1
25
31
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/2198/40172/BMcInnesAMcInnesAv1.2.pdf
039409582741300cd52a4251b3dd8e46
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association
Description
An account of the resource
97 items. The collection concerns Royal Air Force ex-Prisoner of War Association and contains items including drawings by the artist Ley Kenyon.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Robert Ankerson and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018-01-29
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RAF ex POW As Collection
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Alan McInnes memoir
A German Holiday 1944-45
Description
An account of the resource
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.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Alan McInnes
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Magdeburg
Australia
Great Britain
England--Lichfield
Poland--Szczecin
Germany--Bremen
Germany--Stendal
Switzerland
Germany--Frankfurt am Main
Lithuania--Šilutė
Poland
Italy
Canada
United States
Poland--Szczecin
Poland--Toruń
Greece
Greece--Crete
Poland--Vistula River
England--Staverton (Northamptonshire)
Germany--Bad Fallingbostel
Poland--Żagań
Poland--Bydgoszcz
Poland--Poznań
Germany--Pasewalk
Germany--Neubrandenburg
Germany--Stavenhagen
Germany--Malchin (Landkreis)
Germany--Güstrow
Germany--Hamburg
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Eichstätt
Germany--Munich
Germany--Kassel
Germany--Eisenach
Germany--Fürth (Bavaria)
Germany--Treuchtlingen
Germany--Ingolstadt
Germany--Regensburg
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Plauen
Poland--Wrocław
New South Wales--Sydney
Victoria--Melbourne
New South Wales
India--Jammu and Kashmir
China
England--London
Germany--Elbe
Germany--Potsdam
Germany--Jüterbog
Ukraine--Odesa
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Halle an der Saale
Belgium--Brussels
England--Brighton
Germany--Nuremberg
Germany--Hannover
Ukraine
Germany--Luckenwalde
Poland--Poznań
Germany
Germany--Hof (Hof)
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Royal Australian Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
85 printed sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BMcInnesAMcInnesAv1
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-01-21
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription
83 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
bale out
bomb aimer
C-47
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
crewing up
Dulag Luft
entertainment
final resting place
flight engineer
Fw 190
Goering, Hermann (1893-1946)
ground personnel
H2S
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
incendiary device
Lancaster
Mosquito
navigator
Operation Exodus (1945)
Operational Training Unit
Pathfinders
pilot
prisoner of war
radar
RAF Bicester
RAF Lichfield
RAF Wigsley
RAF Wyton
Red Cross
shot down
sport
Stalag 3A
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 6
target indicator
the long march
training
wireless operator
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1992/37876/MNogalJ19110317-171129-020019.jpg
bcdcc6ae1f98cac270e5a51824b59887
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Nogal, Jozef
J Nogal
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-11-29
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Nogal, J
Description
An account of the resource
58 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Jozef Nogal (b. 1911, Polskie Siły Powietrzne) and contains his prisoner of war log, documents, objects and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Wanda Elizabeth Atkey and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Poland and Six City Badges
Description
An account of the resource
A postcard with badges of six cities.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Poland--Warsaw
Poland--Gdynia
Poland--Poznań
Poland--Kraków
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Ukraine
Lithuania--Vilnius
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Civilian
Language
A language of the resource
pol
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed postcard
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MNogalJ19110317-171129-020019
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Nogal, Jozef. Postcards
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1992/37875/MNogalJ19110317-171129-020018.jpg
89e45cb10328ebb34f40cc64fb924f04
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Nogal, Jozef
J Nogal
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-11-29
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Nogal, J
Description
An account of the resource
58 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Jozef Nogal (b. 1911, Polskie Siły Powietrzne) and contains his prisoner of war log, documents, objects and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Wanda Elizabeth Atkey and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Wilno and Lwow Badges
Description
An account of the resource
A postcard of badges of Wilno and Lwow.
Language
A language of the resource
pol
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed card
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MNogalJ19110317-171129-020018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Nogal, Jozef. Postcards
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Ukraine
Lithuania--Vilnius
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1992/37866/MNogalJ19110317-171129-020001.jpg
7d713d6f6061f7b3d12d273ba687b89d
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5c13c131a5a5911e81d76064d36e4222
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Nogal, Jozef
J Nogal
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-11-29
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Nogal, J
Description
An account of the resource
58 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Jozef Nogal (b. 1911, Polskie Siły Powietrzne) and contains his prisoner of war log, documents, objects and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Wanda Elizabeth Atkey and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
307 Squadron Badge
Polish Air Force Exhibition
Description
An account of the resource
A postcard of 307 Squadron's badge on the front - a stylised aircraft and a green eyed owl. On the reverse a brief explanation relating to the City of Lwow.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1918-11-05
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MNogalJ19110317-171129-020001, MNogalJ19110317-171129-020002
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One printed card
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Poland
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Ukraine
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Nogal, Jozef. Postcards
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1992/37846/BNogalJNogalJv10001.2.jpg
fb012c310cf57213cd4feb53afe1a9d0
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1992/37846/BNogalJNogalJv10002.2.jpg
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https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1992/37846/BNogalJNogalJv10003.2.jpg
d5000aaf82fbc1997110c01335adebec
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Nogal, Jozef
J Nogal
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-11-29
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Nogal, J
Description
An account of the resource
58 items. The collection concerns Flight Lieutenant Jozef Nogal (b. 1911, Polskie Siły Powietrzne) and contains his prisoner of war log, documents, objects and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron and became a prisoner of war.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Wanda Elizabeth Atkey and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
J. Nogal [censored]
I was born in Posieke District Bialyste[sic], Poland 17th March 1911 of Polish Nationality.
My father Franciszek Nogal deceased January 1931
My mother Franciszka Nogal (Zalewska) deceased May 1935
both parents of Polish Nationality.
I attended schools at Wyszkow on River Bug District Warsaw. My father was employed by Polish Railways. I have two brothers and two sisters. My elder brother, Tadeuz Nogal, married with three children lives in Warsaw holding an executive post at Head Office of Polish Railways. His address is 87 Oliwska Steet, Warsaw 9.
My younger brother, Franciszek Nogal, married with one son is in charge of Railways Signalling System at Breslaw, Silesia, and lives at 44 Staszyon Baune, Breslaw.
Sister Kaziniere Maria married to railwayman Jan Malon, lives at Siedlec 6 Roza Street, has four children.
Younger sister Vanda married to Stationmaster Wladyslaw Pudlo, with two children, lives at 30 Podhalanska Street, Nowy Sacz District Krakow.
I left school at 18 to volunteer to Polish Air Force. 1930 I became a Pilot with rank of Non-Commissioned Officer and was posted to one of the squadrons at Warsaw. After five years flying I applied to the Air Ministry for permission to join Officers’ Training College. Permission was granted and after exams I joined the College. My training lasted three years. At the end of that period I was promoted to Second Lieutenant (Pilot Officer) and
-1-
[page break]
was posted to Lwow (Lemberg) South East of Poland where I was till the beginning of war 1939. I took part in short battle of Poland flying in reconnaissance squadrons. 18th September 1939 when all was over I flew to Rumania and landed near Czerniowice where I was disarmed and sent to Detention Camp at Tulcea. On the 22nd of October I escaped to Balcio which is a small fishing port on Black Sea where on the 5th November that year I boarded Greek ship Papagos and was on my way through Constantinople, Malta and Marseilles to join Polish Air Force in France.
13th November I arrived at Lyon. Through Winter 1939 and early Spring 1940 I was put in uniform again in the rank of Sous-Lieutant and was at Lyon Bron training to fly various types of French aircraft in preparation to join Polish Squadrons but in May 1940 I was sent on loan to French Air Force and was posted to No. 301 base at Chateaudun. There our main job was to protect the base against German sorties and evacuate aircraft and equipment to the South of France.
At the end of May I left France, flying from Marseilles to Algiers where I received an order from the Polish Authority in England to report as soon as possible to that Country, where Polish Squadrons had already been organised. As a result of that order I left Algiers by train to Oran and Casablanca, from Casablanca by boat to Gibraltar and again by boat to Liverpool. After a short rest at Blackpool I have [inserted] BEEN [/inserted] posted to R.A.F. Station, Benson, Oxfordshire for refresher course.
In December 1940 I joined Polish Squadron 305 at Syerston, Nottingham. On 3rd May 1941 I was shot down over Germany and taken prisoner of war.
-2-
[page break]
1945 – after the war – I returned to England where I was stationed at various R.A.F. units in Great Britain, until I was demobilised in 1949. Meantime, in 1948, I married Miss Jean Margaret Glindon at the Registry Office, Epsom.
After my demobilisation I was employed by Messrs. E.L. Wallis & Son Solicitors, as Clerk/Interpreter at Hereford. My wife at that time lived with her widowed mother at Cheam, Surrey, working as a Hairdresser.
In 1949 our daughter Wanda Elizabeth was born.
By the end of September that year they moved to Kingston, taking a flat at 37 Lancaster Close. Two months after, I left Hereford and joined my family in Kingston, finding myself a new job with Moss Bros. London. March 1951 I changed my job again and joined Phillips Furnishing Stores, where I am up to the present time. I am responsible here for Central Merchandise Office, which consists of Buying Office, Wages Department, Petty Cash and General Office Manager, etc. etc.
-3-
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jozef Nogal's Autobiography
Description
An account of the resource
Jozef's autobiography. He flew with the Polish Air Force and escaped to Romania after the German's invaded. He further escaped to France and flew there against the Germans until he was instructed to head for the UK. He was shot down and taken prisoner. After the war he returned to the UK and continued flying with the RAF. He details the various jobs he took in civilian life.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jozef Nogal
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Great Britain
England--Kingston upon Thames
Poland--Białystok
Poland--Warsaw
Romania--Tulcea
France--Marseille
France--Lyon
France--Châteaudun
Algeria--Algiers
Algeria--Oran
Morocco--Casablanca
Gibraltar
England--Liverpool
England--London
England--Surrey
England--Lancashire
Poland--Kraków
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Ukraine
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Royal Air Force
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three typewritten sheets
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BNogalJNogalJv10001, BNogalJNogalJv10002, BNogalJNogalJv10003
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Frances Grundy
305 Squadron
aircrew
escaping
pilot
prisoner of war
RAF Benson
RAF Syerston
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1878/35268/SSoltysiakB781032v20010.1.jpg
af5a6b1e9418d87e53491f597bd4d22d
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1878/35268/SSoltysiakB781032v20011.1.jpg
ff71685085432591776a7d3b6ecdf639
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Flying school photograph
Description
An account of the resource
A large group of airmen wearing tunics and peaked caps sitting and standing in four rows in front of a building with columned veranda. Two versions of the same image, the first has Polish language caption and some of the personnel are annotated with numbers. The second version has no annotation.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1937
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1936
1937
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Language
A language of the resource
pol
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SSoltysiakB781032v20010, SSoltysiakB781032v20011
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Other languages than English
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
aircrew
pilot
training
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1901/35234/NRobertsEJH170712-04.1.jpg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Roberts, E J H
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-07-12
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Roberts, EJH
Description
An account of the resource
50 items. The collection concerns E J H Roberts DFC (408451 Royal Air Force) and contains maps, documents, news clippings and photographs. He flew operations as a bomb aimer with 61 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Carole Grant and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[underlined] LATE WAR NEWS [/underlined]
FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1944
BATTLE OF FRANCE STARTS IN AIR
Massed Nazi Tanks Wiped Out in Great Raid.
By COLIN BEDNALL, Air Correspondent
A PRE-INVASION aerial battle of France, in which fantastic moonlight dog-fights not only between fighters and bombers but between the first-line fighters of both sides may be seen, has been precipitated by Wednesday’s night operations of R.A.F. Bomber Command.
