Aged 14 and a boarder at the Shore school in Sydney, he picked up a copy of Paul Brickhall's book The Great Escape (later to become a blockbuster Hollywood movie starring Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson).

"I was surprised and excited to find Flight Lieutenant Reginald 'Rusty' Kierath listed among the 76 men who got away from a supposedly escape-proof camp right under the noses of the German guards," Peter said.

"It was amazing because my father and grandmother had never talked about what had happened to their brother and son."

Young Peter asked his family questions but there were not a lot of answers.

"I don't think the story was deliberately kept a secret," he said.

"It was more that our family had a stiff upper lip attitude and didn't want to dwell on something that had been terribly distressing.

"At that time, I don't think my parents or grandmother fully understood what had happened to Reg. They had been told he had been shot while trying to escape. But the full extent of the horror was not revealed until records were released years later."

Peter said his uncle and 49 other escapees from Stalag Luft III were murdered on the personal instruction of Adolf Hitler.

Eighteen of the executioners who followed the order were brought before an English military tribunal in Hamburg. Fourteen were sentenced to death, the rest received heavy prison sentences.

Peter said his uncle was born at Narromine in February 15, 1915.

Educated at Shore in Sydney, he worked in a bank before joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1939.

Reg completed his training in Rhodesia and after gaining his wings was posted to the 33 squadron Royal Air Force.

"Australia did not have squadrons in North Africa at that time and there was a lot of unrest among Australian pilots who objected to the formality the British insisted on," Peter said.

"When Australia formed the 45 squadron Reg was called over due to the need for pilots with battle experience.

"He did two full tours before returning to Rhodesia as an instructor. After about six months he transferred back to 45 squadron."

On April 23, 1945 Reg was flying with a group of fighters on an anti-shipping strike off Cap Bon (in north-eastern Tunisia) when he received heavy anti-aircraft fire from a German vessel.

"He had to bail out and landed in the sea," Peter said.

"A few hours later he was taken prisoner by the Germans. After spending time in hospital he was transported to Stalag Luft III."

The camp was in the German province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan (now Zagan in Poland).

The sandy soil had little structural strength but that didn't stop the prisoners from digging three tunnels, named Tom, Dick and Harry. A fourth tunnel, named George, was discovered after the war.

Peter has experienced the claustrophobic feeling in a replica tunnel at the museum at Zagan.

"I don't know how they managed to work for long periods in such a confined space," he said.

"Light was provided by oil lamps and the men had to be very quiet because the Germans had placed microphones around the boundary of the camp to detect escape attempts.

"Getting rid of the bright yellow sand from the tunnel was a tremendous challenge because the top soil was a dark grey colour."

Construction of the 10 metre-deep, 11-metre-long tunnel and preparation of civilian clothes and forged documents occupied 600 men for more than a year.

The escape took place on the night of March 24-25, 1944.

"It was very cold and when they broke through to the surface a great puff of steam went up into the air due to the heat generated by the large number of men crowded into the tunnel," Peter said.

"Reg was about the 33rd POW out. He stayed with 11 other men, including Squadron Leader John 'Willy' Williams who had been a school friend at Shore.

"The 12 were known in camp as 'The Hard Arses'. They avoided the main town and headed to a smaller village to catch a train.

"Flight Officer Jerzy Mondshein, who spoke flawless German, purchased the rail tickets to get out of the area.

"When the 12 broke into smaller groups Reg stayed with Willy, Jerzy and a flight lieutenant named Leslie Bull.

"They reached the mountainous border of German-occupied Czechoslovakia, trudging through the last 20 metres in waist-deep snow."

Intercepted by a German alpine patrol, they were detained by the Gestapo before being executed in the woods near the city of Most.

"Their bodies were brought back to Most for cremation," Peter said.

"Reg and the other escapees from Stalag Luft III should have been re-interred in accordance with the rules of the Geneva convention."

Peter has retraced his uncle's escape journey during visits to the POW camp, memorials, museums, and the site where Reg and his mates caught the train.

"I tried to walk where they walked and the snow was up over my knees," he said.

"They were incredibly strong to push through sub-zero conditions without any proper footwear or cold weather equipment."

Peter treasures Reg's log book, letters and photographs.

"I think of my uncle as a bloke who was doing his duty to the best of his ability," he said.

"Reg has had a big impact on my life and driven my interest in military history. I have spent years trying to find out the full story of the escape. "It is fairly well cleared up now. We know all the details of what happened to the four blokes at Most thanks to research undertaken by Michal Holy, a Czech commercial pilot with a long standing interest in aviation history."

Michal made extraordinary efforts to contact family members around the world so they could attend the March 24, 2012 unveiling of the permanent memorial at Most honouring Reg, Willy, Jerzy and Leslie.

"Attending the ceremony was very emotional. It is one of the most difficult things I have done," Peter said.