caption serviceyears servicenumber branch death_date birth_name birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date placeofburial nickname rank image article_title name
raaf '' anzac hour '' radio show , 1942 . catanach airmen is in the centre -lrb- in uniform -rrb- . on the set of the bbc 's 1940 -- 44 aus .400364 australia 29 march 1944 james catanach melbourne , victoria , australia australia no. 455 squadron raaf distinguished flying cross , mentioned in despatches world war ii 28 november 1921 poznan old garrison cemetery , poland jim squadron leader 300px james catanach
 james catanach
james catanach

james catanach -lrb- 28 november 1921 -- 29 march 1944 -rrb- , known as `` jim '' or jimmy , was an australian handley page hampden bomber pilot who was taken prisoner during the second world war .
reportedly the youngest squadron leader bomber pilot in the royal australian air force at the age of twenty he is notable for the part he took in the ` great escape ' from stalag luft iii in march 1944 and as one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the `` gestapo '' .