Large numbers of German tanks and military vehicles expressly marshalled to fight on a wide stretch of the enemy’s Western lines are believed to have been destroyed under a 1,500-tons attack.
Following immediately upon the devastation of so many railway marshalling centres behind the Western lines, the challenge offered by the heavy bombers could no longer be ignored by the enemy.
With fighter reinforcement temporarily borrowed from the defence of Germany proper, he fought for the attacked depots with ferocity equalling that seen in attacks on Berlin itself.
The R.A.F. loss of 49 aircraft during the night must be regarded as above the average for all forms of bombing operations.
The R.A.F. will be certain to reply to the enemy’s offer of battle. It can turn bombers and intruders upon the airfields from which the enemy fighters are operating.
And as for the next week or so it will be attacking in moonlight it should be possible to provide an actual fighter escort for the night bombers.
In this respect the attacks on France present a different proposition to the long journeys into Germany on dark nights when the difficulties of maintaining contact between a fighter escort and a long-strung-out bomber force would be great.
In switching his fighters to the defence of the invasion targets in France the enemy has obviously decided to gamble on the R.A.F. main bomber forces staying out of Reich territory while the moon is up.
Mosquitoes can be expected to maintain the bombing offensive there during the moonlight period, but, generally, it is just a waste of time for any enemy fighter to try to catch a Mosquito at night.
[underlined] FEW ESCAPE [/underlined]
A reconnaissance aircraft had located the tank concentration at a military depot at Mailly, near Rheims. The new “night precision” technique was employed to place the great bomb load squarely across this depot despite the fierce opposition.
It is believed that the tanks and vehicles were parked down in the depot a few hours before the attack took place, and there is little likelihood that men or materials survived it.
A pitched battle was fought over this target, with our bombers making their runs with unfailing precision through dog-fights lighted by the moon, fighter flares, and target indicators.
Soon a pall of smoke covered the whole area of the depot, and violent explosions were seen.
One pilot saw the biggest explosion of his career, with flames going up to a thousand feet.
More battles were fought as the armada sped home.
Of the bombing, Sergeant C. Duthoit, of Burnley, said: “I saw our 4,000-pounder go off, taking a large building with it and throwing a mass of debris into the air.”
[underlined] ARMS DUMP HIT [/underlined]
Aircraft stores and equipment at Montdidier, 23 miles south-east of Amiens, an ammunition dump at Chateaudun, north-west of Orleans, which was exploding for 35 minutes, and the chemical and explosive centre at Ludwigshaven, in the Upper Rhineland, were also heavily attacked.
Our bombers were sent out in “great strength” which probably means nearly 1,000.
These great night attacks dove-tailed into new day raids and with attacks from east and south on vital centres of Hitler’s invasion belt.
Yesterday an armada of planes based in Britain, including Fortresses, struck at railways and other war targets in many parts of Northern France.
Others bombed an airfield in Holland and pierced the German frontier as far as the Hanover-Brunswick area. The Holland force shot down nine fighters for the loss of three.
During the night Allied bombers pin-pointed railway targets at Bucarest, [sic] Rumanian capital. Others smashed viaducts and bridges on the Riviera railway from Marseilles through Vintimiglia [sic] to Spezia, causing particular damage at Ventimiglia.
And far to the east, as zero hour looms for the new offensive, the Red Air Force has been hammering at enemy railway junctions and aerodromes on their invasion belt from the Black Sea to Lvov and Stanislavov and down to Rumania. Here their air blows link up with the British and American attacks.
Air Squeeze on the Axis
[map of Europe]
MAP shows how the triangular bombing blows from east, west, and south are hammering at the Axis war potential. From Russia key German air defence points in Rumania and pre-war Poland were hit on Wednesday night, while Allied bombers based in this country kept up the non-stop attack on military and aircraft installations in France and Germany. At the same time Italy-based bombers struck again at Bucarest. [sic]
‘INVASION DECISION PUT OFF’
Says Goebbels
THE assertion that the Allied leaders are postponing taking a decision on the invasion of Europe is made by Goebbels in his weekly article Das Reich, quoted by the German Official News Agency.
Every day and night, he admits, the Germans take invasion precautions. He also admits Allied air superiority, but claims that the German fighter plants have been moved to places where they cannot be hit. He says:-
“The present chances of either side are not clear as long as the decisive factors of future developments remain undefined.
“As long as the air war had led to no decision, and as long as the opening of the second front remains a war of nerves, the war itself still remains an open question.
“However, the enemy knows as well as we do that both factors harbour as many dangers for him as for us. The enemy cannot afford a defeat in the one or the other without losing his last chance of victory.
“It is not without reason that both London and Washington are again and again postponing the decision which, once taken, is irrevocable.
‘We Have Some Trumps’
“Not only has the enemy had time enough to prepare an invasion, but so have we to repel it.
“We still hold some trumps. Behind the fortifications which are known, there are hidden a great number of unknown preparations. If the enemy troops envisage the invasion on the lines described in London papers, or by General Montgomery, they can only be pitied.
“The Anglo-Americans place their hopes mainly on their present air superiority. We do not dispute that by any means. We refuse, however, as a great error the thesis that the enemy has eliminated our fighter weapon, or that there is a chance of achieving such a result.
“The example of Cassino has, moreover, proved that air bombardments, however massive, are by no means sufficient to pierce a firm defensive line.” – B.U.P.
ALLIED ‘SEA, AIR BATTLE’
Signals Failed
From Daily Mail Correspondent
SYDNEY, Thursday. – Details of the accidental clash between Allied ‘planes and warships, in which two patrol ships were wrecked and two ‘planes shot down, show that the incident began when a patrol boat in difficulty off Northern New Guinea was attacked by fighters from the Solomons.
One fighter was shot down, but the ‘planes returned with reinforcements. A second patrol ship came to the aid of the first: both were attacked, and a second ‘plane was shot down.
This is the seventh clash between friendly forces in recent weeks. A failure in recognition signals is blamed.
Red Army’s ‘Hush-hush’ Battles
Big Axis Losses
MOSCOW, Thursday.
THOUSANDS of Germans and Rumanians are dying in officially unrecorded battles near Jassy and in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains.
Every day the enemy launches counter-attacks here, but they fail to gain ground, according to latest despatches from the Second Ukrainian front.
Although these sharp local engagements are not mentioned in Soviet communiques the battlefields are strewn with wrecked tanks, burnt-out lorries, and shattered guns.
Air Mastery
Soviet troops have penetrated deep into the foothills and along the valleys and tracks leading to the main passes, and experienced Red Army mountaineers are carrying heavy boxes of munitions and food supplies up to the forward positions.
Simultaneously the Soviet air offensive is gathering force in its softening-up of the German rear communications from Rumania to the Polish border region.
Great fleets of planes are bombing German troop concentrations, rail junctions, and airfields on an increasing number of key sectors.
The Soviet communique to-night again reported “no important changes,” but told of another mass air raid on Sebastopol, which caused ten fires in arms dumps and heavy losses in manpower to the Germans.
Berlin is expecting a new Sebastopol blow. The German commentator, Colonel von Hammer, said to-night that the Russian preparations for launching a great offensive in that area are going ahead rapidly. – B.U.P. and Reuter.
LATEST
GERMANS ADMIT RUSSIAN SUCCESS
The Germans admitted last night that the Russians had won temporary possession of a sector on the Sereth front. – Reuter.
NEW ROMMEL TOUR
Rommel is on a tour of inspection of the Mediterranean Coastal Defences, the German News Agency said last night. – Reuter.
S. AFRICA AIRPORT
Details of a new airport, complete with the most modern equipment, built by the Fleet Air Arm, were released yesterday. The airfield, called “Malagas,” is within a few miles of Capetown and cost nearly £4,000,000. – A.P.
[article on food facts]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Battle of France Starts in the Air
Description
An account of the resource
A report on RAF operations over France. The tank depot at Mailly was attacked as were railways, aircraft stores and an ammunition dump.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-05-05
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
France--Mailly-le-Camp
France--Montdidier (Hauts-de-France)
France--Amiens
France--Reims
Great Britain
England--Burnley
France--Châteaudun
France--Orléans
Germany--Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Braunschweig
Romania--Bucharest
Italy--Ventimiglia
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Ukraine--Stanislav
Italy
France
Germany
Ukraine
Romania
England--Lancashire
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One newspaper cutting
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
NRobertsEJH170712-04
Conforms To
An established standard to which the described resource conforms.
Pending text-based transcription. Under review
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-05-03
B-17
bombing
Bombing of Mailly-le-Camp (3/4 May 1944)
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Mosquito
propaganda
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Flying school photograph
Description
An account of the resource
A large group of airmen wearing tunics and peaked caps sitting and standing in four rows in front of a building with columned veranda. On the reverse 'Grandads pilot school, grandad is 3rd from right, back row'. Three versions of same image, the second submitted with note 'img373' and the third 'img146'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010181, PSoltysiakB17010182, PSoltysiakB17050002, PSoltysiakB17060041
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
aircrew
pilot
training
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Servicemen in street in Lviv
Description
An account of the resource
A group of servicemen wearing greatcoats and peaked caps standing in Kopernyka Street in Lviv, with buildings behind them. On the reverse Polish handwriting. Three versions of the same image, the second submitted with information 'img522' and the third with 'img408'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Three b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010179, PSoltysiakB17010180, PSoltysiakB17060075, PSoltysiakB17050036
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Men in street
Kopernyka Street in Lviv, Ukraine
Description
An account of the resource
A group of servicemen wearing greatcoats walking in a town street with buildings behind them. Two versions of the same image, the second submitted with information 'img406'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010178, PSoltysiakB17050034
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Servicemen in front of statue
Description
An account of the resource
A man wearing uniform tunic and peaked cap standing in front of the statue of King John Sobieski III in Svobody Ave, Lviv. Two versions of the same image, the second submitted with information 'img438'. A second version of the reverse was submitted with information 'img440'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One b/w photograph
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010167, PSoltysiakB17010168, PSoltysiakB17050066, PSoltysiakB17050067
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Glenda Godfrey
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Funeral procession on Kopernyka Street in Lviv, Ukraine
Description
An account of the resource
Coffin on horse drawn cart escorted by servicemen with rifles on a city street. Two versions of the same image, the second submitted with information 'img415'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010133, PSoltysiakB17050043
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1878/35107/PSoltysiakB17010130.2.jpg
5d84f4cfdaaff55e68cf200b71b36f2a
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1878/35107/PSoltysiakB17050049.2.jpg
f440103186f2af39988dab658ecc23cd
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Servicemen on horse drawn cart in Kopernyka Street in Lviv, Ukraine
Description
An account of the resource
A group of servicemen in uniform on a horse drawn cart in a city street aligned with multi-storey buildings. Car parked at side of street on left and onlookers on pavement. Two versions of the same image, the second submitted with information 'img421'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010130, PSoltysiakB17050049
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1878/35106/PSoltysiakB17010129.2.jpg
ec8e4c6db327234d7fa5595208a9a78b
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1878/35106/PSoltysiakB17050048.2.jpg
7a56c0e8e5b9e2bbcb0bb1705b866896
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soltysiak, Bronislaw
B Soltysiak
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2017-06-22
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Soltysiak, B
Description
An account of the resource
230 items. The collection concerns Sergeant Bronislaw Soltysiak (1916 - 1987, 781032 Royal Air Force) and contains his log book documents, brevet, button and photographs. He flew operations as a pilot with 305 Squadron.
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by Malcom Soltysiak and catalogued by Nigel Huckins.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Men marching through Lviv
Description
An account of the resource
A formation of men with rifles marching along Kopernyka Street in Lviv, Ukraine. Two versions of the same image, the second submitted with information 'img420'.
