The Royal Air Forces Association is saddened to learn of the passing of Jack Lyon, a lifelong Association member and one of the last remaining people involved in The Great Escape from Stalag Luft III PoW camp in 1944.
Jack died over the weekend, at the age of 101. Our thoughts are with his family and friends and with his fellow members of the Association’s 1066 Branch.
Jack, a Flight Lieutenant and navigator, was captured when his bomber crashed in Poland in 1941, following a raid on Dusseldorf. Three years later, on the night of the famous break-out, Jack was a look-out as he and his fellow PoWs attempted their escape.
After hearing a gunshot and realising the escape attempt had been discovered, Jack did not enter the escape tunnels – a decision which most probably saved his life.
