The pilot who WASN'T over the White Cliffs of Dover: How Hurricane airman spent the war in Nazi PoW camp after bailing out while low on fuel when he mistook glare from Channel Island greenhouses for safety of iconic coast Sergeant Robert Stirling was part of the Royal Air Force's 87 Squadron Lost his bearings while chasing a German bomber towards France in April 1941 While attempting to return to Exeter base, he parachuted on to island of Lihou Spent night with a Guernsey family before handing himself in to Nazi authorities