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Lʹviv
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Photograph
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Two b/w photographs
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
PSoltysiakB17010129, PSoltysiakB17050048
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oscar Verhoeven
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1561/34804/SRAFIngham19410620v070001-Audio.2.mp3
1cdda487d490705f1871c23fb467186a
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
RAF Ingham Heritage Group
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2016-11-14
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
RAF Ingham
Description
An account of the resource
25 items in six collections. The collection concerns RAF Ingham and contains interviews photographs and documents concerning:
Andrzej Jeziorski - Pilot 304 Squadron
Arthur Hydes - Boy in Ingham
Brian Llewellyn -ATC
Jan Black - Rear Gunner 300 Squadron
Lech Gierak - Armourer 303 Squadron
Marion Clarke - MT Driver RAF Ingham
Mieczyslaw Maryszczak - Armourer
Stanislaw Jozefiak - Air Ops 304 Squadron - Pilot on Spitfires
Wanda Szuwalska - Admin 300 Squadron Faldingworth
Zosia Kowalska - Cook RAF Ingham
The collection has been donated to the IBCC Digital Archive by the RAF Ingham Heritage Group and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed audio recording
A resource consisting primarily of recorded human voice.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[Other]: Make a start.
Int: Right, I’ll just, I will leave it on because this is the rough cut. Obviously what we’ll do is, just give you a copy, on a CD, of the whole recording. And then obviously when we come to do a production side of it, we’ll cut out the bits that are relevant towards the Heritage Centre but we’ll give you a copy for your family, or a couple of copies if you’d like that.
[Other]: That’ll be lovely dad!
Int: We’ll just leave the camera rolling. If at any time you want to have a break, or you need to use the toilet, or you would like a drink, if we just say and we can stop, because it won’t matter on the film: we’ll just keep it rolling. Because sometimes, we found in the past, that when we’ve interviewed some of the veterans, they’ll say could I just stop now for a cup of water, glass of water or something, so we switch it off, and that’s when some of the very interesting little pieces of information come out, when they’re just chatting, so sometimes it’s worth leaving it on. I did a very, very quick bit of research into you before I came here, so I know a little [emphasis] bit about you, and it is only a very small amount, because I didn’t realise that you were an armourer, um, I probably should have done, and obviously although you’re known as Michael, or Michael now, obviously you had your Polish first name which, would you like to pronounce it for me?
MM: [Phonetically] Michislov. [Laughter]
Int: Thank you. My pronunciation would be very embarrassing to you.
[Other]: I can’t pronounce it, can’t spell it, let alone!
Int: M I E C H Z Y S L A W. Yes.
[Other]: Miecyzslaw, something like that.
Int: How do you pronounce your surname, your family name?
MM: [Phonetically] Marishtack.
Int: Marishtick.
[Other]: [Phonetically] Marishtak. Marishtak, yes.
MM: There, you see I was in Gaza at that time, that was, Rommel was, British was worried about that, taking over Suez Canal and I wasn’t in the Air Force yet, but was about hundred fifty Polish boys, we supposed to learn how to repair the tanks, you know, but that Australian say look, its take lot of time to learn, I’m going to teach you how to drive and we going to repair and we going on the desert and test them they okay, on the front because there was hurry, you know, be ready before Rommel attacks the Suez, so I got for that, medals.
Int: And how old were you at that time then, in the desert?
MM: I was very young, well [pause] about seventeen I think, seventeen.
Int: And were you part of the Polish Air Force or the Polish Army at that time?
MM: The Army.
Int: Part of the Polish Army.
MM: At Gaza, yes. Because that was Gaza, was on the Egyptian Palestinian border, that time was, [cough] well, under British rule in Palestine, you know that. I was in Palestine as well.
Int: And you’ve obviously mentioned that you were trained in the Polish Air Force to be an armourer. When you were in the Polish Army, in Palestine, did you also deal with the shells and the bullet side of things as an armourer, or not?
MM: No. You see after that I was removed, victory was Alamein, and they moved to Egypt, and Egypt er, that was quite lot of boys and was about, volunteers about six hundred fifty, because Polish was, more to, Polish aid for us in England. So there, you know, the examination, you know, doctor, you know, everything was, so six hundred, six hundred forty five, is only sixty five been accepted, and from that time I joined the, to the Polish Air Force.
Int: Why did you decide that you wanted to apply to join the Polish Air Force? What was the reasons behind that do you think?
MM: Well because Polish, they came round to Egypt and they want some replacement in England for the younger people, you know.
Int: I was just wondering why you chose, did they, was there any, was there an incentive?
MM: I didn’t choose that.
Int: You didn’t choose, oh, okay.
MM: They just said volunteers you see! [Laugh] So this stay in Egypt and from Egypt we travelled by Royal Britannia ship round Africa because we going to go through that where U-boat was, German U-boat, and round the Capetown. We stopped in Capetown for about three days and because not only Polish but was Yugoslavian, all different nationalities, Greeks, and they all different, and we arrived to Freetown, and Freetown to Liverpool. And from Liverpool came to Halton.
Int: What, what time of year did you arrive in Liverpool? Was it the summer, or the winter, or?
MM: That wasn’t winter, no, no, no, that was er, [pause] which date was that, approximately.
Int: I’m just thinking that having been in Palestine, and having been in in Egypt, and then even South Africa, coming to Britain, and Liverpool, must have been probably very cold, very wet.
MM: No, no, no, that was June or July, something like that, that time, we arrive to England. That was in, practically summer, was that time.
Int: What was your, can you remember your first impressions when you landed in Liverpool, in England?
MM: Balloons [laugh]. Yeah, there were balloons everywhere.
Int: Oh, the barrage balloons. Yes, yeah. And then you went, you said you went to Halton.
MM: Halton, yes.
Int: For your training. Can you tell me -
MM: We travelled during the night, I don’t know why, we actually arrived early and having travelled through the night, and I seem to remember they stop us in Crewe; they give us some cup of tea and sandwiches. [Laugh]
Int: That was nice, and was it in the back of a lorry then, that you travelled?
MM: No, no, it was train.
Int: Oh, on a train, right.
MM: Yes. I think it was Crewe which er, and we arrive very late in Halton.
Int: And what are your memories of Halton, as a training?
MM: Oh, they was very good, you know, because most of the people was coming from the 303 Squadron, from Northolt, for, to Halton, for training. Some of them depends what, some of them just gunnery, you know, three months training and you’re off you know. But you know, was very, very, training was very, very good, you know, was excellent, you know, we got everything. Even remember the Russian er, [indecipherable] Bureau like came round to visit Halton and what happened they, the Brit, they shut us completely! [Laugh]
Int: They just, they wouldn’t talk to you, they just ignored you completely.
MM: Yes. They said no, no, put in school and then they shut us, the workshop up is completely: all Poles.
Int: Shut away. And how long after you arrived, did you hand over your Army uniform and then you got the blue, the blue uniform for the Air Force?
MM: Oh yes. When we arrived to Halton I got given blue uniform.
Int: Blue uniform. Then you were in the Air Force, the Polish Air Force.
MM: Yeah. That’s right.
Int: And can you remember the insignia and the badges you wore at all? Were they RAF ones or were they Polish Air Force?
MM: Polish Air Force.
Int: Polish Air Force. How long, roughly how long did you stay at Halton for, to do your training?
MM: Oh, training for, because the, I was for training this time four years, for training.
Int: Four years at Halton!
MM: Because you know, we supposed to go to Poland, after the war and you know, but they, Polish Government, say you must let every arms they got in Britain, you know, like rockets and everything, you know, and at the time was top secret, you know.
Int: So, when your training had finished, at Halton, which RAF station did you go to after Halton?
MM: Hah, Lincolnshire.
Int: Lincolnshire. Can you remember the name of the station?
MM: Cammeringham. Cammeringham.
Int: At Cammeringham, you were actually at Cammeringham were you? Right. So that would have been, it changed its name from RAF Ingham to Cammeringham in November 1944, so if you knew it as Cammeringham, you must have gone there from November ‘44 onwards at some point. So, if you haven’t already got them we can get hold of your service records – you’ve got them have you? No. We can get your service records from Northolt. There’s a lady called Margaret Goddard.
MM: Oh yeah, I know her, yeah.
Int: And she can find your records, which will show the dates you went to each station, which is good for you, and for your family.
MM: I remember there used to be NAAFI canteen on that river in Lincolnshire.
Int: In Lincolnshire. NAAFI, NAAFI was.
Int: Was a NAAFI canteen in the middle of Lincoln was there?
MM: Yes, I can remember the river was you know.
Int: In the middle of Lincoln, there is a -
MM: Yeah. Not far from the Cathedral, you know.
Int: Yes, yes I know the one you mean. There’s a big, large, well they call it a pond, but it’s called Brayford, Brayford Pond, with all the barges.
MM: That’s right, that was NAAFI.
Int: Oh right, okay. What, can you remember much about Cammeringham, RAF Cammeringham? Just to help your memory, the airfield was on the top of the hill and the Station Headquarters was down in the village of Ingham. Does that ring a bell at all?
MM: Well you see at that time they knew that we never go back to Poland and a lot of people try to register, go to Argentina, to United States, you know, Canada.
Int: Oh, as part of the Polish Resettlement Act, yes, but you decided to stay at Cammeringham for a while.
MM: Actually, I was going to [chuckle] Argentina!
Int: Right, okay.
MM: But I met one chap, he was from Argentina, he was in Polish Army, and he said never go to Argentina!
Int: And why was that then?
MM: Because is, you got problems over there and he say I wouldn’t advise you to go to Argentina. So I’ve still got the papers, you know!
Int: That you could have decided to go there, but instead you stayed in England.
MM: Yes.
Int: And when you were at Cammeringham did you do any of your armourer jobs, was that with loading the machine guns or were you an armourer that dealt with the bombs?
MM: I had a, that was, from Cammeringham and was posted to 48MU, in Wrexham.
Int: Okay. Right.
MM: That was, I used to, quite lot of, because guns and machine guns, you know, in Wrexham. You know, Holyhead, if you go that way.
Int: So in Wrexham it was a big store for machine guns?
MM: RAF station!
Int: Oh, it was an RAF station was it, at Wrexham, right, okay. Was your job to maintain them or was it more for storage?
MM: Sort out, you know, quite a lot of them used to go to the, check them in the temperature and everything, you know.
Int: So did that include dismantling, taking machine guns to bits, and refurbish them, change the barrels and things?
MM: From the, yeah.
Int: Right. So is that a job that you could do with your eyes closed, when, at the time, you became very skilled at that.
MM: Well, yeah.
Int: Yeah. And did you get a chance to fire any of the guns on the practice ranges at all, or not? Or were you just purely putting the guns together?
MM: Not in the air.
Int: Was that a bit, was that a good job? Was it a boring job?
MM: Oh, you know. Well you know, somebody has to do it!
Int: Somebody has to do it. Before you went to Wrexham, if we could just go back one step to when you were at Cammeringham, what did you actually do at Cammeringham?
MM: Actually I was doing, there were no jobs, everybody was thinking what I’m going to do, you know.
Int: Right, so you were still in the Polish Air Force, but there wasn’t a job for you at the time? So you spent all [emphasis] of that time training and then you got to Cammeringham and there was no job for you.
MM: Well that was, you know, that was probably closed that station, you were just only waiting for the different people going different countries, you know.
Int: But there was a lot of Polish airmen at Cammeringham at the time, yes?
MM: Yes. Some of them they went back to Poland, you know, but.
Int: It’s not a good story, no. I’ve heard several accounts from people where they went, [beep] especially if they’d been in the Polish Air Force, and then they were arrested by the Soviets, and the Russians, and some were executed, which is er, just for being in the Polish Air Force. A lot of your colleagues were at Faldingworth, which was just about five miles down the road, a lot of them, and the Polish 300 Squadron were there. So you went to Wrexham and you did the 48MU job at Wrexham, how long did you stay at Wrexham, can you remember?
