In Their Footsteps

Flight Lieutenant Bill Healey (1x7)

Air date: Jun 19, 2011

Gathered around the television one afternoon, the Healey family was watching the classic Steve Mc Queen film, The Great Escape – in much the same way millions have enjoyed it. But this afternoon, in this family, it would be different. Tony Healey was trying to make out what his grandfather, Bill was muttering under his breath. Tony finally asked what was wrong. “It wasn’t anything like that,” Bill replied. “How do you know?” It was a fair enough question and his grandfather’s response would almost knock Tony off the couch. “I was on the Escape Committee!” And so began Toni’s journey of discovery into just exactly what his grandfather did during the war. Aircrafts don’t come anymore iconic than the Lancaster Bomber, and the airmen who flew them were the celebrities of WWII. As a navigator in Bomber Command, Bill Healey and his crew were so highly skilled they were chosen for the elite Path Finder Force, guiding hundreds of Bomber Command aircraft over the night skies of Germany. It was crucial, dangerous work from which many never returned. After more than 30 successful operations, Bill’s Lancaster was shot down. The crew parachuted into the German countryside, and were soon captured and interned as prisoners of war. Bill was sent to Stalag Luft III, a camp that would go down in the history books for the daring escapes that took place there. However, these escapes were rarely successful and often ended in tragedy. Tony Healey is an engineer who lives with his wife and three kids on the New South Wales south coast. He wants to know exactly what his grandfather went through. Tony will discover a world of daring flying missions, survival in the face of hardship and loneliness, and a love story struggling to survive the tyranny of time and distance.