The Book
Paul Brickhills nonfiction account of the escape was first published in 1950, six years after it actually occurred. He witnessed it firsthand as a prisoner in the camp, contributing to the cause by leading a team of men who observed German guard movements, but did not take part in any tunnelling or the escape itself because of claustrophobia. Though somewhat convoluted at times because of the sheer number of individuals involved (the film would composite an assortment of key men into around fifteen characters for simplicity), the book makes for an excellent read, going into significant detail about how the escape was devised and executed, whilst also looking at everyday life in the camp and other events that were not depicted in detail (or at all) in the film, such as the event that saw three men successfully escape from the camp using a wooden gymnastics horse. Brickhill would go on to write a handful of other books about the Second World War, the most notable of which was The Dam Busters, a 1951 publication about Operation Chastise (a mission that involved the use of bouncing bombs to destroy German dams and ensure flooding) that was adapted for the screen in 1954. He died in 1991, aged 74.