- Publisher: Biteback
- Year: 2025
- Format: Hardback
- Pages: 350pp
- Illustrated: Yes
- Dimensions: 240x160mm
- Condition: New
- Weight: 0.5kg
- ISBN: 9781785908682
- Product code: 541953
The Madness of Courage
The Exceptional Achievements of Gilbert Insall
Tony Insall New Hardback Illustrated
Postscript summary
Forced to land his aircraft between the trenches on the front line in November 1915, Gilbert Insall endured intensive shelling and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts to repair his Vickers and return home; later in the war he tunnelled out of Heidelberg prison camp. Written by his great-nephew, this biography records his exploits and sheds light on the experiences of prisoners in the First World War.
Product information
Full publisher description
Group Captain Gilbert Insall holds
a unique record: he is the only person to have both won a Victoria Cross and
escaped successfully from a German prisoner of war camp during the First World
War. The Madness of Courage describes how, when forced down by engine
damage after destroying a German fighter, Gilbert ignored intensive shelling in
order to repair his aircraft and return to base. But a few weeks later, he was
shot down and captured. And thus began a distinguished career in prison
breaking.
He tunnelled out of Heidelberg
prison camp and later hid among boxes on a horse-drawn cart to get away from
Crefeld, each time being recaptured. Then, in Stroehen, Gilbert and several
companions concealed themselves in a claustrophobically small space they had
excavated under the floor of the bathhouse. They remained there for seventeen
hours, while a fruitless search for them was carried out, and eventually
emerged and successfully reached Holland.
Meticulously told by Gilbert's
great-nephew, the critically acclaimed intelligence historian Tony Insall, The
Madness of Courage is a gripping true story about a remarkable man at a
time before the Geneva Convention was signed, when conditions for prisoners of
war were often appalling and the British War Office did little to help
prisoners escape. Instead, Gilbert's family, assisted by French intelligence,
gave him the support he needed to break out of captivity in an extraordinary
feat of bravery, resilience and ingenuity.
a unique record: he is the only person to have both won a Victoria Cross and
escaped successfully from a German prisoner of war camp during the First World
War. The Madness of Courage describes how, when forced down by engine
damage after destroying a German fighter, Gilbert ignored intensive shelling in
order to repair his aircraft and return to base. But a few weeks later, he was
shot down and captured. And thus began a distinguished career in prison
breaking.
He tunnelled out of Heidelberg
prison camp and later hid among boxes on a horse-drawn cart to get away from
Crefeld, each time being recaptured. Then, in Stroehen, Gilbert and several
companions concealed themselves in a claustrophobically small space they had
excavated under the floor of the bathhouse. They remained there for seventeen
hours, while a fruitless search for them was carried out, and eventually
emerged and successfully reached Holland.
Meticulously told by Gilbert's
great-nephew, the critically acclaimed intelligence historian Tony Insall, The
Madness of Courage is a gripping true story about a remarkable man at a
time before the Geneva Convention was signed, when conditions for prisoners of
war were often appalling and the British War Office did little to help
prisoners escape. Instead, Gilbert's family, assisted by French intelligence,
gave him the support he needed to break out of captivity in an extraordinary
feat of bravery, resilience and ingenuity.
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Forced to land his aircraft between the trenches on the front line in November 1915, Gilbert Insall endured intensive shelling and was awarded the Victoria Cross for his efforts to repair his Vickers and return home; later in the war he tunnelled out of Heidelberg prison camp. Written by his great-nephew, this biography records his exploits and sheds light on the experiences of prisoners in the First World War.
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rrp_info:£25.00
productId:171229
bic_code:BGH, JWG
BGH, JWG
£25.00
Tony Insall
General
240x160mm
Biteback
Yes
Hardback
