Alan McInnes memoir
A German Holiday 1944-45
An autobiography by Alan of his time as a prisoner of war. He describes the night they were shot down over Germany. Also his training with his mainly Australian crew. Then he goes into more detail regarding the operation when he was shot down.
He describes their capture, mistreatment and interrogations at various locations. After interrogations at Dulag Luft they were sent to a transit camp in Frankfurt then on by train to Heydekrug, Stalag Luft VI. Although their camp section was new it was cramped and basic. He describes camp life in detail. As the Russians got closer they were sent by train to an Army camp at Thorn. He read a copy of NCO education in the camp. These courses were extremely popular and supported by text books sent from the UK. Exams were sat and papers sent to the UK for marking. At Thorn they marched to Stammlager 357 but not for long. They then marched back to the railway and were sent to Fallingbostel. He describes the rail journey in detail, then in greater detail he describes camp life.
Later he was moved to an officer's camp at Eichstadt. This turned out to be an Army camp which refused them and they were sent to Sagan. He stayed there for a short time then was moved to Stalag Luft 3, then 111A. As the Russians neared they moved again. After a couple of days waiting in trucks they returned to their camp. The railway system was breaking down as the end of the war neared.
After the Russians reached them they were allowed out of the camp but still remained billeted there. He writes about his impressions of the Russians.
His journey home was delayed by rain that did not allow aircraft to fly.
His story ends with his retelling of the night his aircraft was shot down, his night in Brussels and his return to England.
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85 printed sheets
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Book 5, Return to UK
Fifth and final diary kept by David Geach chronicling his time training and on operations. He writes about his return from Canada on the Queen Elizabeth then his training in England which began with arriving at the Posting Centre in Pannal Ash, Harrogate. He was then posted to AFU Bobbington, training on Ansons. From there he went to O.T.U. Hixon and satellite station Seighford training on Wellingtons. He then went to Flying Conversion Unit Woolfox Lodge to train on Stirlings. Once training was complete he was posted to RAF Downham Market on 623 Squadron flying Stirlings on operations. When 623 Stirling squadron was disbanded he was transferred on to Lancasters. He was posted to Flying Conversion Unit 1678 at RAF Waterbeach to train on the Lancaster and then on to RAF Witchford where he undertook operations over Germany, including a number on Berlin. Covers the period 17 March 1943 to 17 February 1944.
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One handwritten diary
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Interview with Hubert Draegert
Hubert Draegert remembers his wartime experiences, first in Berlin and then as an evacuee at his uncle’s farm near Wroclaw. He mentions the bombing of the Berlin State Opera and the repeated efforts made to rebuild the gutted building. He remembers the 3 February 1945 bombing, stressing how his neighbourhood was not heavily damaged. He tells of his brother who was drafted as a Luftwaffenhelfer with all his classmates. As a radio operator, his brother listened to the BBC and was therefore always up-to-date on the course of war. Herr Draegert mentions various episodes of his own life as an evacuee: Polish foreign workers; his mother digging trenches as the Russians approached; being reproached by a police officer for spreading defeatist stories at school. He remembers collecting bomb fragments and strips of tinfoil window so as to trade them with other children. He mentions his father working in a Jewish bank before being drafted into the Navy in 1943 and his father's subsequent time as a prisoner of war near Leeds, where he was treated humanely. Hubert Draegert reminisces about the time spent in the shelter with his mum, stressing the sense of safety it provided. He describes the effects of incendiaries on civilians and emphasises how the bombing didn’t turn the population against the regime and were therefore a failure, although factories and transport hubs were, in his eyes, legitimate targets. He describes blackout measures; food rationing; firefighting with domestic implements; and the opportunistic behaviour of civilians. He recollects British soldiers impounding pianos. He reflects on the bombing war, stressing the gap between scholarly interpretations and eyewitness accounts. He emphasises that targets were not always chosen according military priorities but rather the Allies’ post-war agenda.
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2018-02-09
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01:13:00 audio recording
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Pilot Officer Scheidhauer - The Forced Landing and "The Great Escape"
A memoir of Bernard Scheidauer who was shot down over France but crashed on Jersey. He was a prisoner at Stalag Luft 3 and was involved in the tunnels used during The Great Escape.
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Six printed sheets
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SAnkersonR[Ser#-DoB]v10006
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Telegrams Referring to the mass escape
Two telegrams with details of the escape from Stalag Luft III.
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1944-04
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Two typewritten sheets
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SAnkersonR[Ser#-DoB]v10011-0003
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Wrocław [place]
Wroclaw; Breslau; Vrotslav; Wroslaw
This page is an entry point for a place. Please use the links below to see all relevant documents available in the Archive.