Thomas Daniel Calnan (16 December 1915 – 13 September 1981) was an English pilot and prisoner-of-war of World War II, who wrote a memoir of his time in German captivity entitled Free As A Running Fox.
Thomas Daniel Calnan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1915 |
| Died | 13 September 1981 (aged 65) Zinal, Switzerland |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1936–1959 |
| Rank | Wing Commander |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Calnan was commissioned in the RAF on 19 December 1936.[1]
Calnan was shot down while flying a Spitfire on a photo-reconnaissance mission over France in December 1941. He gives some brief background about himself and his flying career with the RAF's No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, but devotes most of the book to his escape attempts while a prisoner of the Germans. He was incarcerated at Stalag Luft III during the period of the "Great Escape."[2]
He was promoted to the rank of Wing Commander on 1 January 1949, and retired on 14 February 1959.[1] Calnan latterly lived in Zinal, Switzerland,[3] where he died in September 1981 at the age of 65.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b The Royal Air Force Retired List (1976)
- ^ Calnan, T.D. (January 1970). Free As a Running Fox. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0803727496.
- ^ Writers Directory: CALNAN, Daniel Thomas
- ^ Ancestry: Thomas Daniel Calnan in the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995