The dodger : the extraordinary story of Churchill's American cousin, two world wars, and the great escape

Of all the Allied prisoners who broke out of Hermann Göring''s ""escape proof"" camp in the famous ""Great Escape"" of March 1944, Johnny Dodge was the most intriguing.;Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Author's Note; Acknowledgments; Preface; Chapter 1: Wookyi-Tipi; Chapter 2: Age Quod Agis; Chapter 3: Esprit de Corps; Chapter 4: Debacle; Chapter 5: The Soldier; Chapter 6: Mediterranean Adventure; Chapter 7: A Corner of a Foreign Field; Chapter 8: Gallipoli; Chapter 9: The Western Front; Chapter 10: Death Revisited; Chapter 11: To the Ends of the Earth; Chapter 12: A Great Game; Chapter 13: Of Bandits and Brigands; Chapter 14: Trading with the Enemy; Chapter 15: Prisoner of the Cheka; Chapter 16: Appointment with Death. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Author's Note Acknowledgments Preface Chapter 1: Wookyi-Tipi Chapter 2: Age Quod Agis Chapter 3: Esprit de Corps Chapter 4: Debacle Chapter 5: The Soldier Chapter 6: Mediterranean Adventure Chapter 7: A Corner of a Foreign Field Chapter 8: Gallipoli Chapter 9: The Western Front Chapter 10: Death Revisited Chapter 11: To the Ends of the Earth Chapter 12: A Great Game Chapter 13: Of Bandits and Brigands Chapter 14: Trading with the Enemy Chapter 15: Prisoner of the Cheka Chapter 16: Appointment with Death. Chapter 17: From Far East to East EndChapter 18: Minerva Chapter 19: A Final Note Chapter 20: Prisoner of War Chapter 21: Oh, What a Lovely War! Chapter 22: With Major Rumpel's Compliments Chapter 23: Baltic Interlude Chapter 24: "Escape Proof" Camp Chapter 25: Polish Interlude Chapter 26: Tom, Dick, and Harry Chapter 27: Last Letters Home Chapter 28: Per Ardua ad Astra Chapter 29: Death Postponed Chapter 30: The Sachsenhausen Tunnel Chapter 31: Escape from the SS Chapter 32: Mission to Downing Street Chapter 33: Berlin Days Chapter 34: Travels with Dr. Thost Chapter 35: Home. Chapter 36: Shadows and FogChapter 37: In Memoriam Postscript: The Great Escapers Appendix I: Lord Freyberg's Address at Johnny's Memorial Service Appendix II: Christopher Reeve and The Great Escape II: The Untold Story Appendix III: The Real Great Escape Appendix IV: Edited Extracts from Johnny's Letters Home while in Captivity Notes Select Bibliography Photographs. The Dodger is the story of John Bigelow "Johnny" Dodge, a wartime hero and a pivotal figure in the escapade immortalised in the legendary Hollywood film The Great Escape . Of all the Allied prisoners who broke out of Hermann Göring's "escape proof" camp in the famous "Great Escape" of March 1944, Johnny Dodge was the most intriguing. The American-born and well-connected Dodge was a cousin by marriage of Winston Churchill and friends with the rich and famous of both countries, including Kermit Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's son. When the Second World War broke out, he volunteered for the Army but was quickly captured after the debacle of Dunkirk. He became a prisoner of war and an inveterate escapologist and troublemaker - eventually becoming one of the ringleaders of the 'Great Escape'. Surviving the murderous Gestapo, he was thrown into a VIP compound of Sachsenhausen concentration camp on the orders of Heinrich Himmler - but escaped once more. After recapture, Johnny was spirited away by the SS to a meeting in Berlin with Hitler's interpreter, who sent him on a clandestine mission to his cousin in Downing Street. His odyssey through the dying embers of the Third Reich to Switzerland and freedom in the company of a louche Nazi apparatchik is the last curious escapade in the story of Johnny's adventurous life. "The Dodger is the story of John Bigelow "Johnny" Dodge, a wartime hero and a pivotal figure in the escapade immortalised in the legendary Hollywood film The Great Escape. The American-born and well-connected Dodge was a cousin by marriage of Winston Churchill and friends with the rich and famous of both countries, including Kermit Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's son. When the Second World War broke out, he volunteered for the Army but was quickly captured after the debacle of Dunkirk. He became a prisoner of war and an inveterate escapologist and troublemaker - eventually becoming one of the ringleaders of the "Great Escape." Surviving the murderous Gestapo, he was thrown into a VIP compound of Sachsenhausen concentration camp on the orders of Heinrich Himmler - but escaped once more. After recapture, Johnny was spirited away by the SS to a meeting in Berlin with Hitler's interpreter, who sent him on a clandestine mission to his cousin in Downing Street. His odyssey through the dying embers of the Third Reich to Switzerland and freedom in the company of a louche apparatchik is the last curious escapade in the story of Johnny's adventurous life"-- Provided by publisher "The ... story of Johnny Dodge, a wartime hero and a pivotal figure in the escapade immortalised in the ... Hollywood film The Great Escape. ... American-born Dodge was a cousin by marriage of Winston Churchill. When the Second World War broke out, he volunteered for the Army but was quickly captured after the debacle of Dunkirk. He became a prisoner of war and an inveterate escapologist and troublemaker - eventually becoming one of the ringleaders of the 'Great Escape.' Surviving the murderous Gestapo, he was thrown into a VIP compound of the Saschenhausen concentration camp on the orders of Heinrich Himmler - but escaped once more. After recapture, Johnny was spirited away to Berlin with Hitler's interpreter, who sent him on a clandestine mission to his cousin in Downing Street. His odyssey through the dying embers of the Third Reich to Switzerland and freedom in the company of a louche Nazi apparatchik is the last curious escapade in the story of Johnny's adventurous life. ..."--Book jacket. The Dodger is the story of John Bigelow "Johnny" Dodge, a wartime hero and a pivotal figure in the escapade immortalised in the legendary Hollywood film The Great Escape.Of all the Allied prisoners who broke out of Hermann G\u00f6ring's "escape proof" camp in the famous "Great Escape" of March 1944, Johnny Dodge was the most intriguing.The American-born and well-connected Dodge was a cousin by marriage of Winston Churchill and friends with the rich and famous of both countries, including Kermit Roosevelt, President Theodore Roosevelt's son. When the Second World War broke out, he volunteered for the Army but was quickly captured after the debacle of Dunkirk. He became a prisoner of war and an inveterate escapologist and troublemaker - eventually becoming one of the ringleaders of the 'Great Escape'.Surviving the murderous Gestapo, he was thrown into a VIP compound of Sachsenhausen concentration camp on the orders of Heinrich Himmler - but escaped once more. After recapture,...