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Richard Anthony Bethell
Richard Anthony Bethell (9 April 1922 – 17 February 2004) was born in Dar-es-Salaam in the British territory of Tanganyika. He joined the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. After his Mustang was shot down he was taken prisoner and held in the German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III at Sagan where he actively participated in the Great Escape, being one of the 76 officers to break out and make some distance across enemy occupied territory before being recaptured. His name was not one of the 50 who were picked to be executed and he, with 25 others, went back into captivity. He retired from the RAF in 1955 and worked in financial services in Canada. He died in Canada in 2004. Early life Bethell's parents lived abroad serving with the British Colonial Services in East Africa and Gibraltar. Bethell was born on 9 April 1922 in Dar-es-Salaam, then part of the British territory of Tanganyika. He and his brother were boarders at Junior Kings School, Sturry, Kent and reg ...
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Dar-es-Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over six million people, Dar is the largest city in East Africa and the seventh-largest in Africa. Located on the Swahili coast, Dar es Salaam is an important economic centre and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. The town was founded by Majid bin Said, the first Sultan of Zanzibar, in 1865 or 1866. It was the main administrative and commercial center of German East Africa, Tanganyika, and Tanzania. The decision was made in 1974 to move the capital to Dodoma and was officially completed in 1996. Dar es Salaam is Tanzania's most prominent city for arts, fashion, media, film, television, and finance. It is the capital of the co-extensive Dar es Salaam Region, one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, and consists of five ...
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Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation. It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s. It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissance ...
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Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the (SD; Security Service). During World War II, the Gestapo played a key role in the Holocaust. After the war ended, the Gestapo was declared a criminal organisation by the International Military Tribunal (IMT) at the Nuremberg trials. History After Adol ...
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Bernau Bei Berlin
Bernau bei Berlin (English ''Bernau by Berlin'', commonly named Bernau) is a German town in the Barnim district. The town is located about northeast of Berlin. History Archaeological excavations of Mesolithic-era sites indicate that this area has been inhabited since about 8800 BC. The city was first mentioned in 1232. The reasons for its founding are not known. According to a legend, Albert I of Brandenburg permitted the founding of the city in 1140 because of the good beer which was offered to him. Beer was brewed with water from the river Panke. Therefore, it was forbidden by law to pollute this river with waste and excrement when brewing took place. Bernau had its boom years before the Thirty Years' War. Large parts of the defensive wall with town gate and wet moats are relics of that time. These helped Bernau defend itself successfully against attackers, e.g. the Hussites in 1432. Following the plague and war, Bernau became poor and bleak. Frederick I of Prussia settled 25 ...
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Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German city on the river Oder. Frankfurt sits on the western bank of the river, opposite the Polish town of Słubice, which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945, and called ''Dammvorstadt'' until then. The city is located about east of Berlin, in the south of the historical region Lubusz Land. The large lake Helenesee lies within Frankfurt's city limits. The name of the city makes reference to the Franks, and means ''Ford of the Franks'', and there appears a Gallic rooster in the coat of arms of the city. The official name ''Frankfurt (Oder)'' and the older ''Frankfurt an der Oder'' are used to distinguish it from the larger city of Frankfurt am Main. The city's recorded history began in the 13th century as a West Slavic settlement. During its ...
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Les Long
James Leslie Robert Long (21 February 1915 – 12 April 1944), known as Cookie, was a British Vickers Wellington bomber pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the ' Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently murdered by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-war life Long grew up in Somerset where his father owned a large grocery store, he was educated at Taunton. His father was a senior member of the Octagon Chapel a congregation of the Plymouth Brethren and Les Long grew up within the religious community. He was educated at Huish's Grammar School Taunton. Despite passing the entrance examination for Oxford University he was apprenticed to the General Accident Insurance Company to train as an inspector. After an adventurous holiday in Ireland he returned home and joined the Civil Air Guard determined to get his civil pilots licence. His call up papers were issued soon after war broke out and he applied f ...