MM: [Pause] No, I said, I was, because my station was er, in Framlingham.
Int: Framlingham. Yes. I’ve heard of it, I’ve heard of Framlingham, right.
MM: There was er, and I was only been attachment to the 48MU’s just only, you know, so I wrote the letter to them: can you call me back to, on my station. So you know, so they, yeah, I went back and say look, now you have to go to London and you have to look for a job.
Int: And that was, so that was the end of your Polish Air Force career.
MM: Yeah. And I stay in South Kensington, and for looking for the job because only job they was offering us is coal mine, you know. [Laugh]
Int: Or engineering? Did they offer you engineering?
MM: Engineering? No, no chance. No chance.
Int: No? So what kind of job did you get in the end then? What was your first job, being a civilian after the war?
MM: They told me you to go to the coal mine, I said no, I never go to coal mine. [Laugh] But all, so they decided to last, and I was from National Health making glasses. Spectacles glasses.
Int: Okay, right, okay, that was here in London was it?
MM: Yes, in London yes, in Camden Passage, in Islington. So I said all right, I’ll go that, but I wouldn’t go to the coal mine. [Laugh]
Int: And when did you meet your wife?
MM: [Cough] Oh, that was [muttering] 19, about 1960 [pause], 1960.
Int: And was she Polish or was she English?
MM: She’s Polish.
Int: She was Polish. And had she been a WAAF during the, a Polish WAAF during the years?
MM: No, no, no. She wasn’t, no.
Int: She’d just come across from Poland, okay. I notice looking at your medals you have the, is it the Tute Militaire? The very first one that you have here. Can you tell me a little bit about how you were awarded that, that medal?
MM: This?
Int: No, the very first one, this one here.
MM: Oh, that, no, no.
Int: This one there.
MM: That was Freedom for Polish, Freedom.
Int: Oh, that’s the Polish Freedom one is it? Right, okay. So that was awarded in about -
MM: At the Embassy.
Int: At 1990, or ’91 when Poland got its freedom.
MM: I have somewhere, upstairs, the letters, that was yes, was in the Ambassy, in London.
Int: Going back to your time in the Polish Air Force again, do you have any funny stories, any funny things, because with your fellow kind of airmen, the Polish airmen, you must have done some funny things then.
MM: Well it was funny stories, you know because when it was in Halton you were only allowed to go out for [cough] eleven, you know, well not twelve o’clock, yeah, before twelve you must be.
Int: You must be back before midnight, yes.
MM: But some of them was climbing through the windows! [Laughter]
Int: And did they get caught, or not?
MM: Yeah, what happened, and the sergeant was checking every bed, and somebody was going to each bed and was like saying yes, he’s in, he’s in, but he’s out!
Int: And then he’s sneaking back to his own bed, good. When you were there, you obviously had the big dormitories, the barrack rooms where you all slept in, what was the food like? Was the food good at Halton? Because it was English food I presume, not Polish food.
MM: That was the, actually, no, it was good food there, yeah, sausages, you know.
Int: Plenty of food, plenty of food?
MM: Yeah. And usually that was prisoner of war working in the cookhouse.
Int: What, German prisoners of war or Italian?
MM: Italians.
Int: Italians. That could be a good thing if you like Italian food!
MM: And they was free to go to the cinema, everywhere!
Int: Really!
MM: Yeah!
Int: But you couldn’t go out after twelve o’clock at night! Huh. That’s very strange, isn’t it. Yeah.
MM: And they used to sell the jewellery because, well, they had some watches and the you know, they was free, they didn’t want to go back to, escape to Germany.
Int: They were happy to stay in England then.
MM: Stay. Otherwise they probably go to Russian Front, you know. Yes, they got.
Int: If we can go all the way back to the beginning of the story, are you okay, do you want a break, are you okay?
MM: It’s all right, yes.
Int: Going back to talking about Palestine and the time you were In the desert with Rommel, and fighting Rommel, and you were saying you were allowed you to drive, what was your job, what kind of job did you do?
MM: Well I was testing the tanks.
Int: You were testing the tanks?
MM: On the desert, because that Bill, they repair, because they, mechanics you know, to learn how to repair the tanks was take time, he said look, we going to repair, I teach you how to drive, on the desert, and that’s you know.
Int: So as well as repairing the tanks then, as a mechanic, you also did, you had to go and test drive them as well?
MM: No, I didn’t repair, I only just test.
Int: Oh, you were only doing the test driving then. And was that fun? Especially as you were young. Driving tanks round the desert?
MM: Oh yes! And that chap, after the, Alamein, he was going, his name was Bill, and he’s Australian, and he would just say, I got nothing else to give you, he just cut his button from his coat and give it to me. So I kept that all the time.
Int: Oh! Did Bill make it through the war?
MM: I don’t know what happened, I don’t know, might have been killed, I don’t know. But what happened, in a Polish club in London, I met there, she was Wing Commander from the Australian Embassy, and I told her I got the button which is that Bill give me, and oh, was probably my grandad, so I don’t know. What regiment he was? But I didn’t ask him!
Int: But he was in Palestine at that time then was he? Yes?
MM: And I give it to her and she says she’s going to find out, you know, the name of that is.
Int: That sounds like a needle in a haystack, but you never know, you never know. So do you attend a lot of the Polish events that happen in London, at the Social Club at Hammersmith?
MM: Yeah, we go so often. Usually, we usually have the dinners once a month, you know.
Int: Well I mean, obviously, I met you, you might remember, in September, at the Polish Memorial, Northolt. It’s great to chat with you, what I was going to do now was just, I was gonna have a rest, just in case you wanted a cup of tea or something, we can talk a little more. Cause I know sometimes it’s, you’re thinking back and your mouth can get very dry, can’t it, especially when we’re just talking and it’s a thing. So I’ll leave the camera on, but if you’re happy, I don’t know whether you’d like a drink of water or a cup of tea or coffee?
MM: No, that’s all right, no.
[Other]: Dad, but where were you when the war finished? That’s the bit I don’t get.
Int: Right. Were you at Framlington?
[Other]: Where were you actually, when the actual physically the war finished?
Int: When it was VE Day kind of thing?
[Other]: Where was he?
MM: [Pause] 1945.
Int: Where were you actually, where were you stationed, at that time, when it was VE Day? Can you remember which station you were on?
MM: 1945, which station, I probably was still in Halton.
Int: Did they not have big celebrations?
MM: No. Because they didn’t invite for the -
Int: For the Polish.
MM: For Britain.
Int: To go to London, did you have them, if you were at Halton, or Wrexham, or even Cammeringham, wherever you were at, when it was VE Day, did they have a party on the station?
MM: Wrexham, we only had one celebration then was when Prince Charlie was born, 1948, and we had a barrel of beer, we had drunk that, you know, on his birthday.
Int: So you were still in the Polish Air Force then, in 1948, so that must have been almost the last year, because most of the Polish Air Force, from what I’m led to understand, obviously straight after the war, after VE Day, along with the problems where they wouldn’t let the Polish parade through London because of the Yalta Agreement.
MM: That’s right.
Int: With Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill, and I know that’s why they had the Resettlement Act and they had to absorb the Polish Air Force into the Royal Air Force properly, just so Stalin couldn’t get -
MM: We had the contract two years, Polish Resettlement Course.
Int: And I think it was 1948 was the last, when the last Polish squadron was disbanded, so that probably ties all of that in. It would be interesting, you know, if your daughter Joanne’s able to, on your behalf, to get the, your service records from Margaret, or a copy of them.
[Other]: Yeah, I can do that.
Int: Cause then it’ll show -
MM: I know her. Yes, I’ll go and see her in.
Int: She’ll be able to photocopy them and then give you a copy and at least you’ll be able to read all the dates on, and if it’s, I think if it’s very similar to the RAF’s one, it’s just a piece of almost brown card, two sides, which shows all of your, all the stations you were at and any courses you did, and even things like when you were on the sick or on leave, it’s all on one card that they did at the time. It’s all handwritten.
[Other]: Cause I’m just a bit confused here dad, so you went from Halton to Lincolnshire and then Wrexham, yeah.
Int: Yes.
[Other]: And then you went to London.
MM: To London.
[Other]: What year?
MM: I came to London to look for job.
[Other]: What year? Cause you were saying you were under the RAF until 1948.
MM: That was Polish Resettlement Course.
[Other]: So I’m just, and I just. It’s all right, I’m getting there. A bit confused.
Int: So, if we get things in the right order: you went to Halton, and then from Halton you went to Cammeringham did you, or did you go to Wrexham first, after Halton?
[Other]: Cammeringham.
MM: No, Cammeringham.
Int: Cammeringham.
MM: And from Cammeringham I went to Wrexham.
Int: To Wrexham, and then to Fram –
MM: Framlingham.
Int: Framlingham or Framlington? I’ll have to check exactly where that is. And then from Framlington that was it: were out of the Polish Air Force then?
MM: Sent us to London for.
Int: To find a job.
MM: That’s right.
[Other]: When they sent you to London, did you stay in an RAF base, or no? Were you private dwellings?
Int: Was it a private house, or was it still in barracks in London?
MM: No, no, in London that was hostel, South Kensington, was houses was probably very expensive, London houses. That was big hostel over that square, that was square, I would call it square.
Int: Straight after the war.
[Other]: So dad, where were you when you, when the announcement of the Second World War was over? When Churchill said, we are not at war any more, where were you? [Polish]
MM: I said I was still in Halton.
Int: You were still in Halton.
MM: In 1945.
Int: So 1945 you were in Halton. Then you moved to Cammeringham in ’46 because I mean Cammeringham was one of the Polish Resettlement Units. And Dunholme Lodge.
MM: That’s right, and they posted us to Wrexham.
Int: It was still under the kind of the Air Ministry’s control.
[Other]: Umbrella.
Int: While they did some training and they did, there was quite a few training: carpentry, electrical. They did all the courses there so they just used it as an RAF station but it was more of a training camp for training purposes.
MM: That’s right.
Int: And then obviously the MUs, which are the Maintenance Units but they normally store, big store camps, so obviously Wrexham was a big store camp where all the machine guns were coming back and they were being -
MM: From there the Wellingtons and all that, big er -
[Other]: So really, until the war finished you were based?
MM: At Halton.
[Other]: Until 1945 and then after that the Resettlement Act came in and by 1948 you were discharged to civilian life. Right, I’ve got that now. Okay. But when the Second World War finished, what happened, because that was a big news! So was there no celebration? Do you remember what you were doing when you found out the war was ended. I mean.
MM: I was still at Halton.
Int: You were still at Halton.
[Other]: But what were you doing?
MM: There still was training.
[Other]: [Polish]
Int: [Beep] Did they have a party perhaps, a big party at Halton, that day?
MM: At Halton, even, because what’s his name, Bevan, and he asked, give us a letter and give us, every members of the Polish er, boys, been given, to go to Poland or, or were you going to join the Polish Resettlement Course.
Int: Yes. Because of the shortage of jobs, he was the Trade Union, Bevan was the Trade Union man, wasn’t he, and they set the Trade Unions up, and don’t get me wrong but his point of view was, he didn’t want the Poles in Britain.
MM: Britain, no. That’s right.
Int: And that’s why, I think that’s why they only offered the Polish military –
MM: Coal mine.
Int: Ex military the coal mine, and some of them got into the steel works, the foundries, almost the jobs that nobody else wanted to do, so it was very restrictive, and obviously because the Trade Unions came in straight after the war, that’s when they were created, and that was very much in the National Health Service and everything else, but that’s when they said jobs for the Britons, you know, it was almost like, Churchill was Conservative, although he led the Coalition through the war years then he was, straight after the war he was kicked out and the Labour government came in and that’s how the Trade Unions came about, and that’s why, the Agreement was obviously made at quite a high ministerial level to have the Polish Resettlement Act.
