Dr Geoffrey C. Fletcher (Mathematics 1949, PhD 1953)

Provided by Jeanne Fletcher

Geoffrey Fletcher, whose wartime experience included involvement in the real story that formed the basis for the movie The Great Escape, has died after a short illness resulting from Alzheimer's. He was 84. Before Geoff became well known in academia for his work on the theory of electrons in crystalline solids, he served as a navigator in the RAF in World War II and became a POW at Stalag Luft III after his bomber was shot down over Germany.

Born in London to Original and Helen Fletcher, Geoff was educated at one of England's oldest schools, Christ's Hospital in Sussex, which was established in 1552; he finished at Lalimer Upper in London.

Geoff was called up in 1941, trained as a navigator in Southern Rhodesia and was posted to Bomber Command, where he became a flight lieutenant.

In 1943 he was filling in for a navigator on another crew when they were shot down; he parachuted from the burning Wellington and only sprained an ankle when he hit the ground. Geoff was captured and imprisoned with a group of Australians at Stalag Luft III. His time was largely spent transforming bed boards into props inside the tunnel that featured in The Great Escape, based on a book by the Australian author Paul BrickhiIl, a fighter pilot who was also a prisoner at Stalag Luft III at the time.
The character "Charlie" was loosely based on Geoff as he was number 117 in numerical order for those selected to escape. As it turned out, he was one of the fortunate ones; the first 50 to break free were caught and shot by the Germans and the tunnel dismantled. At the end of the war, the POWs were set free and had to make their own way home.

Many years later Geoff recounted this event in an amazing story entitled A Hard Week's Walk that won the 1999 Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop Memorial Award for writing a "true war experience".

After the war, Geoff embarked on a course of academic excellence that began at Imperial College, where he obtained his BSc with first-class honours in physics and mathematics. He then began research in solid state theory and received his PhD in 1953. He was a lecturer in applied mathematics at Exeter University where, in 1954, he met and married Jeanne Robbins.

In 1957 they embarked on a new life in Australia, where Geoff had been appointed senior lecturer in applied mathematics at Sydney University. During his eight years in that position he was able to continue his research work and formed close links with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and National Measurement Laboratory. He also travelled to Pittsburgh in the US to work at Westinghouse Electric Corporation, conducting experimental research on silicon carbide.

In 1965, Geoff was appointed Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at Monash University. He continued his research on electrons in solids, which resulted in 27 publications and culminated in his book The Electron Band Theory of Solids, which is regarded by physicists as a definitive text in this field. His publications continue to receive citations and in 1992 a symposium, Electrons in Solids: the 1990s and Beyond, was held in his honour.

Geoff made the most of his holidays, which enabled the family, which now included two daughters, to travel widely within Australia and overseas. In 1995 he and Jeanne returned to London for the fiftieth anniversary of the Ex-POW Association where, among other engagements, they attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace.

Geoff took early retirement in 1983 to pursue his other interests. He was a member of the Babirra Music Theatre Group for 20 years and sang with them enthusiastically, especially when they performed Gilbert and Sullivan.

Given his early 'woodwork' experience, Geoff helped produce the props for Babirra and spent many years making beautiful wooden toys for the Brotherhood of Saint Laurence Christmas toy appeal. He was also a life-long member of Amnesty International and always participated in a Walk Against Want.

He is survived by his wife, Jeanne, his daughters Joanna and Rebecca, and grandchildren.