'Great Escape' airman Paul Royle dies in Perth hospital, aged 101 (23 August 2015)

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by DaveB, Aug 28, 2015.

  1. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    RIP Flight Lieutenant Paul Gordon Royle "Number 57"



    Not normally a fan of posting links to news articles, but here goes anyway -

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-27/the-great-escape-survivor-paul-royle-dies-in-perth/6731078

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3212149/Australian-Great-Escape-hero-Paul-Royle-dies-age-101.html

    Paul Royle, the last remaining Australian to take part in the 1944 Great Escape, has died aged 101. The former RAF Flight Lieutenant passed away in Perth on Sunday.

    His death leaves just one survivor from the iconic breakout on 24 March, 1944, ex RAF Squadron Leader Dick Churchill, from Devon in the UK.

    The pair were part of an audacious escape effort from the notorious Stalag Luft III prisoner of war camp in Sagan, Poland, some 160 kilometres east of Berlin.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Allied_airmen_from_the_Great_Escape

    From the wiki list he actually has his own wiki page (but the remaining survivor Richard S A "Dick" Churchill doesn't)
     
    CL1 likes this.
  2. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    ROYLE, Paul Gordon : Service Number - 42152 : Rank - Flight Lieutenant : Date of birth - 17 Jan 1914 : Place of birth - Perth WA : Date of capture - 18 May 1940: Place of capture - Fontaine aux Pires : Next of kin - ROYLE, E

    He was an Australian serving in the RAF, the National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au) holds three files concerning him, all of which have been digitised for viewing.

    One file concerns his enlistment as a cadet in the Royal Australian Navy when he was 14 years old.

    One contains his German POW cards (attached) & the other is his casualty file used for passing information onto his family in Perth, Western Australia.
     

    Attached Files:

    CL1 and dbf like this.
  3. Smudger Jnr

    Smudger Jnr Our Man in Berlin

    I have just caught this bad news on the BBC World Service.
    RIP Paul.

    Tom
     
  4. Peter Clare

    Peter Clare Very Senior Member

    :poppy: Flight Lieutenant Paul Gordon Royle :poppy:
     
  5. TriciaF

    TriciaF Junior Member

    RIP Paul Gordon Royle.
    What a life!
     
  6. Lindele

    Lindele formerly HA96

    RIP Paul Gordon Royle.

    What a life indeed!
     
  7. Recce_Mitch

    Recce_Mitch Very Senior Member

    :poppy: Flight Lieutenant Paul Gordon Royle, RIP :poppy:

    Paul
     

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