Bertram James

Bertram Arthur "Jimmy" James, MC (17 April 1915 – 18 January 2008) was a British survivor of The Great Escape. He was an officer of the Royal Air Force, ultimately reaching (some years after the Great Escape) the rank of Squadron Leader.

Early life James was born in India, the son of a tea-planter, Herbert Mark James and his wife Elizabeth Isabella Loosemore. James was educated at The King's School, Canterbury. Returning to London following his mother's death, James and his father started a tea importing business that suffered from the 1930s economic downturn and ultimately failed. Soon after, his father died of pneumonia which left Jimmy alone. Recalling that he had relatives in the United States, he worked his passage on a coal ship across the Atlantic, often acting as pilot due to the drunken nature of the crew. Upon arrival, he soon realised that his relatives were also suffering due to the Great Depression that was sweeping across the US. He thus decided to head north. With little more than the clothes he wore, Jimmy rode the cattle cars across the plains of middle America. This journey left a deep and enduring impact upon the young Jimmy and, after hooking up with a small band of hobos, he learnt to live as an itinerant. Eventually, Jimmy arrived in Canada, again to meet up with cousins. Work was scarce, but he managed to find a job acting as a security guard in a local bank. "They gave me a gun and told me to watch the door. If anyone came through it, I was to shoot them", Jimmy recalled to his great friend, Howard Tuck. He worked in British Columbia from 1934 until volunteering for pilot training with the RAF in 1939 after seeing a recruiting poster in Vancouver. Taking another ship back to the UK, Jimmy soon found himself at the Air Force selection board in London before heading off for IOT (initial officer training).

Military career James was initially commissioned as an acting pilot officer, and was promoted to pilot officer (on probation) on 9 December 1939. That rank was confirmed on 28 February 1941 (back-dated to 1 May 1940) when he was also promoted to war substantive flying officer with effect from 9 December 1940.

James was posted to No. 9 Squadron RAF at RAF Honington in April 1940 after completing his flying training. for his repeated escape attempts. The citation for his MC was published in a supplement to the London Gazette of 14 May 1946 (dated 17 May 1946) and read:

Post-war RAF career After the war, James was initially transferred to the reserve, but retained on active service, but was later granted a regular commission in the RAF (though in a non-flying role). On 9 December 1952, he transferred to the RAF Regiment, and retired as a squadron leader on 11 June 1958.

Later life James married shortly after the war to a nurse, Madge, he met in an Officers Club at Vlotho in Germany. Their honeymoon was in itself a remarkable journey as they drove to the far tip of Norway in a former German Army Volkswagen Beetle. Their marriage lasted for 61 years until his death.

His funeral was held at St Peter's Catholic Church, Ludlow on 31 January 2008. A party of RAF Regiment gunners from RAF Honington served as pallbearers. Other personnel from the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering at Cosford were also present, as was Air Commodore Bob McAlpine, a former CO of No. 9 Squadron. Hundreds of local people from Ludlow lined the procession route to pay their respects to the great war hero as four Tornado GR4s of 9 Squadron (Jimmy's former squadron) performed a flypast in the missing man formation. Jimmy James wrote an excellent account of his time as a prisoner of war in his book, Moonless Night.