The front gate at Dulag Luft, now a German suburb. Taken in 2005, copyright John Carr, all rights reserved.

We all have heroes, people who inspire us to do more and strive further. But for John Carr, Roger Bushell was more than just a hero or inspiration. Here in this installment of Inside the Book, John explains more of Bushell’s impact on his life and why his story matters:

Q: Why does Roger Bushell and his story mean so much to you?

A: I was 11 years old when I watched the movie, ‘The Great Escape’ with Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen and other stars.  I loved the adventure (and gadgets) in that film.  The next year, I read the book that was the basis for the film-Paul Brickhill’s Great Escape.  It is one of the best books ever written about war.  It was also one of the first adult novels I ever read.  Brickhill made it easy for Bushell to become my hero.

Q: What is the one thing you want readers to take away from this book?

A: The greatest POW escape of WW2 became a cultural phenomenon because of the Steve McQueen film.  That spawned a television series, ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ and several BBC shows.  There are furniture stores in America named ‘The Great Escape.’  Of course there is that famous Simpsons’ episode where Maggie digs a tunnel out of her playpen. Yet no one knows there was a man who actually was behind this.  More people should know about Roger Bushell – the real story.