortie, but the same month his Spitfire was shot down while trying to destroy a train in Holland. Imprisoned in the notorious Stalag Luft 3 at Sagan, southeast of Berlin, Shand took part in the Great Escape of March 1943 when 76 RAF officers tunnelled their way to freedom.

Almost all the escapees were recaptured and 50, including three New Zealanders, were then shot dead on Hitler's orders. Shand, who spent four days on the run, said in a recent newspaper interview that it was only by the grace of God that he was not singled out to be shot after his recapture.

The exploits of the Stalag Luft 3 PoWs were the basis for the 1963 film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Richard Attenborough.