Nathan Leaman

Nat was the son of tailors from Odessa a pre-war ladies fashion manager & salesman who originally joined the RAF on 13th June 1940.and was initially trained as a Wireless Operator (WO) and air gunner (AG) at RAF Uxbridge, Blackpool, Hootan Park (Wiral), Topcliffe (North Yorks), Cranwell and Pyle near Bridgend. He was based at Middleton St George.

Nat took part in several bombing raids in Germany 22.55 on the night of the 3rd/4th May 1942, his 76 Squadron Handley Page Halifax 11 Bomber R9451, took off on a raid in Hamburg on the aircrafts 6th operation and after a bombing run, was shot down by a German night-fighter crashing at Ottensen near Buxtehaude. A shell went right through the petrol tank.

As Nat tried to bail out, his Mae West life jacket inflated and he not get out of the aircraft escape hatch. His trousers caught fire and he could smell his burning flesh and felt he was choking from the smoke, he has no memory of pulling his parachute cord, but only of hitting the ground hard and seriously damaging the cartilages of both knees. Only two of the 6 crew survived and Nat and one other man was captured.

Nat was in a military hospital then sent to various POW camps, in each camp Nat was on the escape committees, tried to escape a few time and caught he finally made it out of the last camp on April 13 1945 into the woods of Trauen.

In the film, The Great escape, James Garner's part was based on Nat's efforts on the escape committees he was on.

While a prisoner Nat was promoted several times.

Post war, Nat attended various RAF Escaper and Squadron reunions. In March 1960, Nat and other Jewish & non-Jewish escapees fought a campaign to stop the nabbing of Jews joining local golf clubs in Britain.