Magic at War

Part 2 of a three-part blog telling the compelling story of John Casson, magician, navy pilot, and Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war. His part in The Great Escape and how magic and performing helped him and others survive captivity. In this part, we look at Casson's capture and his time at Dulag Luft (Oberursel), where he  becomes  a coder and where the origins of  the Great Escape  were laid ... A failed attack and a downed aircraft On 14 June 1940, the British attacked the German warship   Scharnhorst  from the air . The attack failed. There were too few Skuas dive-bombers, with too little cover, facing too much opposition and with inadequate coordination.  The event came to be known as Black Thursday, one of the most disastrous days in the Fleet Air Arm's history. Only seven of fifteen aircraft made it back . The fate of the leading aircraft, flown by Lieutenant Commander John Casson, was in doubt. "When seven out of our aircraft had managed to g...

In my longest blog so far, the compelling story of John Casson, magician, navy pilot, and Stalag Luft III prisoner-of-war. His part in The Great Escape and how magic and performing helped him and others survive captivity ... Early life Born in 1909, John Casson was the eldest son of Lewis Casson and Sybil Thorndike. His father was an English actor and theatre director, who earned a Military Cross in World War One. Sybil Thorndike was a legendary English actress. Both parents enjoyed tremendous success as dramatic actors, with Lewis knighted and Sybil becoming a dame for their services to the arts. During World War Two, Lewis Casson served as president of the British Actors' Equity Association and drama director for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (C.E.M.A., later to become the Arts Council). In sum, John Casson came from strong acting stock. But, he showed no interest in acting or performing until, a ged 20, when his uncle taught him a few simple magic trick...