MM: That’s right.
Int: Of 1947 I think it was, to protect the Polish servicemen and women that wanted to stay in the UK, or it allowed them to go to the Empire countries, Canada, even America although that’s not an Empire country, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and - .
MM: All different countries.
Int: Yes, yes.
[Other]: But Dad, you misunderstand. I’m going to say it in Polish. [Polish]
MM: In Halton.
[Other]: [Polish]
MM: I can’t remember that.
Int: No.
[Other]: I was asking him what he was, the moment he found out when the Second World War finished. I remember when Diana died. I can tell you exactly what I was doing.
Int: Yes.
MM: We didn’t celebrate because was Yalta.
Int: Yes, because of Yalta a few weeks before this, and that meant you’d lost Poland.
MM: We didn’t celebrate.
[Other]: I see, okay, that’s a different side.
Int: That’s probably why, yes because I mean Yalta was really more Roosevelt and Stalin; Churchill was just a puppet.
MM: Puppet, yes.
[Other]: That explains that, yeah.
Int: He was part of the three but he had to go along with what the two big powerbrokers wanted and they carved up Europe at Yalta and Poland unfortunately was the one that suffered because it got kind of.
MM: Roosevelt was very sick man, he was very sick, he was actually dying and Truman took it over, you know, after Roosevelt.
[Other]: But in those four years that you were based at Halton, did you witness bombings in England, you know, saw the active stuff, you know, the active service. Obviously you get the planes ready for them to go off to battle, obviously I’m guessing here.
Int: Halton being a training -
MM: Training.
Int: Was all the four years that you did at Halton, was that all training or were you an instructor then?
MM: No, all training.
Int: Just all training. And was that just [emphasis] for training to maintain the machine guns or did you do bombs, fusing up the bombs and everything?
MM: Bombs, fusing, [indecipherable] everything.
Int: So as an armourer you did all the jobs.
MM: And then rockets.
Int: And the rockets.
MM: They been before well, they was first to use the aeroplane.
Int: To fire the rockets, right at the end of the war, so you had to be trained up to do all of that.
MM: That’s right.
Int: Whilst you were at Halton were there any air raids, at night, where the sirens went off and the bombs dropped at Halton, or not?
MM: What happened, for about each, because Air Ministry was worried when start bombing London, and they move us to Cosford, RAF station Cosford.
Int: Right, okay, yes.
MM: And I assume the Air Ministry wants to move to Halton, that’s, so they move and stay at Cosford, Wolverhampton, you know that.
Int: Yes. Over in the West Midlands, yes.
MM: We stayed there, I can’t remember how many, three months or something.
Int: Three months. And did you go back to Halton afterwards?
MM: Oh yes.
Int: So was just for three months they moved you out of Halton, over to Cosford near Wolverhampton. And did your training continue there, or did you do something special?
MM: Yes, it was training.
Int: Just normal training.
MM: Yes.
Int: At Cosford. And was that quieter at Cosford? Was there not as many air raids?
MM: No, well, was different was because the Cosford was, because Halton was, had the equipment for training but Cosford, you know.
Int: Didn’t have it. So what did you do while you were there then, at Cosford?
MM: Still, you know.
Int: Yes. And was there an airfield, as in where planes aircraft could land at Cosford or was it just a factory kind of?
MM: No, I think that was only for factory.
Int: Just like a training, in a factory, yes.
[Other]: Dad, sorry, why were you trained for so long, for four years, you know, normally now it’s just for three months off you go to, I just, why were they training you for so long?
MM: Don’t forget, we stake everything [emphasis].
[Other]: Yeah, but dad, it’s war, people, they need men.
MM: But you don’t. It’s not only that, you’re training each, even, even if you write there how to kill the person, you know, all different things we didn’t know.
[Other]: But that’s -
MM: Some, if you want to kill the person, if he’s going to start writing and it’s blow up his face and it kill them.
Int: I think what Joanne was perhaps meaning was, normally training would be maybe one year, maybe a little bit, but because it was war you would imagine that they wanted to get you trained very quickly and then straight out to the airfields. The question was -
MM: But not bomb everything targets, it’s not that simple like that.
[Other]: I know dad.
MM: It takes, you know.
[Other]: But four years in a war’s a long time, in a situation of war.
MM: Yeah, don’t forget four years, it’s not only that, guns. [Pause]
[Other]: I’ve lost you.
Int: So during your time at Halton, as well as going to Cosford, did you have small amounts of time where you went off to other RAF airfields to actually practice what you’d been trained, or not?
MM: No.
Int: No, you just stayed at Halton.
MM: They was trying to get more information, you know, and instructors who came from London and give us all the guns, well guns and ammunition and material which is TNT, you know, and so how to.
Int: It sounds a little bit like your training was more experimental training.
MM: Yes, yes.
Int: Not the standard training so any new bombs or new rockets – am I going down the right road here?
MM: Yes. Everything was secret and that’s why the training was so secret.
Int: Right, we’re starting to drill down into a little bit now.
[Other]: So, did you have to sign the secret service act?
Int: The Official Secrets Act.
MM: Well, we have to, you know. The service was secret.
Int: I meant as opposed to maybe an ordinary [emphasis] Polish Air Force armourer, that did his basic training and went straight out onto a squadron.
MM: Oh yes. That’s three month course.
Int: Yes, that’s the three months course. So in fact the time at Halton, although you said it was training, was it more, it sounds like it wasn’t basic training, it was specialist training as each new munitions came out, right.
MM: Yeah.
Int: So you were seeing how things worked and to improve it, so yes, you weren’t so much a student as a team that were there to um, I don’t know how to describe it to you, I’m trying not to put words into your mouth! So were you still in like a classroom situation at Halton?
MM: Yes.
Int: Oh right. But they would bring something new in and then talk about it. And what job did they give you to do? Was it to see how to make it better, or was it just purely to take it apart and put it together? I don’t want to put words into your mouth, I’m trying to find out exactly what you did at Halton.
MM: We usually, they like electrician was coming from London he was going to teach us electrician and some extras you know, which is, came round once a week and teach us electrics; it’s not only guns, everything you must know.
[Other]: What I think we’re establishing dad, is that you were, you’re right, you were training but you were given devices, or guns, or whatever, and they wanted you to try it out, it’s more that -
Int: Test and evaluation or something.
[Other]: Yes. You had your basic training of three months, yes. Everyone does three months.
MM: No, three years.
[Other]: Yeah, but. No.
MM: Basic training that’s only came only there for, for -
Int: I think what Joanne’s trying to ask the question is, you had your basic armourer’s training, at Halton – how to be an armourer basically. Your basic bombs and bullets, but then after that at Halton, you obviously specialised, at Halton, with maybe experimental bombs or experimental rockets, and new things; anything that was new. Cause if you had an electrician that came from London specially to Halton, to talk with you and to teach you, it sounds like what you were doing was more experimental work, maybe I don’t know. Hmm. Is it possible?
[Other]: How many was there in the class at one time, dad? Ten, twenty, fifty? Do you remember? And was there only one class or was there lots of classes?
MM: [Pause] |Well we had, it’s not only that, we had mathematics and everything, turrets, and you know, you have to, how to operate turrets for machine guns for the er, prepare the aircraft to, for the pilot to fly that Spitfire and you know, it’s not simple as.
Int: I know, I fully appreciate, it’s a very complicated.
MM: We started, you see you have to, to, must, it’s not only one turret you’ve got, all you’ve got different one top and bottom.
Int: Different kinds of makes and turret, yes, certainly. It’s interesting, maybe when you get the records from Margaret, it will actually say on there and remind you, you may well have been part, although you did your basic armourer’s training at Halton, perhaps they kept you at Halton, as part of a test and evaluation section and that’s why you stayed at Halton, that’s why you didn’t go to an airfield because the people from London would bring you up, he Air Ministry, would bring new things for you to look at and along with your colleagues.
MM: Because some people, some they decided they got enough and they went for the course for three months and came as a sergeant.
Int: Oh, okay!
MM: They didn’t want to continue.
Int: They didn’t want to continue, no. So it does sound like what you were doing there was some kind of specialisation, after your basic armourers training, so. And then that’s perhaps why you went to Wrexham afterwards, although you went to Cammeringham first didn’t you. But that was at the end of the war, so maybe they just used your skills as an armourer to deal with the machine guns and everything else because you were quite. What rank were you, that’s an interesting, that will give us, help a little.
MM: Well AC1, you know, when we finished.
Int: AC1 when you finished! Crikey. That’s interesting.
MM: We didn’t, we had.
Int: Right, and that was, AC1 is just aircraftsman first class. So that’s kind of the first or the second rung on the ladder, so after four years
MM: After everybody finished at Halton, they was first class.
Int: But you said some people could come out quickly and become a sergeant.
MM: Yes, they didn’t want to continue.
Int: So they didn’t want to do the armourers job.
MM: No, no, it’s not only armourers, they didn’t want continue because was different sections at Halton.
Int: Right, okay.
MM: It was not only the armourer, there was different sections.
Int: So they could change to a different section and become sergeant very quickly.
MM: Some of them engineer and so on, so that was different.
Int: I think it’ll be, it’s certainly worth you trying to get in touch with Margaret and see if you can get your records because that might, you might suddenly find that you were doing a very important job and you didn’t quite realise how important a job it was!
[Other]: But from what I’m hearing dad, because I’ve never heard of any of this, what I’m hearing is that, my understanding is that you, your division, whatever, at Halton, you were doing some secret service stuff, you know, you were examining.
Int: Possibly, yes.
[Other]: And you were probably told [emphasis] that you were under the training umbrella but you weren’t really, I think. [Beep]
Int: There’s a little bit more to this that perhaps they didn’t even tell you [emphasis]. They just said oh, you were doing some more training.
[Other]: So you were just told training so that if anything happened to you you’d say I was just doing training. In fact you were probably doing some.
Int: Some more interesting work.
[Other]: Without you realising you were doing.
Int: Which might be part of the reason as well, that you actually went to Cosford, to do some more things, but that you would think as just ordinary. Cause Cosford now, Halton and Cosford are still in the RAF now. Halton is the -
MM: No, Cosford, the reason we went Cosford because –
Int: They were doing something at Halton.
MM: They was bombing London.
Int: Oh, they were bombing! Right, okay.
MM: And the Air Ministry, I think they was trying to move to Halton.
Int: Right, that was the reason.
MM: That’s probably the reason, they move us from.
Int: Just, yes, they just give you some space at Halton possibly.
[Other]: Where is Halton, sorry.
Int: Halton is down kind of Aylesbury kind of way, that kind of.
[Other]: So it’s quite relatively near London still.
Int: Yes, it’s part of the old Rothschild’s estate.
MM: Yes, that’s right.
[Other]: And Northolt is the London base.
Int: That’s the one, yes, right just inside the M40.
[Other]: And your connections with Northolt is that you just used to go there?
Int: No, no, it was Cosford, which is over in the West Midlands. I don’t, did you ever go to Northolt during the war years when you were in the Polish Air Force? Or not?
MM: No. Some of them they’re coming from there.
Int: It was 303 Squadron that were based there, which is the Polish fighter squadron.
MM: They was coming for training.
[Other]: To Halton?
Int: To you, to Halton.
MM: You know for the, not only for me but for different engines or -
Int: Yes. So, so from 303 Squadron, the 303 Squadron armourers and the engineering teams for the engines and things used to come to Halton.
MM: They had the best in Halton.
Int: To get refresher training on new guns or new types of engines for the aircraft.
