George Dudley Craig, OBE (13th September 1914 – 26th August 1974), known as Dudley, joined 607 (County of Durham) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 1937, before volunteering for active service in France in 1940.
In 1941 whilst flying over Le Touquet, France, Dudley’s aircraft elevator was hit by flak and he was forced to crash land in the sea a few hundred yards offshore. He managed to escape from the stricken aircraft and swam to the shore into the arms of a party of German soldiers. He was held as a prisoner of war from 1941-1945 at various POW camps.
Dudley was involved in a number of POW escape attempts, including The Great Escape on 24th March 1944.