How did prisoners dispose of tunnel sand?

Shaking it from bags hidden in their trousers

How did diggers move along the tunnel?

On small trolleys on wooden rails

The Great Escape Quiz: Tom, Dick and Harry Tunnels

A 1963 film retold a real breakout from a German prisoner-of-war camp, and this The Great Escape quiz separates movie moments from history. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on Stalag Luft III, the tunnels Tom, Dick and Harry, Roger Bushell, sand-dispersing penguins, the trolley railway, Steve McQueen's motorcycle jump, Paul Brickhill's book, Elmer Bernstein's theme and the tragic outcome.

Start the Great Escape Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Camp
Which camp was the real escape from?
Tunnels
What were the three tunnels called?
Used
Which tunnel was used in the March 1944 escape?
Leader
Who masterminded the real escape?
Sand
How did prisoners dispose of tunnel sand?
Trolley
How did diggers move along the tunnel?
Escaped
How many men escaped through the tunnel?
Director
Who directed the 1963 film?
Jump
Which star is famous for the film's motorcycle scenes?
Book
Whose book inspired the film?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which camp was the real escape from?
Answer: Stalag Luft III
It held captured airmen.
Q2: What were the three tunnels called?
Answer: Tom, Dick and Harry
Only one was used for the escape.
Q3: Which tunnel was used in the March 1944 escape?
Answer: Harry
Tom was discovered earlier.
Q4: Who masterminded the real escape?
Answer: Roger Bushell
He was known as Big X.
Q5: How did prisoners dispose of tunnel sand?
Answer: Shaking it from bags hidden in their trousers
They were nicknamed penguins.
Q6: How did diggers move along the tunnel?
Answer: On small trolleys on wooden rails
Ropes pulled them along.
Q7: How many men escaped through the tunnel?
Answer: 76
Only three reached safety.
Q8: Who directed the 1963 film?
Answer: John Sturges
It had an all-star cast.
Q9: Which star is famous for the film's motorcycle scenes?
Answer: Steve McQueen
Stuntman Bud Ekins did the big jump.
Q10: Whose book inspired the film?
Answer: Paul Brickhill's
He had been a prisoner at the camp.

The Great Escape Quiz – Tom, Dick and Harry Tunnels

The Great Escape is a 1963 film directed by John Sturges, based on Paul Brickhill's book about a real escape from Stalag Luft III, a German camp for captured airmen. The plan was masterminded by Roger Bushell, known as Big X.

Prisoners dug three tunnels, Tom, Dick and Harry, moving along them on small trolleys and hiding sand by shaking it from bags in their trousers, earning the nickname penguins. On the night of March 24 to 25, 1944, 76 men escaped through Harry.

Only three reached safety, and 50 recaptured men were executed. The film, with Steve McQueen's motorcycle scenes and Elmer Bernstein's theme, became a classic, though it changed many details.

What This Quiz Teaches

History and film fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the escape happened
How the tunnels worked
Who led it
What happened to escapees
How the film differs

Did You Know?

Bed boards were used to shore up the tunnels.
Forgers made fake travel papers.
The camp is in modern-day Poland.
Richard Attenborough played the Bushell-like character.
The film often airs on British TV at holidays.