MM: They had special camp in Halton.
Int: Within Halton, right.
[Other]: It’s all kind of secretive.
Int: It’s kind of interesting, yes.
[Other]: This is quite intriguing.
MM: Sometimes when the cookhouse was closed for some reason, we went to the Polish dinner which is 303 Squadron used to have.
Int: Oh, they had a canteen, yes.
MM: We some Polish dinner!
Int: Proper Polish food, oh good! [Laugh] It’s interesting because as I say Halton is still there now, they use it for the new recruits just in any trade that come into the RAF. So Halton is still there. Cosford is still there and they do a lot of the training. In fact I think the armourers do their training at Cosford now, which is quite funny: that’s the complete circle has moved round. So both those stations are still there. Halton hasn’t really changed much, so if you ever got a chance to go there.
[Other]: I think Dad, you’ve been there.
MM: I’ve been to Halton, yes.
Int: Cause there’s just like the road that runs through the middle and there’s the top half of the camp and the bottom half of the camp.
[Other]: Yes, he’s been there. Okay.
MM: They use to march, they was calling Polish Avenue, and when they finish, they plant some trees, and they’re great.
Int: Huge big trees now, yeah.
MM: Polish Avenue.
Int: And they called that Polish Avenue did they? I’ll have to go and look. Next time I go to Halton, I’ll look and see if they still call it Polish Avenue.
[Other]: Thank you very much. So dad -
MM: We used to have, every morning we used to march to that, you know, after breakfast, to, to training.
Int: To your training area.
MM: At our school.
Int: Was it, can you remember now where, your barracks, when you lived in the barracks at Halton, were they at the bottom of the hill or the top of the hill? Could you, you probably can’t remember.
MM: The, the barracks, you can’t miss them because Polish Avenue, you’ve got Polish Avenue and that, as you’re walking, on the right hand side, that the barracks.
Int: That was your barracks.
MM: Two barracks, there was three, two barracks was. All different.
Int: And in your room, in your barrack room, it was just all Polish Air Force was it? Or was it a mixture of RAF and Polish?
MM: No. There was just two, two big barracks.
Int: Yes, but in the actual room, where you had maybe ten or twenty beds, in the room.
MM: There were many beds!
Int: But they were all Polish in that big room were they, or the English as well as Polish?
MM: No, no, no just Polish.
Int: Just the Polish.
MM: English were different.
Int: Yes. And when it came to special occasions during the year, special Polish occasions, including Christmas, did you have a Polish church, at Halton, that you could go to? A military church?
MM: Yes, yes. When Hitler declared war on the United States and we had, I remember one Christmas which is, the American came round and we had a big dinner.
Int: On the base, and did you -
MM: Yes. No, at Halton.
Int: Oh, at Halton. And di they bring a lot of extra food, special food from America?
MM: They had, you know, all different.
Int: Chocolate and things like that, yes. And when you were at Halton did you play any sport?
MM: Oh yes, swimming, we must swim, you know, you got, it doesn’t matter which is winter or summer still had to [indecipherable] had to learn must, you know, swim.
Int: I didn’t know whether you were perhaps a sportsman and you liked to play either football, or swimming or anything.
MM: Oh yes we usually have, used to have I think every Wednesday.
Int: Every Wednesday was sports day was it.
MM: And that was Mr Brown. [Chuckle]
Int: And Mr Brown was what, he was the instructor for sport?
MM: Instructor yes, for sport, yes. Was very nice chap.
Int: What’s your, what’s the memories, maybe one or two memories that you always have when you think back about Halton, anything to do with Halton at all. What’s the memories that you have, that you remember, if you were going to tell maybe two stories about Halton, what would those stories be?
MM: Well you know, the stories is completely different stories for our Wing Commander he was, well at that time he had a car, you know, Wing Commander what’s his name? Newbury. Newbury? And as he was coming to, to the station and two chap was walking, and he say can I give you a lift, you know, it was that station, and says oh yes please. And he say don’t tell the guards I left, don’t go through there, go to the main.
Int: And that was you was it? Oh, I thought it was you that he gave a lift to, but he gave a couple of guys a lift!
MM: He did.
Int: And at weekends, did you get time off at Halton? Did you get time off to go to the local town?
MM: Oh yes, we used to go to Aylesbury dancing, you know and also do dancing in Halton as well.
Int: And when you went off for your day off, or weekend, did you have to go in uniform?
MM: Yes.
Int: So uniform everywhere then. You didn’t meet any nice ladies then, when you were dancing? [Chuckles]
MM: Well!
[Other]: It’s all right dad!
Int: Good. Well that’s lovely. The only other thing I probably, we’ve talked an awful lot about Halton and I think there’s probably some more interesting little stories to come out of Halton. Could we, if you don’t mind, could we just go back to Cammeringham, how long do you think you were at Cammeringham for? Was it literally a couple of months, or was it a year?
MM: No, didn’t stay long.
Int: You didn’t stay very long.
MM: No. That’s why we posted.
Int: Yes.
MM: To the, from Cammeringham been posted to the Wales, you know that.
Int: To Wrexham.
MM: Wrexham.
Int: To Wrexham. So, you were saying that when you were at Cammeringham there wasn’t really a job for you, there was nothing to do.
MM: Cammeringham was just only for staying people.
Int: For the Polish resettlement.
MM: Yes, that’s right.
Int: So when you were there what did you do, each day, was there anything to do at all?
MM: Not really. No. The one chap he had a nice dog, and people’s giving him, sometimes give the dog penny, goes to the NAAFI, took penny and got the cake. [Laugh]
Int: Got the cake! That was the dog brought the cake back!
MM: Oh no!
Int: No, you got the cake for the dog!
MM: No, was for the dog!
Int: Ah right, I’m with you, right, okay. Can you remember when you were at Cammeringham, did you live in the village, in the barracks in the village, or up at the airfield?
MM: The airfield and the train was stopped, like where I was in the first squadron, and the train stop, you just put the hand, and the train stopped and you just can go to Ipswich or that place. Like bus now!
Int: Yes, oh man, that’s interesting.
MM: And a lot of people just playing the cards, you know, the cards.
Int: Yes. And that’s it that was it really, you played cards all day and then had your breakfast, your dinner and your kind of evening meal so that was it: there was nothing for you to do. Most of what’s, well, there is very little left at Cammeringham, or RAF Ingham now. There are a few, just a few nissen huts, a few buildings. The rank that you were at Cammeringham, I imagine the building that we’ve, that we’re renovating, was the building you would have eaten in because it was the airmen’s mess, um, oops, is it the other side round, wait a minute, yup, there we go, [paper shuffling] it probably looks very, very different, and that’s the thing with the kitchen, there was a dining room, and another dining room the other side, and that would have been the Junior ranks mess, up on the edge of the airfield, so I imagine, and that’s what it would have looked like, a computer drawing, so I imagine that’s where you would have eaten. You can hang on to that because it’s, some of it’s in Polish and some of it‘s in English, it just tells you a little bit about what we are doing at RAF Ingham, and you can see Cammeringham there, because obviously it was Cammeringham at the end of the war. It might jog a few memories. And we’ve got the web site as well which has got more photographs on it. I think, did I give you one of our cards beforehand? Did I?
[Other]: I’ve got your card.
Int: You’ve got my card, right that’s okay. But we’ve obviously got the web site and we’ve got a twitter now but we just use it purely and simply to put pictures on there and a little bit about what we’ve done the previous week when we’re doing all the works. We don’t use it as a chat room thing.
MM: And is another one which is from Halton, Sikorsky, when Sikorsky been killed, Mrs Sikorsky, and she invite me, I don’t know, another two chaps, for dinner to her, you know.
Int: To her house.
MM: Well, it’s a big house. And actually we came to London, she was in Baker Street, she was waiting for us, and the first thing we went to Madame Tussaud, and Sikorsky was already in Madame Tussaud. From Madame Tussaud we just walk maybe ten minutes, to big house, that policeman was standing in there [chuckle] and they prepare big meal you know, yes, we stay over there. And the evening we went to the, to the Piccadilly which is what er, the place, what you call it, because that Sikorsky had two sons and they was in Navy or you know, and they took us to the Prince of Wales, on Piccadilly, that was: Prince of Wales Theatre.
Int: The theatre, yes, yes. So you went there that evening. They took you for a night out.
MM: Yeah. The Prince of Wales. I remember that.
Int: And why were chosen to go to the evening meal?
MM: I don’t know!
Int: You hadn’t done something special you were being rewarded for?
MM: No, I don’t know!
Int: And what did your officers say, best behaviour and?
MM: No! It was free over there.
Int: That was free, okay, good.
MM: Yes, that was Prince of Wales.
Int: And when you went for this night, for the meal with General Sikorsky’s wife, and the sons, were you at Halton at that point?
MM: Yes.
Int: Oh, you were still at Halton.
MM: Yes, yes, at Halton.
Int: Again, very interesting, very interesting. Mmm. It creates more questions than answers.
MM: And Sikorsky, always, he was against the, you know, the Polish Army, and the army in Warsaw. He was against that, he said you not going to win with Stalin and because well, two hundred fifty, two hundred fifty thousand people been killed, or you know; destroyed Warsaw completely. But, and he was completely against that, [beep] Sikorsky.
Int: So he didn’t want to fight in Warsaw, he wanted to just -
MM: No, because you’re not going to win.
Int: Not going to win and it would just wipe out –
MM: And they just Ignored that, his advice.
Int: What, I haven’t asked you yet, but I should ask you. Where were you born? What’s your town or city you were born in, in Poland?
MM: The, in 1939 the Lvov which is [indecipherable] there was prisoner of war, er Russian soldiers taken to, from Lvov northward up to Podlesice and their massive [emphasis] horses and prisoners, you know. My mum, she gave some bread to me and I went over and throw it because I, well was not enough food probably, and their horses, massive [emphasis] horses, maybe some of them been probably killed in Kharkiv that time and when, when, because when they first er, I think they in the country, but first, because I used to live not far from railway station, and there was Polish policemen all, that took over by Ukraine and Jewish people, because of us welcoming the, Stalin in that way.
Int: Yes. So you’ve mentioned that you’ve been back to Poland since, did you say you’ve been back to Poland since it’s been free, since Poland was free? In ‘90 or ’91?
MM: Oh, yes.
Int: In 1990 ’91 was it, ‘91 when it became a Republic again, I can’t quite remember, with Lech Walesa?
MM: After that, yeah.
Int: So you haven’t been back to your town or your city to see it? No, you haven’t, no.
[Other]: Dad’s only been back to my mum’s side. [Indecipherable]
Int: Right.
[Other]: But can you tell Geoff where you were born dad? It’s what he asked you!
Int: Yes, I know, yeah.
MM: In the, Bokievka.
[Other]: Bokievka, which is on the Russian side.
Int: It’s on the Russian side then. Or is it still in Poland?
[Other]: It is now -
MM: No, that was, that time, when I born we was not Russian.
[Other]: It was Poland.
MM: No, it wasn’t, it wasn’t even part of Poland.
[Other]: What was it?
MM: Austria.
Int: Oh right.
[Other]: What? So when you were born dad, you were born in Austria?
MM: Austria. Because –
[Other]: Huh? But all the documents it says in Poland.
MM: Well, it’s Poland, yeah, it was Poland, but we been under the Austrian.
Int: Oh, was it the Austro-Hungarian?
MM: Hungarian, yeah.
Int: The Austro-Hungarian kind of part of it, it came up before, post, pre Second World War and all that, possibly.
[Other]: I think where dad now, the village, I think now is Lithuania isn’t it? Or Ukraine?
MM: [Indecipherable] is on the top.
Int: But the village, or the town where you were born -
[Other]: Is now –
Int: Which country is it in now [emphasis]?
