SAS Great Escapes Four

by Damien Lewis

'Damien Lewis is both a meticulous historian and a born storyteller' Lee Child

FIVE DARING ESCAPES CARRIED OUT BY THE FAMOUS FIGHTING FORCE DURING WWII

From the infamous 1944 desert campaign to the unforgiving terrain of the Vosges Mountains; from a perilous escape across Europe aided by Resistance networks to three Captains fleeing an Italian Prisoner of War camp in 1943, and a death-defying return to Britain via boat, tunnel and train.

These inspirational true stories bring to life the do-or-die spirit of the SAS, as they faced an enemy hell-bent on wreaking vengeance.

Damien Lewis has worked closely with World War Two veterans and the families of those portrayed, accessing never-before-seen wartime diaries, letters, mission reports, interrogation transcripts and more, to reveal terrifying yet astounding feats of survival from the band of elite soldiers.

If you like Great Escapes Four, why not go back and discover the previous instalments in this bestselling Great Escapes, Great Escapes Two and Great Escapes Three.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 22, 2025

About the author

Damien Lewis became an author largely by accident, when a British publisher asked him if he'd be willing to turn a TV documentary he was working on into a book. That film was shot in the Sudan war zone, and told the story of how Arab tribes seized black African slaves in horrific slave raids. Lewis had been to the Sudan war zone dozens of times over the past decade, reporting on that conflict for the BBC, Channel 4 and US and European broadcasters.

His slavery documentary told the story of a young girl from the Nuba tribe, seized in a raid and sold into slavery in Khartoum, Sudan's capital city, and of her epic escape. The publisher asked Lewis if the Nuba girl would be willing to write her life story as a book, with his help as co-author. The book that they co-wrote was called 'Slave', and it was published to great acclaim, becoming a number one bestseller and being translated into some 30 lanc guages worldwide. It won several awards and has been made into a feature film.

Over the preceding fifteen years Lewis had reported from many war, conflict and disaster zones – including Sudan, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, Burma, Afghanistan and the Balkans (see Author's Gallery). He (and his film crew) traveled into such areas with aid workers, the British or allied military, UN forces or local military groups, or very much under their own steam. He reported on the horror and human impact of war, as well as the drama of conflict itself. Often, he worked alone. Often, he filmed his own material over extended periods of time living in the war or conflict zone.

During a decade spent reporting from around the world Lewis lived in deserts, rainforests, jungles and chaotic third world cities. In his work and travels he met and interviewed people smugglers, diamond miners, Catholic priests 'gone native', desert nomads, un-contacted tribes, aid workers, bush pilots, arms dealers, genocidal leaders, peacekeepers, game wardens, slum kids, world presidents, heroin traffickers, rebel warlords, child prostitutes, Islamist terrorists, Hindu holy men, mercenaries, bush doctors, soldiers, commanders and spies. He was injured, and was hospitalised with bizarre tropical diseases – including flesh-eating bacteria, worms that burrow through the skin and septicemia – but survived all that and continued to report.

It was only natural that having seen so much of global conflict he would be drawn to stories of war, terrorism, espionage and the often dark causes behind such conflicts when he started writing books. Having written a number of true stories, in 2006 he was chosen as one of the 'nation's 20 favourite authors' and wrote his first fiction, Desert Claw, for the British Government's Quick Read initiative. Desert Claw tells of a group of ex-Special Forces soldiers sent into Iraq to retrieve a looted Van Gogh painting, with a savage twist to the tale. That fiction was followed up by Cobra Gold, an equally compelling tale of global drama and intrigue and shadowy betrayal.

Damien Lewis's work, books and films have won the Index on Censorship (UK), CECRA (Spain), Project Censored (US), Commonwealth Relations (UK), Discovery-NHK BANFF (Canada), Rory Peck (UK), BBC One World (UK), BBC-WWF Wildscreen (UK), International Peace Prize (US), Elle Magazine Grande Prix (US), Victor Gollanz (Germany), and BBC One World (UK) Awards. He is a Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Reviews

[Peter Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This being volume four of the Great Escapes series, readers of the previous three will know what to expect. For those who haven’t, or those who are new to the author’s work, this is as ever a meticulously researched and accessibly written wartime history. The author is a natural storyteller and manages to bring even the most mundane of incidents to life. The reader will lose themselves in the pages but then have remind themselves that this is not fiction, as it flows along as good as any fictional war story. He does choose wisely though, these tales are so extraordinary they require no embellishment but just be brought to the page with a touch of brio, which he does admirably. This is not a dusty old history book.

The escapes take two basic forms, prisoner of war breakouts and attempts to get back to Allied lines after missions (often aborted ones) deep in enemy territory. They both require bravery, great ingenuity, stamina and a great deal of luck, often in the form of help from civilians, the resistance and Marquis. The special forces men were always in great danger following Hitler’s ‘commando order’ which was a death sentence if caught and the execution of the escapees from Stalag Luft III (The Great Escape). Equally dangerous would be caught assisting escapees, which would lead to torture, execution and reprisals against other civilians. In these circumstances the stakes couldn’t be higher, yet help was forthcoming.

Prison escapes make for fascinating reading or viewing, be they factual or fictional. I’m sure that German and Russian prisoners of war effected escapes, but it seems that the allied ones grab the most attention. Until the ‘stay put’ order (which wasn’t universally obeyed) Churchill encouraged these attempts as a way of tying up enemy resources and keeping the prisoners in a positive and creative frame of mind. So much so that a whole department (MI9) was created to support these attempts.

Another impeccable slice of the remarkable history of the SAS, and its brave and resourceful men, from an author who never fails to deliver.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection of escape stories by members of the SAS. Not only is it full of action, but we care about the individuals. No fiction can compare to these true stories.

[Andy Wormald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here you have 5 remarkable stories, you may think as you read these that you are reading a work of fiction such is the depth of apparent adventure and daring do, but no this is real life. The levels to which these men would go and the hardships they would endure to evade capture can only be looked on with admiration, one thing which struck as I read the stories was their determination to always seek to try and escape even when all seemed hopeless

The book looks as how these SAS soldiers carried out these daring escapes, you see how three captains escaped from an Italian POW camp, how one man made a dangerous escape across Holland and Belgium. Each story is packed with dramatic tension, at times a sense of hopelessness, but an overwhelming level of courage

The writing gives the merest glimpse of what these soldiers endured the conditions in which they survived, Damien Lewis brings these stories to life with a striking and descriptive narrative, the writing makes you feel as though you are, you get a real overriding sense of time, place and geography

As with all the authors books two things really standout to me, one the way that he puts the men and their families at the heart of the books, he doesn’t glamorise their heroics just tells it as it is, the second is the level of research undertaken you can see the hours of research and talking to the soldiers families to ensure an accurate portrayal of the escapes and the soldiers

You come away from reading with the hugest admiration for not only the SAS soldiers but also those within the resistance who risked all to assist, some paying the highest sacrifice.

These stories as they should stay with you, remarkable in every way

Never forget the bravest of the brave, these are stores which deserve to be written about and stories which need to be read, cannot recommend Damiens books highly enough and this is no exception, buy it and be prepared to be struck with awe.

[Keith Warne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant inspirational

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off good, felt like scraping the barrell when it comes to ‘escape’ stories towards the end