Thomas D. Calnan

Thomas Daniel Calnan (16 December 1915 – 13 September 1981) was an English pilot and prisoner-of-war of World War II, who wrote a memoir of his time in German captivity entitled Free As A Running Fox.

Thomas Daniel Calnan
Born(1915-12-16)16 December 1915
Died13 September 1981(1981-09-13) (aged 65)
Zinal, Switzerland
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Air Force
Years of service1936–1959
RankWing Commander
Battles/warsWorld War II

Calnan was commissioned in the RAF on 19 December 1936.[1]

Calnan was shot down while flying a Spitfire on a photo-reconnaissance mission over France in December 1941. He gives some brief background about himself and his flying career with the RAF's No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, but devotes most of the book to his escape attempts while a prisoner of the Germans. He was incarcerated at Stalag Luft III during the period of the "Great Escape."[2]

He was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander on 1 January 1949, and retired on 14 February 1959.[1] Calnan latterly lived in Zinal, Switzerland,[3] where he died in September 1981 at the age of 65.[4]

References
  1. The Royal Air Force Retired List (1976)
  2. Calnan, T.D. (January 1970). Free As a Running Fox. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0803727496.
  3. Writers Directory: CALNAN, Daniel Thomas
  4. Ancestry: Thomas Daniel Calnan in the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995
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