{"product_id":"the-madness-of-courage-the-exceptional-achievements-of-gilbert-insall","title":"The Madness of Courage: The Exceptional Achievements of Gilbert Insall","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGroup Captain Gilbert Insall holds\na unique record: he is the only person to have both won a Victoria Cross and\nescaped successfully from a German prisoner of war camp during the First World\nWar. \u003ci\u003eThe Madness of Courage \u003c\/i\u003edescribes how, when forced down by engine\ndamage after destroying a German fighter, Gilbert ignored intensive shelling in\norder to repair his aircraft and return to base. But a few weeks later, he was\nshot down and captured. And thus began a distinguished career in prison\nbreaking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe tunnelled out of Heidelberg\nprison camp and later hid among boxes on a horse-drawn cart to get away from\nCrefeld, each time being recaptured. Then, in Stroehen, Gilbert and several\ncompanions concealed themselves in a claustrophobically small space they had\nexcavated under the floor of the bathhouse. They remained there for seventeen\nhours, while a fruitless search for them was carried out, and eventually\nemerged and successfully reached Holland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMeticulously told by Gilbert's\ngreat-nephew, the critically acclaimed intelligence historian Tony Insall, \u003ci\u003eThe\nMadness of Courage \u003c\/i\u003eis a gripping true story about a remarkable man at a\ntime before the Geneva Convention was signed, when conditions for prisoners of\nwar were often appalling and the British War Office did little to help\nprisoners escape. Instead, Gilbert's family, assisted by French intelligence,\ngave him the support he needed to break out of captivity in an extraordinary\nfeat of bravery, resilience and ingenuity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardback | 352 pages | Published January 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Biteback Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":63956795621725,"sku":"9781785908682","price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0978\/3459\/8749\/files\/9781785908682.jpg?v=1774263755","url":"https:\/\/www.thebookmark.ie\/products\/the-madness-of-courage-the-exceptional-achievements-of-gilbert-insall","provider":"The Bookmark ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}