The "Medium Sized Man", "Medium Sized Officer", "Bruce", "Brucie" and "Der Kleine"
Born
(1915-06-07)7 June 1915[1] Hebburn, County Durham, England
Died
12 February 2000(2000-02-12) (aged 84) Richmond, Surrey, England
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch
Royal Air Force
Years of service
1935–1946
Rank
Flight Lieutenant
Service number
45272[2]
Unit
No. 9 Squadron No. 214 Squadron
Battles/wars
Second World War
Awards
Officer of the Order of the British Empire Military Cross Air Force Medal Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (Holy See)
Other work
College principal
Dominic Bruce, OBE, MC, AFM, KSG (7 June 1915 – 12 February 2000) was a British Royal Air Force officer, known as the "Medium Sized Man."[3][4] He has been described as "the most ingenious escaper" of the Second World War.[5] He made seventeen attempts at escaping from POW camps, including several attempts to escape from Colditz Castle, a castle that housed prisoners of war "deemed incorrigible".
Famed for his time in Colditz, Bruce also escaped from Spangenberg Castle and the Warburg POW camp. In Spangenberg Castle he escaped with the Swiss Red Cross Commission escape, it is also argued he co-innovated the wooden horse escape technique while serving time inside Spangenberg. In Warburg he escaped dressed as a British orderly in a fake workers party. Inside Colditz Castle, Bruce authored the Tea Chest Escape and also faced a firing squad for an attempted escape via a sewer tunnel. While held in solitude in Colditz Bruce, along with two other prisoners, became a key witness to the post war Musketoon commando raid trial.
For his exploits, Bruce was awarded the Military Cross and is the only known person to have received both the Military Cross and the Air Force Medal. Bruce has also featured prominently in books, sound recordings, TV and film. In his later years he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to education.
DominicBruce, OBE, MC, AFM, KSG (7 June 1915 – 12 February 2000) was a British Royal Air Force officer, known as the "Medium Sized Man." He has been...
Surrey. Gilbert White (1912–1977), brigadier, was born in Farnham. DominicBruce (1915–2000), flight lieutenant and Colditz escapee, lived for most of...
to take part in the escape. However, it has been argued that Flt Lt DominicBruce (the 'Medium Sized man') and Squadron Leader Peter Tunstall are the...
DominicBruce tried to prize open the front door of a downstairs flat. He asserted, Bruce had a key. Van Rood, looking innocent, stood near Bruce. Where...
Bruce Lorne Campbell (born June 22, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known best for his role as Ash Williams in Sam Raimi's Evil Dead horror...
Jacobite Queen and was still working on Loch Ness, Inverness, Scotland. DominicBruce, RAF officer and later a college principal who in WWII, escaped from...
War II. He is notable for being (along with the "Medium Sized Man", DominicBruce) one of the only two men who escaped from both Spangenberg and Colditz...
(first left sitting), F/Lt Vincent 'Bushy' Parker (sitting 3rd from left), Douglas Bader (sitting, center), and DominicBruce (sitting, furthest right)...
after Dominic's release from prison. Frontiere died on 21 December 2017, at the age of 86 in Tesuque, New Mexico, where he lived. Eder, Bruce. "Dominic Frontiere...
Katz Shane Helms Shawn Daivari TJ Wilson Executive personnel Ari Emanuel Bruce Prichard Dwayne Johnson Nick Khan Shawn Michaels Triple H William Regal...
Dave Peverett, singer and musician (Foghat) (born 1943) 12 February – DominicBruce, Air Force officer and escapee from Colditz in World War II (born 1915)...
Caitlyn Marie Jenner (born William Bruce Jenner; October 28, 1949; known as Bruce Jenner until 2015) is an American media personality and former Olympic...
Lieutenant DominicBruce RAF (known as The Medium Sized Man) giving him and others their names which were passed on to MI5 in London. Bruce was the last...
Rita Uchenna Nkem Dominic Nwaturuocha // (born 12 July 1975) is a Nigerian actress. In 2012, Rita Dominic won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best...
Commission escape occurred in 1941 at Schloss Spangenberg, involving DominicBruce, Eustace Newborn and Pete Tunstall, all prisoners of war (POWs), held...
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