Wingless Victory: The Story of Sir Basil Embry’s Escape From Occupied France in the Summer of 1940

by Anthony Richardson

The true story of an airman’s audacious escape from occupied France in World War Two.

Perfect for fans of The Great Escape, The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram and The Wooden Horse.

Sir Basil Embry’s Blenheim bomber was shot down in the summer of 1940.

During the course of his time in enemy territory he broke out from a column of prisoners while having a Nazi machine gun aimed at him, fought against his captors with stolen weapons, hid in stinking manure and even posed as a member of the Irish Republican Army in order to throw his captors off the scent of his true identity.

In total he was captured three times and three times he refused to submit. Only through sheer courage and wit did he make his way back to Britain to fight and fly again. This is his remarkable story.

Anthony Richardson served as Adjutant in the same squadron as Embry later in the war and was told about these astounding exploits first-hand. This book will undoubtedly amaze all interested in moments of amazing fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds.

‘A thrilling and authentic escape story — will prove a classic’ Daily Herald

‘The author succeeds in communicating vividly, yet unpretentiously, the sensations of a man on the run... About ten times as exciting as a fictional thriller’ Sunday Times

‘An extremely exciting story... well spiced with humour...’ Illustrated London News

‘The records of World War II have no wilder or stranger story to tell’ Tatler

Genres: Nonfiction, War, World War II, History

303 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Anthony Thomas Stewart Currie Richardson (1899 – 4 February 1964) was an English writer of adventure fiction and non-fiction books.

He also published under the pseudonym Patrick Wynnton

Reviews

[Ted]

This is an action packed WWII "escape" memoir - though not written by the "escapee". It describes an almost daily stream of amazing wartime hardships, adventures and close calls that Sir Basil Embry experienced over a period of 9 weeks in the Spring and Summer of 1940. The story begins when Embry's bomber is shot down over north eastern France. His escape begins soon after and continues all the way to the border of Spain. Every day brings something new and unexpected. This book held my attention cover to cover and was pretty much what I'd call a page turner. I was dialed in from the start, couldn't put it down and wound up reading it all in one day. Time well spent.

[Clare O'Beara]

This is a memoir of a Colonel in the RAF who was shot down over occupied France in 1940. He is almost immediately captured but escapes and hides in fields and thickets. Some French farmers help him, but eventually he is recaptured by Germans. Here he pretends to be Irish, working against the British. Later, he is alone again and manages to get to a city in France, where he sensibly goes to a Salvation Army hostel, and pretends he is American.
Life is hard for everyone, not as hard as it would get later in the war obviously. The French old soldier Paul and his wife who first shelter the airman are shown in a photo, when he returned to thank them. We also see that some of the Germans speak excellent English and some have lived in America. Others had no language but their own, or some French.
There are a couple of pages of photos and a line drawing.

[Bonnie]

This is the story of a British airman's ordeal trying to get back to England after being shot down over France at the beginning of WWII before the British Expeditionary Force escaped from Dunkirk. He was taken prisoner by the Germans but managed to escape. He was aided by a number of people as he tried many avenues of escape. It was inspiring for two reasons: Sir Basil's will to not give up and to think of creative ways to travel and hide in plain sight and for the willingness of people to help.

[Peter S]

Tells of the escape through France and eventually to Spain of Basil Embury, after being shot down in northern France in early 1940. Written of it's time, it is jingoistic in places and doesn't hold back in the hatred of the Germans by the subject. Overlooking that, Embury showed courage and fortitude, being stymied at various stages, through capture and subsequent escape and almost constantly in German occupied territory. The help of some local French on occasion assisted him greatly.

[Kathy Fritschi]

An unintended vacation in occupied France

The adventuresome spirit displayed by Sir Basil was one of the most improbable and impressive aspects of this story. Perseverance despite setbacks shows courage and puck, as Sir Basil creates his own opportunities and is not dissuaded in an environment rife with barriers

[rob]

review of Wingless Victory

A great story and even better to know it really happened. The war was hard fought by men such as Basil Embry and to their credit the demise of Hitler and his dream of conquering the world!

[James Cramer]

A lesson in courage

Sir basil embry's story is the definition of duty,honor, country. He set himself to the improbable task of escape from the German s and returning to England to fight for the freedom of those Germany sought to enslave.

[Wayne P]

A Great Read

Didn’t think I was going to like it at first. Not much action at first, kind of slow, but the more I read I was there with Embry waiting for the next…. And then things started moving fast! Hard to put it down.

[WF Ward]

Interesting true story account

I found this book very interesting. The fact that it’s a true story makes it more interesting. I was able to get a real sense of the pilot’s experiences

[mike conway]

excellent read

What a story. A well written tale told with entertaining detail.
The courage and intellect of all involved in this escape plan are beyond belief but oh so true.

[D.M. Fletcher]

A great escape

Pilot gets shot down and by guts, good luck and help escapes from occupied France in WW2.
Exciting but true yarn.

[truenorth]

Courage is all I can say.

[Kent Leary]

Nine weeks

Most frustrating book I have ever read. It was nice to say that he got back. It did not tell me how it was accomplished at the end when he got to Spain.
Fun read.

[Robert Hepple]

First published in 1950, Wingless Victory is an account of the escape of Wing Commander Basil Embry from occupied France in May-June 1940 following his being shot down whilst flying a tactical bombing mission in a Blenheim IV of 107 Squadron, RAF against the Maastricht bridges. The writer Anthony Richardson does use a little artistic licence at times, but this does overall amount to a very enjoyable read.

[John]

This is the story of an English lady vacationing in Breton France when the Nazis invade France. Unable to escape she steps up a cell of resistance fighters who rescue and liberate downed fliers. The also carry out espionage and sabotage. An interesting story.

[Wayne Richardson]

Wingless Victory recounts the audacious and true story of Wing Commander Basil Embry's escape from occupied France in 1940 after being shot down.

Embry is captured three times by the Germans and manages to escape each time.

Highly recommended.