The Cooler King: The True Story of William Ash - Spitfire Pilot, P.O.W and WWII's Greatest Escaper

by Patrick Bishop

The Cooler King tells the astonishing story of William Ash, an American flier brought up in Depression-hit Texas, who after being shot down in his Spitfire over France in early 1942 spent the rest of the war defying the Nazis by striving to escape from every prisoner of war camp in which he was incarcerated. It is a saga full of incident and high drama, climaxing in a break out via a tunnel dug in the latrines of the Oflag XXIB prison camp in Poland - a great untold episode of the Second World War. Alongside William Ash is a cast of fascinating characters, including Douglas Bader, Roger Bushell, who would go on to lead the Great Escape, and Paddy Barthropp, a dashing Battle of Britain pilot who despite his very different background became Ash's best friend and shared many of his adventures. By weaving together contemporary documents and interviews with Ash's comrades, Patrick Bishop vividly recreates the multiple escape attempts, while also examining the P.O.W. experience and analysing the passion that drove some prisoners to risk death in repeated bids for freedom. The Cooler King and is at once uplifting and inspirational, and stands as a testament to the durability of decent values and the invincible spirit of liberty.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, World War II, War, Military Fiction, Aviation

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2015

About the author

Patrick Bishop was born in London in 1952 and went to Wimbledon College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Before joining the Telegraph he worked on the Evening Standard, the Observer and the Sunday Times and in television as a reporter on Channel Four News. He is the author with John Witherow of a history of the Falkands War based on their own experiences and with Eamon Mallie of The Provisional IRA which was praised as the first authoritative account of the modern IRA. He also wrote a memoir the first Gulf War, Famous Victory and a history of the Irish diaspora The Irish Empire, based on the TV series which he devised.

Reviews

[Rowan MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Cooler King" is a must-read for fans of the Great Escape and WWII stories. After finishing it, I'm now inspired to read more of Bishop's war works!

Patrick Bishop writes in an engaging, informative and gripping style. It was easy to picture imagery from the Great Escape throughout - certain scenes portrayed in the film are featured at times in the book. The fact I could feel the tension of prisoners' lives and the overwhelming claustrophobia of the tunnels was testament to Bishop's phenomenal writing style. I truly felt like I was in the tunnels with them, crawling along to freedom.

It was intriguing learning of the psychology and ideologies of the "escapologists". What were the things that drove these men to risk life again and again to escape? How did their pre-war lives and experiences influence their wartime behaviours and motivation to escape? Bishop does a fantastic job answering these often overlooked aspects of escape lore. After all, these were young pilots, who previously experienced an immense type of freedom in the sky only most of us can dream of.

Like most war stories, there were heartbreaking moments for every heroic action too. The failure and capture of escapees, treatment of others by Nazis (Russians, Jews and women). I felt emotional reading stories of how the prisoners' threw contents of their Red Cross parcels to their suffering Russian comrades across the wire. The sacrifices and risks taken by others to assist escapees was also very moving. French, Poles risked death to provide assistance to prisoners' escape efforts - this coming together to defeat a common enemy was an aspect of escapes I'd rarely heard of.

"The Cooler King" is a book near impossible to put down - after all, how can you when multiple people you've grown to care about are on the run in enemy occupied territory! It is an inspiring story of determination, pushing ahead despite overwhelming odds, and not letting failures discourage you. "The Cooler King" is a worthy tribute to not only Bill Ash, but all those who have served their country or those fighting for freedom and escaping oppression. Highly recommend!

I'm off to cheer on Steve McQueen and mates now!

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting, and a really good insight into the nature of life in a POW camp during WWII (albeit perchance more the privileged sections of these camps reserved for officers) well researched and told with a factual thoroughness that I quite liked. I learned a lot about the subject, it was thorough and even insightful with respect to the mindset of the people incarcerated in these camps, and their captors - very useful in this sense,

I just felt it didn't completely work in the sense of 'a biography of William Ash'. There probably wasn't enough about this one man to fill the book, the necessity to include the stories of other prisoners, the second half of the book feeling a little bloated and repetitive, it didn't hold my initial interest at high levels. Nevertheless I would recommend it for people interested in the subject, the real stories behind 'The Great Escape', 'The Wooden Horse' etc. (not so much of 'Escape to Victory' was covered, though!)

[Ellie Milward · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big 'Great Escape' and 'Colditz Story' fan I read pretty much everything I can around this subject of POWs in World War Two. 'The Cooler King' is one of the most enjoyable I have read, and one of the easiest as well. Bishop has a very accessible style and a good sense of humour throughout, which serves to make his subject matter even more compelling. At times I wanted more detail, perhaps about general camp life, or Bill Ash's perspective on the events surrounding him in Stalag Luft III, but on the whole this was enjoyable, informative and enriching to read.

[Connor Bagnall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. My favourite biography. Brilliantly written by Patrick Bishop as he captures the humour, adventure and bravery of William Ash story. Recommended to anyone interested in WWII especially stories of P.O.Ws

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. The author picks a fascinating topic but the story falls fairly flat, I consider this history light. Unfortunately for the author he wrote the book after William Ash passed away, so all of the writing is second hand. Ash comes across as a bit of self absorbed douche. Certainly does not help his cause he was a commie in my book (pun intended). As a fighter pilot he was stone mediocre with no confirmed kills. Also, Ash did not participate in the "Great Escape" because he was in the cooler (solitary confinement) at the time. I found the writing to be stilted and struggled after the first seventy five pages to finish this book. The material is interesting enough. I did not feel the author deserved to be given too low a review, even if the book has a readers digest quality.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really have no idea why I have such a fascination with both WW's. I suppose it's the fact that I've been able to actually hear first had accounts during my lifetime was I was privileged to know Great Grandparents and Grandparents. The Great Escape is an all time favourite film and to read this account of William Ash by no means spoils the film.
I was particularly moved by the accounts of what happened to the POW's towards the end of the war, as the Germans retreated as I had no idea of the treatment received.
It's a unglamorised account of that part in recent history which should be talked about more in my opinion. Life as we know it could be so very different if it weren't for the men and women who fought. Thank you

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A part of history that I'm fairly familiar with, yet the experiences of William Ash seem to be rather unique. Can see how he is believed to be the inspiration for the 'cooler king' played by Steve Mcqueen in the Great Escape and yet he was so much more. There are the occasional reference to other well known Prisoners of War and other escape attempts which enhance the overall story telling rather than detract from it.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of one of the many who went to Canada to fight in the Allied cause long before the United States entered the war. From a Texas boy to a Canadian Spitfire pilot serving with the British Forces. Whether you have read one or many books on the POW camps for military prisoners, this is one that should be read. Well written and told in a manner that will keep you turning the pages. The treatment of military POWs was eye-opening for me. 

[Andréa Geleynse · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cooler King provides a well-rounded view of life as a POW in Germany during the Second World War. I very much enjoyed reading this book and learning more about the man who is thought to have inspired Steve McQueen’s character Captain Virgil Hilts from the movie, The Great Escape.

[Mike Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down. Fantastic!

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly entertaining read on the exploits of Bill Ash on his continuous escape attempts from prisoner of war camps during WW2. Very thought provoking.

[Susan's Sweat Smells Like Literature · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even more incredible and exciting than the excellent movie.

[Greg Vandermeulen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love a great story about the Second World War and this is it. It has a narrow focus representing the author's knowledge about prisoner of war camps specifically for the air force and is a great read.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gripping true tale of a pilot who repeatedly tried to escape from German camps in WW2.