Tim Hughes escapes for the evening to join film night at The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock

It is 53 years since World War II epic The Great Escape was released – and while other movies of the time have grown dated, this classic tale of daring-do, endurance and courage in the face of overwhelming adversity has solidly stood the test of time.

It also happens to be true – being based on Paul Brickhill's 1950 first-hand account of the mass escape of British and Commonwealth aircrew on the night of March 24 1944 from the Luftwaffe-run Stalag Luft III near the town of Sagan in Lower Silesia (in present day Poland).

Clocking in at just under three hours it is a marathon, backside-numbing watch, usually reserved for lazy Christmas or Boxing Day afternoons.

It remains, however, a gripping tale – brilliantly acted by a Who's Who of 60s cinema, with standout performances by Richard Attenborough, Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence and James Coburn. And screened in the Soldiers of Oxfordshire (SOFO) Museum, with its adjacent collection of weaponry and military equipment, it was a perfect choice for the museum's summer series of film nights – which has previously seen screenings of such classics as Casablanca and The Dam Busters.

It was introduced by a short but informative talk by SOFO's resident PoW expert John Sheldon, who revealed the real story behind the film (which plays a little fast and loose with real events and personalities) is as fascinating as any Boy's Own adventure – not least the story of Oxfordshire's own Great Escaper, RAF Flight-Lieutenant Bernard 'Pop' Green RAFVR, MC.

'Pop' Green was a hero of the First World War, serving on the Western Front with the 1st Bucks Battalion and earning the Military Cross. Shot down on his first mission as an air gunner in the Second World War, he was captured and imprisoned in Stalag Luft III, and was the 33rd man out of tunnel 'Harry', aged 57 – the oldest of the escapees.

He was recaptured and returned to the camp. He was relatively fortunate; 50 of his fellow escapees were murdered, on direct orders from Hitler, as the film depicts.

'Pop' formed the model for Donald Pleasence's 'forger' character in the film, though, in reality, Pop was neither a forger nor practically blind like Pleasence's tragic movie character – shot in the chest after his escape plane crash lands.

Despite such liberties with the truth, the film is a classic, as is the museum's next showing, on September 28: Les Femmes de l'Ombre – the real life story of SOE agent Lisé de Baissac, starring Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu and Moritz Bleibtreu.

A fabulous evening out, SOFO's film nights are more than just a guilty pleasure for us action-loving big kids – they are a real education.

TIM HUGHES    5/5