Roger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng)

Date: 30 Aug 1910
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Roger Joyce Bushell was born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng) to British parents. He lived in South Africa until he was 14, when his father sent him to study in England. He graduated with a law degree from Cambridge University. However, Bushell did not have much interest in academia. He loved to ski and was made captain of the Cambridge ski team. His other interest was flying and in 1932, he joined the 601 Squadron Auxiliary Air Force in Britain. Bushell became squadron leader in 1940. He was shot down and crash landed on German occupied ground. He was captured and sent to the Dulag Luft transit camp as a prisoner of war. He tried to escape from the camp three times. On his second attempt, he managed to elude the authorities for eight months. On his third attempt, in 1943, Roger Joyce Bushell was shot dead. This incident has come to be known as the Great Escape.

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How we know this

01Daily Mail. (2011) Love, betrayal and courage: Private letters reveal the story behind the mastermind of The Great Escape Roger Bushell from Mail Online (26 November 2011) [online]. Available at: www.dailymail.co.uk [Accessed on 20 August 2013]
02Pergusus Archive. Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell [online]. Available at: www.pegasusarchive.org [Accessed on 20 August 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, August 23). Roger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng). South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096344

South African History Online (2013) 'Roger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng)', South African History Online, 23 August. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096344 (Accessed: 3 October 2026).

South African History Online, Roger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng) [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096344, (accessed 3 October 2026).

"Roger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng)." South African History Online, 23 Aug. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096344. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Roger Joyce Bushell, Auxiliary Air Force pilot famous for his escape from the German prisoner of war camp, is born in Springs, Transvaal (now Gauteng)." South African History Online. August 23, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0096344.