One of the heroes that inspired  the classic film The Great Escape has died at 97.

One of the few Allied Prisoners of war who actually survived the Great Escape plot in a German POW camp, Jack Harrison, died Friday at age 97 at Erskine veterans' home in Bishopton, Scotland. 

UK press reports he was the last survivor of the Great Escape plot.

Harrison was a Royal Air Force pilot who was shot down and captured in November 1942 on his very first mission, a raid on the Dutch port of Den Helder.

On a list of 200 prisoners designated to escape thorough the tunnels he was 98th.

Harrison helped dispose of the dirt excavated from three escape tunnels because he was one of the POW camps gardeners.

But on March 24, 1944, only 76 prisoners actually escaped before Nazi guards detected the breakout and raised the alarm. 

Of the three tunnels dug by prisoners, two had been discovered by guards and closed before the escape attempt.

Harrison was wearing his disguise, Siemens engineer overalls, but quickly changed back to prison garb before he was found out.

Only three men managed to escape safely.

Nazi fuehrer Adolf Hitler ordered the execution of 50 recaptured escapees, and 23 others were returned to custody.

The escape attempt was immortalized in a classic 1963 film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. 

"I guess it was a blessing in disguise I never made it through, as most were shot," Harrison said in an interview.

"But the main purpose wasn't just to escape. It was to outfox the Germans. It was a huge moral victory.

"It humiliated Hitler and gave the Nazis a bloody nose."