Damien Lewis on Great Escapes and One Extraordinary Mission

At the height of WWII, the SAS stumbled upon the world’s first concentration camp found by the Allies. Unless it could be liberated, hundreds of inmates would be shipped into the heart of Nazi Germany. With audacity and lateral thinking to the fore, the SAS decided to hi-jack a train and steam it over 100 kilometres behind enemy lines, to take the camp by surprise and rescue the inmates. I’ll reveal the true story behind this incredible mission – perhaps the greatest escape story of WW2, and told in my book SAS The Great Train Raid. I’ll also speak about my newly published volume of equally incredible escape stories, SAS Great Escapes Five. I’ll showcase one man’s incredible survival epic in the Sahara Desert, after his patrol was ambushed and he was abandoned, presumed dead or captured. I’ll reveal a stunning escape story, as a captive condemned to torture and death at the hands of the Gestapo used astounding bluff and daring to make it back to Allied lines. Due to the nature of the unit, SAS patrols stood a very high chance of capture behind enemy lines, and SAS Great Escapes Five is packed full of similarly dramatic and gripping stories.

Sunday Times bestseller, Damien Lewis has established himself as one of the most popular WWII historians, selling several million copies of his books in 40 countries. For decades he worked as a war and conflict reporter for the world’s major broadcasters, reporting from across Africa, South America, the Middle and Far East and winning numerous awards. His books include the World War Two classics The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Hunting the Nazi Bomb, SAS Nazi Hunters, SAS Ghost Patrol, SAS Italian Job, SAS Band of Brothers, SAS Brothers in Arms, The Flame of Resistance on Josephine Baker, SAS Great Escapes 1, 2, 3 and 4 plus SAS Brothers in Arms, SAS Forged in Hell and SAS Daggers Drawn on Paddy Mayne & the SAS in WW2. SAS The Great Train Raid was published in October 2025 to great acclaim. Many of his books have been made, or are being made, into movies or TV drama series. In 2024 The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare came out as a major movie directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and distributed by Lionsgate in the US and Amazon worldwide where it is still available starring Henry Cavill (Superman), Alan Ritchson (Reacher), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) and Eiza González, amongst others. SAS Great Escapes 5 is Damien’s latest book.