Flt Lt. Des Plunkett - Great Escape Mapmaker

   By Rob Birkbeck (RhAF)
   

Flt Lt. Des Plunkett 

   I was cleaning out some stuff the other day and I came across a battered postcard that I had never really  studied before written by Flt Lt Desmond Plunkett ex RAF who used to live with us during our time in  Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. He had written this 'Prisoner of War' postcard during the Second World War from  Stalag Luft III shortly after his capture by the Germans. It has been 20+ years since I last remember  looking through this folder which Des had given me amongst a whole load of other memorabilia from his  war days before he died.

 Des flew Sterling bombers and was shot down on the 21st June 1942 over Alkmaar, Holland upon  return from a raid over Emden. He was one of 76 men who took part in the Great Escape. He told me  that he agreed to go as number 13 down the tunnel 'as he was not superstitious'. This placement in the  escape turned to good fortune as he became one of only 26 men to survive Hitler's firing squad.

Postcard

   I remembered that Des had told me years back that he had sent it to his brother Gillian in the UK with  whom he had arranged a secret code if he was ever shot down. As an ex cyrptoanalyist with the CIO back  in my Rhodesian days, I sat down and worked my way through the card. Eventually, reading backwards,  from the bottom to the top, just the highlighted characters, his cryptic message emerged to read… 'shot  down by one o [nine] over hol[land] re attacks no [r]eaction and no cordite'. [I added the letters in square  brackets]. It must have taken him days to select words that would make sense in a sentence yet fit  perfectly into place to reveal the embedded coded message to its recipient.

 A truly amazing character and a credit to the force with whom he served.

Des is on the extreme left of the photograph