Alfie Fripp

Alfred George Fripp (13 June 1914 – 3 January 2013), known as "Alfie" or "Bill", He was shot down by the Luftwaffe in 1939 and held in twelve different prisoner of war camps, including Stalag Luft III, later the site of the "Great Escape". As the last of the "39ers" (those taken prisoner in the first year of the war), he was the oldest surviving and longest serving British POW.

Early life

Fripp was born in Alverstoke (Hampshire, England) on 13 June 1914. He was raised in Wimborne (Dorset England). He and six other airmen were allowed to record thirty-second Christmas messages to their families, which were broadcast on shortwave radio from Berlin; Fripp sent greetings to his mother and told his wife, "Although I shall not be at home with you in person, I shall be with you in spirit." His wife was staying at his mother's home in Wimborne.

Fripp was imprisoned at Stalag Luft III, the site of an escape attempt by an international group of prisoners of war in March 1944. A fictionalised version of the escape was depicted in the 1963 film, The Great Escape.

His nephew Robert Fripp is a guitarist and founding member of King Crimson.

Death Fripp died in hospital in Bournemouth on 3 January 2013 at the age of 98. He was the oldest surviving Second World War British prisoner of war. His wife had earlier died at the age of 84. BBC Radio 2 broadcast a tribute to Fripp, which ended with David Bowie's song "Heroes", which features the guitar playing of Fripp's nephew, Robert Fripp; in this show, the guitarist shared recorded interviews with his "Uncle Bill".