page_title: Thomas Kirby-Green
section_title: Pre-war life
hierarchical_section_title: Thomas Kirby-Green / Pre-war life
caption_attribution_description: English: A bomber crew of No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF study a map, while sitting on 250-lb GP bombs which are about to be loaded into their Vickers Wellington Mark IC at East Wretham, Norfolk.
context_page_description: Thomas Gresham Kirby-Green was a British Royal Air Force officer, the pilot of a Vickers Wellington bomber, who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men recaptured and subsequently executed by the Gestapo.
context_section_description: Kirby-Green was born in Dowa, Nyasaland where his father Sir William Kirby-Green was the British District Governor. His father was upcountry at the time of his birth and found a baby abandoned in the bush at the same time as his son was born. He rescued the child, named him "Putti" and brought him up as a second son. After growing up in Africa, Kirby-Green was sent to boarding school in England at Dover College where he became a house prefect and a member of the rugby team. On leaving school in 1935 he lived with his parents in Tangier and gained a private pilot's license prior to joining the Royal Air Force. Kirby-Green was commissioned on 24 August 1936, he trained as a service pilot at No. 8 Flying Training School Montrose and joined No. 216 Squadron RAF flying transport aircraft in Egypt from 27 May 1937 before being confirmed as a pilot officer on 29 June 1937. During this period he regularly sailed to Tangier to visit his parents whilst on leave.
  In January 1938 he was transferred to No. 99 Squadron RAF at RAF Mildenhall and with the squadron converted to the new Vickers Wellington bomber later that year. During 1938 he competed in the RAF Athletics Championships representing the base and competing against Ian Cross representing RAF Marham neither knowing that they would both be involved in the "Great Escape" in 1944.  He was promoted flying officer on 29 January 1939.
caption: 311 Squadron flight crew with their Wellington bomber at RAF East Wretham
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