I found a story on the WWII Late Arrivals Club — ostensibly was largely allied pilots who went down in North Africa, who often escaped capture through the help of Arabs and other locals. (Another article I saw said it included maybe 500 pilots total in the Second World War.)
Went to a guy’s wake in my neigbourhood recently after he* died at 104, and on his wall was a framed certificate that said:
LATE ARRIVALS CLUB
Turned out only WWII pilots shot down behind enemy lines who managed to escape got a certificate.
It was a very, very small club.
(*RIP Trevor Anderson)
