255631 Thomas William Spencer "Tug" Wilson Royal Air Force 192 Squadron Tom Wilson, who has died aged 97, was a British RAF Officer who played the violin to cover the noise of sand dispersal during the celebrated Wooden Horse escape by tunnel from Stalag Luft 3. On 29th of October 1943 three escaped through the tunnel and successfully made their way to Sweden.
Tom flew as a navigator in modified Wellington bombers whose role was to gather electronic intelligence on German air defence and radar communication systems. His aircraft was shot down over The Hague on May 26th 1943 and after parachuting down was captured and taken to Stalag Luft 3 in Silesia.
In 1945 as German opposition crumbled Tom and his fellow officers were taken first to Nuremburg and then by forced march to Stalag Luft VIIa at Moosburg in Bavaria. On 29th of April 1945 the camp was liberated by American troops. There were no rations and Tom, with a group of fellow officers, rounded up the Kommandant's herd of swine which the famished prisoners made short work of.
After the war Tom switched from engineering to take a degree in Russian and German and became a language teacher, first at The Royal Liberty School where I was fortunate to be one of his pupils and later as Headmaster of Coleshill Grammar School.
He was born in December 1920 and died November 2018.
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