Paul Gordon Royle

Flight Lieutenant Paul Gordon Royle (17 January 1914 – 23 August 2015) was an Australian-born Royal Air Force officer, prisoner of war, and one of the last surviving participants in the Great Escape from Stalag Luft III. A former mining surveyor from Western Australia, he volunteered for RAF service before the Second World War and flew Bristol Blenheim reconnaissance missions with No. 53 Squadron during the Battle of France. Shot down and captured in May 1940, Royle spent almost five years as a prisoner of war. He became one of the “penguins” who secretly dispersed tunnel sand during preparations for the Great Escape and escaped through tunnel Harry as the fifty-seventh man on the night of 24–25 March 1944. Recaptured after two days while attempting to reach Switzerland, he narrowly escaped execution after Adolf Hitler ordered the murder of fifty recaptured officers, while his escape companion, Flight Lieutenant Edgar Humphreys, was among those killed by the Gestapo. Liberated in May 1945, Royle returned to Australia and built a successful career in the mining and engineering industries. He lived to the age of 101, becoming one of the final living Great Escapers, and remained a passionate advocate for preserving the true history of the escape, often correcting inaccuracies portrayed in the famous 1963 film. His life stands as a testament to courage, resilience, and the enduring spirit of those who refused to surrender hope in captivity.

Citation: Paul Brickhill, The Great Escape (1950); The Last Escape (2025); Royal Air Force service records; Australian War Memorial biographical records.