On May 16, Ted Barris will speak to the Newmarket Historical Society about his award-winning and bestselling book The Great Escape: A Canadian Story. On the night of March 24, 1944, eighty Commonwealth airmen crawled through a 360-foot-long tunnel, code-named “Harry.” Most slipped into the darkness of a pine forest beyond the wire of Stalag Luft III, a German POW compound near Sagan, Poland. The event became known as “The Great Escape.” What audiences who’ve seen/heard Ted Barris present this story have learned is that “The Great Escape” was in many ways “made in Canada.”

Ted Barris is an author, journalist and broadcaster, making regular appearances on CBC Radio and contributions to the National Post and Legion, Air Force and Zoomer magazines. He has authored 18 published, non-fiction books.

In 2011 he received the Canadian Minister of Veterans’ Affairs Commendation and in 2012 the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. His book The Great Escape: A Canadian Storyreceived the 2014 Libris Best Non-Fiction Book Award.