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Model Stalag Luft III
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models can be divided into physical models (e.g. a model plane) and abstract models (e.g. mathematical expressions describing behavioural patterns). Abstract or conceptual models are central to philosophy of science, as almost every scientific theory effectively embeds some kind of model of the physical or human sphere. In commerce, "model" can refer to a specific design of a product as displayed in a catalogue or show room (e.g. Ford Model T), and by extension to the sold product itself. Types of models include: Physical model A physical model (most commonly referred to simply as a model but in this context distinguished from a conceptual model) is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object. The object being modelled may be small (for ...
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Stalag Luft III Escape
, partof = ''Luftwaffe'' , location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland) , image = , caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag Luft III''. The model is now at the museum near where the prison camp was located. , map_alt = Sagan, Germany (pre-war borders, 1937) , map_type = Poland#Germany 1937 , coordinates = , type = Prisoner-of-war camp , controlledby = , open_to_public = , condition = , built = , builder = , used = March 1942January 1945 , materials = , demolished = , battles = World War II , events = The "Great Escape" , past_commanders = ''Oberst'' Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau , garrison = , occupants = Allied air crews Stalag Luft III (german: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force ...
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Dulag Luft
Dulag Luft (''Durchgangslager der Luftwaffe'', Transit Camp of the Airforce) were Prisoner of War (POW) transit camps for German-captured members of the Air Force during World War II. Their main purpose was to act as collection and interrogation centres for newly captured aircrew, before they were transferred in batches to the permanent camps. Several camps were set up throughout Germany and the occupied countries, however the main centre used throughout the war was at Oberursel near Frankfurt. A satellite camp at Wetzlar was set up later in the war to help cope with the large numbers of aircrew captured as the bombing campaign intensified against Germany. Allegations of interrogation under torture have been made by numerous POWs who passed through the camps. The Germans had established a similar facility, the "Listening Hotel", in the First World War. This was located at 39 Ettlinger Strasse in Karlsruhe and was a former business hotel, the ''Europäischer Hof''. The "Listening ...
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Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The municipality has a population of 109,896 as of 2021. History The earliest mention of the name Alkmaar is in a 10th-century document. As the village grew into a town, it was granted city rights in 1254. The oldest part of Alkmaar lies on an ancient sand bank a couple meters above the surrounding region; it afforded some protection from inundation during medieval times. Its vicinage consists of some of the oldest polders in existence. Older spellings include Alckmar. On June 24, 1572, after the Geuzen captured the town, five Franciscans from Alkmaar were taken to Enkhuizen and hanged (martyrs of Alkmaar). Siege of Alkmaar In 1573 the city underwent a siege by Spanish forces under the leadership of Don Fadrique, son of the Duke of Alv ...
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Mustang IIIs 19 Sqn RAF In Flight April 1944
The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they are actually feral horses. The original mustangs were Colonial Spanish horses, but many other breeds and types of horses contributed to the modern mustang, now resulting in varying phenotypes. Some free-roaming horses are relatively unchanged from the original Spanish stock, most strongly represented in the most isolated populations. In 1971, the United States Congress recognized that "wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people". The free-roaming horse population is managed and protected by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Controversy surrounds the ...
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The National Archives (United Kingdom)
, type = Non-ministerial department , seal = , nativename = , logo = Logo_of_The_National_Archives_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg , logo_width = 150px , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , jurisdiction = England and Wales, HM Government , headquarters = Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU , region_code = GB , coordinates = , employees = 679 , budget = £43.9 million (2009–2010) , minister1_name = Michelle Donelan , minister1_pfo = Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , minister2_name = TBC , minister2_pfo = Parliamentary Under Secretary of State , chief1_name = Jeff James , chief1_position = Chief Executive and Keeper of the Public Records , chief2_name = , chief2_position = , chief3_name = , chief3_position = , chief4_name = , chief4_position = , chief5_name = , chief5_position = , agency_type = , chief6_name = , chief6_position = , chief7_name = , chief7_position = ...
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