Page 146 - They Also Served

gauged by the monumental theft of items from around the camp to assist with the tunnelling and manufacture of civilian clothing. After the escape, the Germans made an inventory of pilfered stores which included: 90 complete bunk beds, 4,000 bed slats, 3,424 towels, 1,700 blankets and 2,279 items of cutlery. On 25th March 1944, 76 men escaped. Three made it back to the UK, but 50 were subsequently murdered by the Germans.
Massey, by now almost crippled by his leg wounds, was repatriated in late 1944 and awarded a MiD for his conduct as a POW. Finishing a long and distinguished career as president of the RAF Officer Selection Board. he retired in 1950. Air Commodore Herbert Massey CBE DSO MC died on 29th February 1976.
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