A SMALL plane, made of wood and cotton, took to the skies over Hampshire last week proving beyond doubt that one of the most ingenious wartime escape plans could have provided a ticket to freedom.

Watched by seven Colditz veterans and the SAS Lasham team who built it, the replica of a glider, built in an attic-hideaway inside the prisoner-of-war camp, touched down safely at RAF Odiham, following a maiden flight which, if over half a century late, was nonetheless triumphant.

A full version of this story will be found in the Alton Herald of February 11, 2000.