ONE of Herefordshire's greatest war heroes has died aged 87.
Jack Best tasted national fame earlier this year when a television documentary chronicled a team of British prisoners who plotted to escape from Colditz by glider.
The war ended before the plan could be carried out but Mr Best and friends watched in amazement back in February as a model based on their designs took to the skies.
The Leominster man was also one of the 'ghost prisoners' of the 18th century castle, hiding in cupboards and under floorboards to confuse the German guards.
John William Best was born on August 6 1912 near Llangollen in North Wales and grew up on the family estate.
When the war began, he trained with the RAF before becoming a ferry pilot, flying across Africa.
It was during a flight in 1941 that he ran out of fuel and was captured by German soldiers.
After the war, he was awarded the military MBE and moved to Kenya before returning to Herefordshire to farm in 1962. Eventually he retired to his Ivington home with wife Elizabeth.
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