[Other]: Lithuania.
Int: Is it Lithuania? Or is it still Poland?
[Other]: What is it then? Ukraine?
MM: Ukraine.
[Other]: Ukraine.
Int: It’s Ukraine, right, okay. So the borders have changed.
MM: Ukraine, Ukraine there.
Int: Okay. Is there anything else you can think of at the moment that you’d like to tell me about your time in the Polish Air Force at all? Anything you might have, because we’ve been talking about so many different subjects, and different times through your time in the Polish Air Force, did you, did you ever, here’s a question, at the end, when you’re finishing in the Polish Air Force, did you, did they allow you to keep any of your badges, or your hat, or anything at all?
MM: Yeah.
Int: Yeah? They allowed you to keep some things. That’s good.
MM: When the coat uniform, when demob only had one uniform, all the rest of them was RAF.
Int: So you kept them for a while. Did you, do you still have any of the badges or did you, have the badges all gone?
MM: I think probably got some buttons.
Int: From your original uniform. That’s very good.
MM: But er, well, we kept the uniform and everything.
Int: Well I hope that at some point in the near future, depending on how things go, we’re obviously hoping to open the Centre, maybe not this year, it might be next year now because we’re waiting for Heritage Lottery Fund, but then we’d love to invite you up, with your family, to come and see what we’re doing in Lincolnshire.
[Other]: Yeah? Do that dad.
Int: We are looking the big Memorial Garden, with the Polish Memorials in it, we’re hoping to open on the 26th of May this next year, with His Excellency the Polish Ambassador’s coming up and it’s going to be that kind of thing.
[Other]: Oh let us know.
Int: Once we’ve firmed everything up.
[Other]: Yeah, let us know.
Int: We will yes, we’ll let you know; it’s a Thursday. We thought that’s a little bit easier for people rather than weekends where it kind of clutters things up a bit, so we’re hoping to do all of that and with all the veterans we’ve found and managed to talk to, and what I have [emphasis] got for you, because you are an armourer, I’ve got some footage, it’s RAF footage, but it’s a training, it’s almost like a training video of how to arm up bombs and how to load and unload.
MM: [Indecipherable]
Int: We’ve got something like that already.
[Other]: What I’m trying to get in my head, is how you can train for four years.
Int: Oh I know, yes.
[Other]: When people dying.
Int: They’d be pushing them out onto the squadrons.
[Other]: They need the men. I just think my dad was told a certain thing to do but they were actually doing a different type of job, if that makes any sense.
Int: Yeah. Test and evaluation in some form, or testing new things, but they were training during that time. Yes, that’d be interesting to dig a little deeper into that. Yes.
[Other]: I can’t, I think dad’s been brainwashed by what they told him.
Int: Well yes, they would have just been doing more training, and more training, but maybe there’s a little bit more. It’ll be interesting to see, when the records come out, if, while you were at Halton, it says you were actually attached to a special section or squadron, you were doing test and evaluation, you know, for these four years, because it’s -
[Other]: So it’s Margaret we need to speak to. Do you have her phone number, dad?
Int: If not, I’ve got it. I can email it to you anyway.
MM: I know her!
[Other]: Well I’m sure you do know her, but we want to get your records. She can send you a copy of your records.
MM: We’re going to the [indecipherable] and she’ll be there.
[Other]: She’ll be there. And you can ask her. You want to ask her there, okay. All right then, we’ll go to –
MM: I’ve got her telephone number.
[Other]: He wants to that, okay.
Int: You might well have already have done this anyway, have you been down to the Sikorsky Institute and Museum? In London, down on King Street.
[Other]: Probably have.
Int: Because that’s the main museum for all kinds of things.
[Other]: Yeah, I’ve been there a very long time ago, but not recently.
Int: If you want to look at any of the archives I think you have to ring them up beforehand and book, to go at a certain time and then they’ll get things out. Once you see what Margaret’s got, it might be a case that they’ve got something to do with that particular Halton thing at, in the Sikorsky Museum. They may be able to bring out photographs, cause they’ve got tremendous, we haven’t even been down there yet to look at stuff to do with the Polish squadrons because we just haven’t had the time, but we know [emphasis] they’ve got film, they’ve got photographs; they’ve got a lot of stuff archived in the Sikorsky Institute.
MM: When I been in training the one, what’s his name, he just went you know, trained and was training and he went and shot down the German plane [laugh] and that Squadron Leader he was, I think he was Canadian, and he was very upset because he say you should stick with the, the, all together, anyhow, but later on he say from now on you are in operational; you done very well.
Int: So there was a Squadron Leader who shot somebody down and he was just there practicing or testing, and then they made him operational. Right.
[Other]: So dad, you were never operational then?
MM: Pardon?
[Other]: Did you shoot down any planes?
MM: No, I didn’t fly!
[Other]: No I know you didn’t fly but did you shoot any planes from ground force, from ground level?
MM: No, ground is different people was doing that, not shooting.
[Other]: So Halton was never attacked?
Int: Quite possibly so, yes, I would imagine they would have had some kind of air raids.
[Other]: So when Halton was attacked by Germans, where would you go? You know, like London, they used to bomb London.
Int: Did you have air raid shelters, under the ground? Were they in the basement of buildings? Or were they separate?
MM: We had air raid shelters, yeah.
Int: You had the shelters to go in.
[Other]: There was a, a drill went, you had to go to air raid, yes, but you didn’t actively shoot down planes.
MM: No, no, that was different people.
[Other]: I know but I’m asking, I’m just asking.
MM: No, there was, you’ve got, with the machine gun you can’t shoot them.
Int: No, exactly. they had to be the bigger, the anti-aircraft guns, yes. Oh, okay. Well, if we find out some more information, I’d like to come back maybe, at another time, for a, to have a chat with you again and we’ll put the camera on a second time. Because there might be some other, we might even find some documents or some photographs or something that explain the kind of job that you were doing a little bit more at Halton and it’ll be interesting to see if there’s a hidden story that perhaps you [emphasis] weren’t aware of, that they were getting you doing.
[Other]: I think they’ve got a [indecipherable] that he wasn’t aware of, that they [emphasis] were aware of.
Int: Because they, you were just, with your Polish colleagues, you were just doing training, but on maybe advanced weapons, and new weapons that were coming out which is why you said it was training because it was new stuff.
[Other]: But it wasn’t training.
MM: Yes, that’s precisely, there you go.
[Other]: But that wasn’t training.
Int: So you were doing testing on new [emphasis] types of weapons because you mentioned rockets didn’t you.
MM: Oh yeah, rockets.
Int: Now rockets didn’t come in until 1944 ’45 and they put them, not under the, not so much under Spitfires, but under Typhoon, the fighter aircraft and Mosquitos.
[Other]: But dad, did you put the bombs onto the planes?
MM: Well –
[Other]: Would you put the bombs under the planes?
MM: I didn’t put them, we just I didn’t do the training.
[Other]: Forget the training, did you physically put the bombs on to the planes?
MM: You don’t understand, that was training only.
[Other]: Well that’s what they told you.
Int: So when you actually did the training, as part of the training did they show you how to attach the rockets under the wings and things?
MM: Yes of course! We were doing that.
[Other]: But did you physically do that?
MM: That was not operational planes!
Int: Yes, I understand, because that was just training, so what they would do is, they would have a plane there, and you would practice putting rockets and things on to.
MM: You put the fuses to the bombs, everything.
Int: So the aircraft was just really for practicing your training, it wasn’t operational; I understand.
MM: Was not operational.
Int: So the aeroplane was almost part of your workshop. That you used it to practice putting the bombs and the rockets on.
MM: Yes, that’s right.
[Other]: But weren’t you kind of interested as to why you were constantly on training? For four years. You know, didn’t you think in your, amongst yourselves, we’re constantly training? Didn’t you think about it?
MM: But aeroplanes so complicated.
[Other]: Yeah, but dad no [sigh].
MM: Turrets and, you know, it’s not so simple you think can learn that in one day.
[Other]: But one year was a sixth of the Second World War! We were only at war for six years so four years is a big chunk.
Int: I think you were very lucky, because you were, it does sound like you were on experimental training for all the new weapons, but they told you that it was just training. But to have kept you there all that time I think you have to have been on a very special testing and evaluation.
MM: Like I prepare wings, then rockets, we have to calculate the pins which is going to shell that – it’s not simple.
[Other]: I’m not saying that dad, but dad.
Int: The timing mechanism on a rocket to when it explodes or was it just explode on impact or at a certain distance or height.
MM: Yes! And when the pilot pressed the button, they used to have a red, or the TNT burns and that shell, that pins.
Int: This, this is an experimental area. They were given rockets, but they’re obviously um, looking, your colleagues knew, they were obviously testing different types of fuse lengths and different fuse, not lengths but timers, for rockets and bombs to work in different ways, so some would be designed to explode above the ground, like an air burst, possibly, ground burst or some other. I think there was a lot of experimental work.
[Other]: So, did you think you were getting bombs to dad that were just straight off the, kind of, um tsk?
Int: I don’t think so much production, these weren’t production, these were, I think what you had Michael was pre-production.
MM: Pre-production. Yes, that makes sense.
Int: It was experimental. People who were coming up with the ideas, bit like Barnes Wallis did with the Bouncing Bomb, and you would have scientists that were going: I want to make this and then your bunch of armourers would be there say, working out how they can make that work.
[Other]: This pre-production. So really they weren’t training, they were testers. But they were told training.
Int: But it was classed as probably training, but they were testing different fuses and different things to work out what would work.
[Other]: Before they went into production.
Int: Possibly so, I think.
[Other]: Right, okay. I think, yes.
Int: I think that’s possibly, just listening to what you’ve told us.
MM: That’s right. Definitely
Int: So I think that’s a very important job, very important. Probably more important than you realised at the time.
[Other]: Yes. So basically you were testing all the prototypes and once you’d tried, agreed. So who would sign it off then? Who was it actually, this is gonna work? Who would sign it off, your chief commander? Who was your top man? Wing Commander, or?
MM: Yeah, would be the Wing Commander was. [Beep]
[Other]: Would have to sign it off.
Int: It would be head of that section probably.
[Other]: Who was head of sections, dad?
Int: Who was in charge of your training area? Would probably have been an officer I presume.
[Other]: Do you remember?
MM: Yes, that was er –
Int: Or a Warrant Officer maybe.
[Other]: So he was probably getting information from other agencies, or other.
Int: Yes, very interesting.
MM: That’s, that’s right.
[Other]: Do you remember the name of your head of training?
MM: Um, just a moment, I try to.
[Other]: Cause I think now, you’ve got your scientists, doing your prototype, next thing.
Int: Coming down to Halton, they’re going: right, here’s the basic idea, let’s see how we can make this work.
[Other]: These guys, let’s, and then -
Int: Look at existing –
[Other]: And then someone signs it off.
Int: Bombs and rockets they’ve got, and whether they needed modifying from the scientists and then they do the armourers part of putting the whole thing together and making it work from an armourer’s point of view. And [emphasis] how do you then fix that onto the underside of the wings or into the bomb bays, because obviously the, all the connections for the bombs and the -
MM: Got some of them, rockets, they’re shooting that, they stick to the tank and exploded.
Int: Yes. There you go. So to pierce armour, any, any good project, these days projectiles will go through some serious armour and then they explode inside the tank. So the first charge blows the hole in the tank, the second charge blows inside the tank.
[Other]: So dad, when you were doing all this, you were, you’re risking your life, every time!
MM: No, I’m testing.
Int: Probably not so much cause it was in a research.
MM: Research and test.
