With a longer run-up and using a sand bunker to get lift, he doubled the height. An improvement, but still short of what was needed. In case you’re a golfer, by the way, and have felt guilty about leaving a divot or two, imagine what the scrambler tyres of a 297lb motorbike will do to a groomed fairway.

Colley made some adjustments to the bike, changed the foot rests, strengthened the handlebars and tweaked the engine. By increasing the speed of the run-up and using a wooden ramp built into the bunker, he got close to the height of the fence. After a few more practice runs, he aimed the bike down the fairway and gunned the engine, ready for the final attempt.

Now it’s one thing hurdling string, and quite another jumping a stack of solid tree trunks. Wearing only a McQueen-style T-shirt and fatigue pants, with no padding or body armour, Colley later admitted he was terrified. “I looked at this fence as it rushed towards me and I thought, ‘I’ll either clear it completely or I’ll hit my head on a log, in which case it’ll be curtains’.”

With the cameras rolling (see above), Colley raced towards the fence, flat out in second gear. Up the ramp he roared and into the blue winter sky, appearing to hover like a giant snowflake, before coming down on the other side with a thump.

It was a heart-warming moment. Okay, so it wasn’t a perfect reconstruction. We didn’t, for example, re-enact the bit where McQueen crashes into the second fence and surrenders to the pursuing Germans. But we got as close as we could. As they say in the title credits on The Great Escape: “Although time and place have been compressed, every detail is the way it really happened.”

Dad was happiest on that chase

Chad McQueen was less than two years old when his father started filming The Great Escape, but sometimes it feels like only yesterday, writes Nick Rufford.

“My dad didn’t talk about any of his films much,” says Chad, 48, speaking at his home in Palm Desert, California, “but the way his work was on The Great Escape, with the motorcycles and a great chase scene, I think he was probably never happier.

“He did a lot of his own stunt work. And I think he could have done the Great Escape jump himself. I heard that he tried, but insurance is a funny thing when you’re doing a big movie. They hired Bud to have him take the risks.

“I think the jump was an unbelievable achievement. I mean, if you look at it today you still go, ‘Wow!’ It was just way ahead of its time and it seemed to be a pattern in my dad’s film career. What a great film it is, my kids watch it — it stands up well.

“Look at the star power that was in there: James Coburn, Garner, my dad, Charles Bronson. They don’t make ’em like that any more.

“My dad loved his bikes and I learnt to ride at age six. It was always a full motorcycle weekend around the McQueen household and racing would be on Sunday. I’ve kept some of my dad’s motorcycles. But I think when my dad passed away, he had 138 of them and that’s a lot of flat tyres and dead batteries, and guess who had to take care of them. I’ve kept some Indians, some Triumphs, some Harleys. I’ve got enough to keep me happy for a few years.”