James Plant was a bomber pilot for the Royal Air Force during World War II. He was shot down and detained as a prisoner of war for five wars until his liberation on May 2, 1945 by Allied forces.

Plant was born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1914 to English parents. When World War II was imminent, Plant wanted to enlist with the Canadian Royal Air Force, but as there were no openings, he decided to enlist in the Royal Air Force. He went to England in 1937, completed his training, and received his commission; the war broke out shortly thereafter. During his service, Plant flew bombing missions over Europe in a Whitley aircraft. On June 20, 1940, Plant and copilot George Walker had completed a bombing run on the Kurtz Marshalling Yard but had one live bomb left on board. Returning to the target to drop the remaining bomb, they were hit and forced to bail out of their aircraft. Both men were captured by German forces. During his five-year internment, Plant was held at several different prisoner-of-war camps, including Stalag Luft I and Stalag Luft III. He participated in tunneling efforts in attempts to escape. Plant, who had become known as "Pappy" to his fellow POWs, was liberated on May 2, 1945 by Allied forces.

Returning to England, Plant transferred to the RCAF in order to return to Canada. He returned home in June 1945. Mildred, a nurse whom Plant had met prior to the war and who had been working in Africa, also returned to Canada around this time. They were married on October 9, 1945 and settled in Calgary. The couple had two children. Plant died in 2007.