Remembering a Durban hero: The story of lieutenant McGarr

IOL News

11 hours ago

Lieutenant Clement A. N. McGarr was a true South African hero from Durban who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War II.
Image: Supplied / Taz
During the Second World War, countless South Africans answered the call to rescue a world in peril, leaving behind their families, homes, and futures. Thousands of miles from home, they confronted the forces of tyranny - on land, at sea, and in the air.
They did so not for recognition or reward, but to defend the ideals of freedom, democracy, and justice. In total, over 334,000 South Africans served across the globe, and more than 11,000 were killed. Among the young men who went off to war but never returned was Lieutenant Clement Aldwyn Neville McGarr.
McGarr was born on 24 November 1917 in Johannesburg and moved with his family to Durban in 1923. He loved the city deeply and began his schooling there.
At the age of twelve, he was struck by polio and became paralysed from the waist down. But McGarr refused to give up. Through determination and relentless effort, he recovered the use of his legs and attended Glenwood High School, where he excelled academically and athletically. He was a proud member of the school's First XV rugby team, and one of his greatest passions was riding motorcycles.
After completing his studies, McGarr worked in the laboratories of Lever Brothers, and later joined the Treasury Department of Durban Corporation.
In May 1940, as the war intensified, McGarr enlisted in the South African Air Force (SAAF). Motivated by a sense of duty and love for his country, he trained diligently to become a pilot. On 26 April 1941, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and awarded his pilot's brevet. Soon after, he was posted to Egypt and, in October 1941, joined No. 2 Squadron SAAF, flying Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk fighters over the Libya–Egypt frontier.
On 6 October 1941, while on patrol over the Egyptian desert, McGarr's squadron was intercepted by German fighters. During the fierce aerial combat, his aircraft was hit, and he was forced to bail out. He landed in the desert with only one shoe - the other lost mid-air - and wandered for three days without food or water before being captured by the German Afrika Korps. After a brief internment in Libya, he was sent to Germany and imprisoned at Stalag Luft III.
There, McGarr immediately volunteered to join one of the most daring prisoner-of-war operations of the war: The Great Escape. The plan aimed to enable up to 200 Allied prisoners tunnel out of the camp, not only to free them but also to disrupt German operations by forcing them to divert resources. McGarr's role was to oversee security teams - watching for guards and preventing the tunnels from being discovered.
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A picture of McGarr's grave at the Poznań Old Garrison Cemetery in Poland.
Image: Paul
On the night of 24–25 March 1944, McGarr was among the 76 men who escaped. This extraordinary feat was later immortalised in Paul Brickhill's 1950 book The Great Escape and made famous globally by the 1963 film adaptation, starring Steve McQueen. While dramatised, the film brought long-overdue recognition to the real heroes behind the escape, including McGarr.
Following the escape, German forces launched a massive manhunt. McGarr braved freezing temperatures and remained on the run for a short time, but he was eventually recaptured by German forces and taken to Görlitz prison. Enraged by the escape, Adolf Hitler ordered the Gestapo to execute 50 of the recaptured prisoners - an act in direct violation of the Geneva Convention.
On 6 April 1944, a truck arrived at Görlitz. Six names were called. One of them was Lieutenant Clement McGarr. Alongside his fellow escapees, he was taken into Poland, ordered off the truck and executed. He was just 26 years old - with so much life ahead, and so much to give.
Cremated by the Gestapo, McGarr's ashes were initially interred at Sagan. After the war, they were exhumed and re-interred at the Poznań Old Garrison Cemetery in Poland. A beautiful headstone marks his grave - a quiet and eternal reminder of his heroism and sacrifice.
The story of Lieutenant Clement A. N. McGarr is one that goes beyond a single life; it echoes the stories of countless South Africans who fought and died for a better world. Each had a name, a voice, a life - that deserves to be remembered.
It is our solemn duty to honour their memory, to uphold the values they fought for, and to ensure the world never forgets the brave young souls who gave everything they had for everything we have today.