h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You'll enjoy this. In the early part of the 20th century, a wee lad was born in Scotland. His parents were from Lithuania. He became a miner, but he became the best safe-blower in history.

Who's safe did he blow?

A better question might be "who's safe did he not blow?"

Mussolini's. Herman Goering's. Erwin Rommel's.

Erwin bloody Rommel's!

He also broke out of a prison in Scotland, which nobody had ever escaped from before, four or five times.

After the war he was banged up again, and someone summed it up:

He had an uncontrollable urge to break into whatever he was outside of, and break out of whatever he was inside of.

Erwin bloody Rommel!

Peterhead's a fortress, its walls are thick and stout
But it couldn't keep wee Johnny in, if he felt like walkin' out!

I saw a documentary about this bloke... I think it was him, a few months ago. If it's the same man you're talking about he became a double... or triple agent for Germany and the UK, and then somehow spent the final days of the war living it up in occupied Norway, where he also became part of the Norwegian resistance while still cosying up to the German High Command. If only I could remember his name...

It all sounds to good to be true, doesn't it? It triggers my bullshit detector.

Aha! Eddie Chapman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Chapman

No! It wasn't him. And it wasn't Otto Scorzeny either.

"In the Big Rock Candy Mountains the jails are made of tin
And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in
There ain't no short handled shovels, no axes saws or picks
I'm a goin to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains"