Editing Donald Pleasence (section)

==Second World War==
In December 1939, Pleasence initially refused [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|conscription]] into the [[British Armed Forces]], registering as a [[conscientious objector]], but changed his stance in autumn 1940, after the attacks upon London by the [[Luftwaffe]], and volunteered with the [[Royal Air Force]].<ref>Obituary for D. Pleasence, 'The Independent', 3 February 1995.</ref> He served as aircraft [[Radio operator|wireless-operator]] with [[No. 166 Squadron RAF|No. 166 Squadron]] in [[RAF Bomber Command|Bomber Command]], with which he flew almost sixty raids against the [[Axis powers|Axis Powers]] over [[German-occupied Europe|occupied Europe]].

On 31 August 1944, his [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] NE112 was shot down during an attack on [[Agenville|Agenville, France]],<ref name="lost12715">{{Cite web |url=http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=12715 |title=Record for Lancaster NE112 on ''lostaircraft.com'' |access-date=29 November 2014 |archive-date=6 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106023723/http://www.lostaircraft.com/database.php?mode=viewentry&e=12715 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Chorley, W.R. (1997), ''Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War, Volume 5: 1944; p 407''. Midland Counties Publications, UK. {{ISBN|0-904597-91-1}}.</ref> and he was captured and imprisoned in the German prisoner-of-war camp [[Stalag Luft I]]. Pleasence produced and acted in many plays for the entertainment of his fellow captives. Years later, he used his experiences in POW experiences in his role in [[The Great Escape (film)|''The Great Escape'']].

After the war and his release, he was discharged from the RAF in 1946.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-donald-pleasence-1571295.html |title=OBITUARIES : Donald Pleasence {{!}} The Independent<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=[[Independent.co.uk]] |date=3 February 1995 |access-date=27 October 2021 |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027222754/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaries-donald-pleasence-1571295.html |url-status=live }}</ref>