Fighter pilot Mick Shand, who twice escaped narrowly with his life, once during the Battle of Britain and later in the aftermath of the Great Escape from a Nazi prisoner of war camp, has died at the age of 92. He died at his home in Masterton on Thursday according to a newspaper death notice today.
Shand was posted to 54 Squadron at Hornchurch on the outskirts of London in late August 1940 as the Battle of Britain approached its climax. The Royal Air Force was desperately short of pilots and Shand was rushed to the squadron with just 20 hours flying on Spitfires; he had never fired its guns. He flew his first sortie as number two to dashing New Zealander Alan Deere who told him to stay close and just watch what was going on. On his next flight, on the evening of August 25, Shand was hit by an enemy Me 109 and made a forced landing.
A wounded arm kept him in hospital for several months and it was not until October the following year that he returned to action with 485 (NZ Spitfire) Squadron. Shand became a skilled pilot and flight commander, specialising in low-level attacks on German transport across the Channel.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in September 1942 after his 60th sortie but the same month was shot down while trying to destroy a train in Holland.
Imprisoned in the notorious Stalag Luft 3 - Sagan - southeast of Berlin, Shand took part in the famous Great Escape of March 1943 when 76 RAF officers tunnelled their way to freedom.
Almost all the escapers were recaptured and 50, including three New Zealanders, were murdered on Hitler's orders. Shand was on the point of escaping when a guard stumbled on the tunnel outlet and raised the alarm. He dashed to freedom in nearby trees as the guard fired but was soon recaptured. The New Zealander was lodged in a jail near Sagan for interrogation and was one of the lucky survivors who were not picked for execution.
Michael Moray Shand was born in Wellington February 20, 1915 and educated at Nelson College. He was working for the fruit industry in Central Otago when he enlisted in November 1939.
Shand was awarded the DFC just before being imprisoned in Stalag Luft 3.
Photo / Wairarapa Times Age
He did his pilot training at Wigram and sailed for England in June 1940. Shand, who farmed all his postwar working life in the Wairarapa, is survived by a son and daughter.
Source: NZPA
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ABC News reports: The last New Zealander involved in the World War II escape from a German prisoner of war camp has died. The escape was the basis for the 1963 film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Richard Attenborough.
