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'''Bernard "Pop" Green''' (1887-1971) was a British soldier who fought in ] and ]. Green fought in the bloodiest battles of World War I: ] and ] he was wounded twice in WWI. Green was already 52 when he signed up to fight in the Second World War and his escape from a ] was immortalized in the Hollywood movie ''The Great Escape''. Because of his age at the onset of the Second World War, the troops affectionately called him "Pop". '''Bernard "Pop" Green''' (1887-1971) was a British soldier who fought in ] and ]. Green fought in the bloodiest battles of World War I: ] and ] he was wounded twice in WWI. Green was already 52 when he signed up to fight in the Second World War and his escape from a ] was immortalised in the Hollywood movie ''The Great Escape''. Because of his age at the onset of the Second World War, the troops affectionately called him "Pop".


==Military service== ==Military service==

Revision as of 02:00, 18 July 2019

British soldier

Bernard (Pop) Green
Bernard Green (WWI photo)
BornBernard Green
(1887-10-01)1 October 1887
Oxfordshire
Died22 December 1971(1971-12-22) (aged 84)
Occupations
Years active1915–1945
SpouseMarried 1916
ChildrenOne boy and one girl

Bernard "Pop" Green (1887-1971) was a British soldier who fought in World War I and World War II. Green fought in the bloodiest battles of World War I: Battle of Somme and Passchendaele he was wounded twice in WWI. Green was already 52 when he signed up to fight in the Second World War and his escape from a Stalag Luft III was immortalised in the Hollywood movie The Great Escape. Because of his age at the onset of the Second World War, the troops affectionately called him "Pop".

Military service

Green was in the Territorial Army when the first world war began. He was sent to Oxfordshire and was part of the light infantry. In 1915 he was shipped to France and at Ploegsteert Wood he was wounded by shrapnel in the groin. He was then sent to the Machine Gun corps in 1916, he then fought in the Battle of Somme and Passchendaele. In October 1918, just one month before the Armistice, he was wounded again and sent home.

Hampden bomber of the RAF

In World War II Green enlisted in the RAF at the rank of He was a Flight Lieutenant. He was 52 years old when he signed up with the RAF’s Bomber Command: he was shot down on his first mission over Denmark in July 1940. Green was operating the rear gunner position flying with the 44th squadron. In the early hours of July 20 1940 the plane was hit by flak.

The Hampden bomber went down in the sea. Two of his crew members were killed, but he and the pilot swam ashore. They were captured by the Germans that same day. Four years later in 1944, he and 75 others escaped from Stalag Luft III. Fifty of the 76 of the escapees were captured and executed.

The Great Escape

Green participated in what became known as the Great Escape. The orchestrators of the The Great Escape were British officers. The prisoners escaped Stalag Luft III by methodically digging a tunnel. Of the 76 who escaped, 3 men got away, 50 were executed and 23 were returned to Stalag Luft III, Green was among those who were captured and sent back to Stalag Luft III.

Green was the oldest person to be involved in the Great Escape. In 2012 entitled his grandson Lawrence Green wrote a book about his life entitled: Great War to Great Escape: The Two Wars of Flight Lieutenant Bernard 'Pop' Green MC.

Honours and awards

  • George V Military Cross 1914-1915
  • War Medal 1914-1920
  • Victory Medal 1919
  • 1929-1945 Air Crew Europe Star
  • War Medal 1939-1945


Personal life

He was married in 1916. After the first World War he was a paper mill worker in Buckinghamshire. He and his wife had a boy in 1919 and a girl in 1921.

Book about Bernard Pop Green

In 2012 Bernard Green's grandson Lawrence Green wrote a book about his life. The book was titled Great War to Great Escape: The Two Wars of Flight Lieutenant Bernard 'Pop' Green MC.


References

Notes

  1. ^ Pitogo, Heziel. "Bernard Green: From Ypres, Somme and Passchendaele to the Great Escape". warhistoryonline. War History Online. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Daily Express UK NEWS: Secrets of the Great Escape". Militarian. XenForo Ltd. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  3. INGHAM, JOHN. "Great Escape hero who survived two world wars". express. Express Newspapers. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  4. Calder, Joanna. "Commemorating the "Great Escape"". rcaf-arc. Canadian Armed Forces. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  5. Green, Lawrence (2012). Great War to Great Escape: The Two Wars of Flight Lieutenant Bernard 'Pop' Green MC (Illustrated ed.). Oxford, UK: Fighting High, 2012. p. 160.
  6. Green, Lawrence. "Great War to Great Escape: The Two Wars of Flight Lieutenant Bernard 'Pop' Green MC". Books.google. Google Books. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  7. "Great war to great escape : the two wars of flight lieutenant Bernard 'Pop' Green MC". aucklandmuseum. Auckland Museum. Retrieved July 17, 2019.


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