The Impossible Survivor

From stockyard to the Great Escape

Published by Big Sky Publishing

By Jeff Steel

RRP $34.99 in paperback | ISBN 9781923300163

Author Jeff Steel has a special talent for sniffing out previously unpublished stories of the wartime exploits of men who, in peacetime, appear ordinary and yet were capable of extraordinary feats of endurance and bravery when put to the test in wartime.

A chance encounter with the late Neil Lindsay’s daughter Margaret Fitzpatrick piqued Steel’s interest in telling her father’s story, a story which had only come to light in his later years.

Only in retirement did this RAF Bomber Command veteran begin to reveal his harrowing experiences during World War II, prompted by a visit with his daughter Margaret to a memorial honouring the fallen soldiers of the Goulburn Valley.

An ambitious young man, Neil’s fate was intertwined with such legendary figures as the celebrated Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Neil flew perilous missions over Nazi Germany, eventually becoming the sole survivor of a downed bomber, having flown a total of 27 operations.

He endured two years of hardship in the German prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III, participating in the work towards the ‘great escape’ which was to make the camp infamous.

Readers are treated to an insider’s account of how the planning and execution of the escape occurred.

I found this passage particularly fascinating.

Within each hut, each man had a job, depending on their skills and abilities. Neil Lindsay was to be a ‘stooge’, a term which no doubt puzzled his daughter when he first mentioned it as he began to unearth his long suppressed memories.

As a ‘stooge’ he had many tasks, but the key was to only know what he needed to know. Being curious and asking questions was a recipe for disaster in these circumstances.

One task was to hold up German officers approaching the huts. The act of him standing up was a signal to others, as Steel writes:

‘When you stand up a number of men sitting over there will pick up a can from the ground and put it down facing another way. That is a signal for another man to comb his hair and that in turn will cause a lookout on the window of the digging hut to whisper the magic words ‘goon in the compound’, digging work will stop and the trap will be covered over.’

These instructions came from Flight Lieutenant George Harsh. The escape committee consisted of four officers, led by Squadron Leader Bushell, who was recaptured after the escape and murdered by the Gestapo.

Neil Lindsay’s story stands as a powerful testament to the extraordinary resolve of the men who answered the call of duty. It’s a story of bravery and endurance. Jeff Steel has delivered a fitting tribute to a man whose wartime exploits deserve to be remembered. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Steel, a child of World War Two, was shocked at the sight of bombed-out London. It left a lasting impression and fostered his deep interest in the war and the urge to write the stories of brave men that would otherwise be forgotten. In writing this book, he openly acknowledged his debt of gratitude to earlier writers, such as fighter pilot and prisoner-of-war Paul Brickhill who wrote, among other works, The Great Escape, which was published in 1950.

Click on this link to find other books by Jeff Steel.

PODCAST

Check out the Adastra Aviator Podcast about Neil Lindsay at this link:

The Adastra series of podcasts is an initiative by RAAFA NSW to capture the recollections and experiences of both retired and serving Air Force personnel.