Int: In a research kind of environment so it would be like workshop, laboratory, research and they were working out how to, so that the rockets that were fired – cause they were right at the end of the war – they’d come off fighter planes that shoot, basic, very basic rockets at the end of the forties, but you could hit ground targets, so if you got tanks going across an open ground or something, or something like that, then obviously the fighter planes could get in and then fire the rockets to hit the tanks. But as you were saying, if it hits the outside of the thing and sticks to it, so it’s not going to bounce off, and then it explodes.
MM: Otherwise it can slide that, you know.
Int: There you go there’s a very interesting little piece of information there. That, and that’s something you’ve now remembered, getting something so they’d hit the target, and stick on it, and then explode. Rather than hitting the target and bouncing off.
MM: Bounced, yes.
Int: So there we are.
[Other]: Right. So that’s where your engineering, cause dad ended up being a production engineer, so he used to.
MM: That, you had the people was coming from London and was going teach us, you know.
Int: Yeah. It’s starting to come together now! We’re understanding a little bit more about what you actually did.
[Other]: Right! Yes.
Int: So it was probably -
MM: How to drop the bombs as well.
Int: Yes.
MM: You know, was teaching everything, you know.
Int: Which does explain perhaps why –
[Other]: You weren’t operational, non-operational.
Int: And you didn’t go up through the ranks because you were staying at that experimental, although you think they might have given you another rank or two for a little bit more pay, for the job you were doing! But maybe because that was, it was a shorter time and during the war.
[Other]: Four years is a long time in the war! That’s eighty percent out of four years.
Int: We can, the records, the main records for what happened at Halton research are probably out in the public domain now if you know where to find them, just to find out, test and evaluation centre that would have been there, or a small workshops as part of the armourers. And to be honest, if you’ve got the armourers there, the people that taught the armourers will be more experienced people anyway, so then they’d use some of those instructors, probably attached to, with your father, they’d be like the managers, the site managers, or the supervisors looking after the team of younger workers that were doing the test and evaluation on things.
[Other]: But my feeling is there’s a lot going on behind the scenes here.
Int: Oh, probably so, yeah. I mean that happened through the whole of the Second World War. Not just the Air Ministry, but in the Air Ministry would, there would have been a lot of small, trying new things, test and evaluation. I mean nobody had heard about the bouncing bomb, had they, and that just, that was all built.
[Joanne] Did you test the bouncing ball dad?
MM: No.
[Other]: Did you do anything with nuclear war? That nuclear?
Int: No.
MM: No. They was testing in Wales that, yeah.
Int: Yes, I mean the bouncing bomb was all done down at um, Teddington, Teddington Lock, the big old, the big water tanks that they had down there, in towards London. I don’t know what, I don’t know where all the nuclear stuff was done.
[Other]: Wales, dad said it was Wales.
Int: Wales.
MM: Wales, that was in Wales.
Int: Probably in and around the old quarries and things like that where you have low population.
MM: They was doing some in Wales, testing.
[Other]: Oh, very interesting, I didn’t know this.
Int: There we are. It’s interesting sometimes, when things, as people relax a little bit when we have the conversations, little things do tend to come out, so, and the nice thing is we’ve captured it all now so we can put it on to a disc so that if you need to look back and remember points that perhaps you’ll forget about, and then you think ‘oh yes, I said that’, so, and that’s, so it’ll help Joanne as well cause if you get the bug and start doing a bit of research we’ve got at least some ground area now.
[Other]: So, in your testing evaluation school, how many Polish people were there? Sixty, seventy?
MM: No, that was, there was I think six, was five hundred.
[Other]: Five hundred?
MM: But different sections!
[Other]: Yeah, but in your [emphasis] section?
MM: In my section er -
[Other]: Do you remember dad?
MM: No. In my section was [pause].
Int: Five hundred would have been probably for the whole camp. With the standard training for armourers in different points, but then -
[Other]: I can’t believe that dad.
MM: Thirty or forty.
[Other]: Thirty, so it’s quite a small group.
Int: Small group, concentrate on certain things.
[Other]: Concentrate, yeah.
MM: Thirty or forty there was, yeah.
[Other]: And all the other groups, you knew all the other groups, yeah?
MM: Well one actually, he was instructor, he went to Argentina and I think he passed away long time ago.
[Other]: So, so the friends that you see at your monthly Polish Air Force lunch, they used to be in Northolt, Halton, with you, yes? No? Yes?
Int: The people that you have lunch with, each month, your friends now [emphasis] when you see them each month now.
[Other]: They were at Halton.
Int: Are they the people from Halton, or are they just Polish Air Force people that you’ve met since?
MM: No, they’re probably different.
Int: From different things, right. Okay
MM: You know, from different.
Int: Well thank you very, very much.
MM: Not so many left now [laugh].
[Other]: Very interesting.
Int: No! Well thank you very, very much Michael, find where the turn off switch is.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Mieczyslaw Maryszczak
Description
An account of the resource
Mieczyslaw Maryszczak was born in Bokyivka, Ukraine and served in the Polish Army and then the Polish Air Force. An early memory of the war is throwing bread to starving Russian prisoners being marched from Lviv to Podlesice. At seventeen he was in the Polish Army testing repaired tanks in Gaza. After the Allied victory at Alamein he went to Egypt where he joined the Polish Air Force, sailing via South Africa to Liverpool to train at RAF Halton as an armourer.
At RAF Halton he met fellow Poles from 303 Squadron who were there for three months training. He, however, was there for four years and received training very good on all types of armament and explosives, possibly in the context of weapon research and development.
He was there on VE Day but says the Poles didn't celebrate because of the Yalta agreement. He also recalls how, when some Russians visited, they were locked in a workshop out of the way. He recalls the barrack rooms and how they cheated the midnight bed checks when some were still out dancing in Aylesbury. He also says that the food was cooked by Italian prisoners and was very good.
In 1946 Michael went to RAF Cammeringham pending demobilisation. He was then detached to 48 Maintenance Unit at Wrexham, where he received and checked aircraft guns, before going to RAF Framlingham to await resettlement or repatriation.
Some Polish airmen returned to Poland but Mieczyslaw, by then know as Michael, went to London for resettlement. He claimed that trade unions didn't want the Poles and tried to send them into the mines and foundries but he refused and found a job making spectacles. He met his wife, who is also Polish, in 1960.
In London Michael attended social events and dinners at the Polish Club. He was awarded the Polish Freedom Medal in about 1990 or 1991.
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Polskie Siły Powietrzne
Language
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eng
Type
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Sound
Format
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01:31:02 audio recording
Identifier
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SRAFIngham19410620v070001-Audio
Conforms To
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Pending revision of OH transcription
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Creator
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Geoff Burton
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Anne-Marie Watson
Andy Fitter
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1939
1942
1943
1944
1945
1945-05-08
1946
1947
1948
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Egypt
Gaza Strip
Great Britain
England--Buckinghamshire
England--Lincolnshire
England--Shropshire
England--Suffolk
England--Lincoln
England--London
England--Wolverhampton
Middle East--Palestine
Wales
Wales--Wrexham
Ukraine
Poland
Poland--Kraków
303 Squadron
demobilisation
ground crew
ground personnel
military living conditions
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
RAF Cosford
RAF Framlingham
RAF Halton
RAF Ingham
RAF Wrexham
recruitment
shelter
training
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Auton, Jim
J Auton
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection relates to Sergeant Jim Auton MBE (1924 - 2020). He was badly injured when his 178 Squadron B-24 was hit by anti-aircraft fire during an operation from Italy. The collection contains an oral history interview and ten photographs.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jim Auton and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-30
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Auton, J
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
WARSAW SUPPLY DROP
13-14 AUGUST 1944
When told that we were flying down to Brindisi to take on supplies for our next mission, Taffy [inserted] Lewis [/inserted] and I thought it was the ideal time to try out each others gun position. So, with the pilots permission, Taffy flew in the rear turret whilst I used the mid-upper. The flight was only one hour duration, for which we were both glad, as neither of us liked the change. For me the seat was too low and my view very restricted, and Taffy said, he felt in danger of falling out of the back of the plane. So when we took off for Warsaw we were both happy to be back in our normal flying positions.
On this trip I was wearing for the first time, an electrically wired flying suit with socks and gloves attached and plugged into the aircrafts electrical system, this improved my lot considerably, for I had found, on previous operations, that when the beam doors were opened to swing the beam guns into position as we crossed the Adriatic Coast, on our way out. that the wind whistling round the rear turret, made it an extremely cold place to be. One thing that I noticed about this trip was the extra number of drifts that I was asked to take for the navigator, also the number of doglegs we did to avoid trouble spots, otherwise, it was the usual thing, systematic searching and hoping not to find.
At long last we were approaching the target, “Warsaw”, then the fireworks really started. As we turned away from the Vistula, heading for the dropping zone, although keeping a sharp lookout for enemy aircraft, I could see that we were uncomfortably close to the ground and flying over an inferno, were [sic] people could be clearly seen moving between the burning buildings and coming up at us from all sides was a really colourful array of tracer etc. which, if one could forget the lethal aspect, was better than any firework display I have ever seen. As we started to climb away after the drop I found that my hydraulic controls did not respond so I changed over for evasive action and we found ourselves back over Warsaw taking another hammering. This was a bit of a shock after thinking that we had done the worst part of the job and were on our way home. Eventually we moved out of range and I began to breath easier, but not for long as back we went for a third time.
continued ……..
[page break]
2
[inserted] ( [/inserted] If the pilot had known what I was thinking about him at that moment, I would still be in the glasshouse today. [inserted] ) [/inserted] Apparently, the reason for our reluctance to leave Warsaw, was that as well as losing the pilot, one of the engines had been hit and the aircraft was turning on the dead engine and continued to do so for quite a while afterwards. This must have confused the enemy fighters out looking for us. At one point I saw and reported an aircraft with a flashing light on top, passing at an angle close beneath us. then later, from a different direction. [inserted] ( [/inserted] These aircraft usually worked in pairs, one acting as a decoy, to draw the fire, thus giving away the position, whilst the other one moved in for the kill. [inserted] ) [/inserted]
Steve Appleyard, our beam gunner, was about to open up on this aircraft when he heard me on the intercom, thought I’d said lightning, so held his fire wondering what the hell a Lockheed Lightning was doing in this part of the world.
When the pilot bailed out over Warsaw, the only one to see him leave was Bob Burgess, our engineer/second pilot, who immediately took over the controls and was far too busy trying to stay airborne to think of anything else, so that some time elapsed before the rest of the crew could be made aware. [inserted] Bob [/inserted] He first called the navigator up to the flight deck, then after a brief discussion, came on the intercom, to put the rest of us in the picture as to what had happened and what lay before us. Also we were each given the option of bailing out, which we refused.
Because of damage sustained by the plane we could not gain sufficient height to get back over the Carpathian Mountains, so it was decided that we should carry on into Russia, and a landing would be attempted when there was enough daylight.
Some time later the [inserted] Bob [/inserted] second pilot told us that he had been steadily gaining height and that we were now at 8,000 feet. This gave us a better safety margin if anything went wrong, and shortly afterwards something must have gone wrong, for we went into a very steep dive. I was sitting in the rear turret with the doors open and had to grab the sight bracket to save myself falling out backwards. I could not move and was just waiting for the bump but miraculously we levelled out at about 3,000 feet. When daylight came I left the rear turret and took up the beam gun position along side Steve. We were now low on fuel and [inserted] Bob [/inserted] the second pilot asked everyone to keep a sharp lookout for a possible landing site. Shortly afterwards someone spotted a concrete landing strip. On inspection we found that it had been rendered useless by sections having been removed at intervals along its entire length. Bob, however, decided to try landing in the field alongside, and after a dummy run, the navigator and the bomb aimer set about the task of getting the under-carriage down.
continued …….
[page break]
3
This had to be done manually, due to hydraulic failure. When the main wheel on my side was down and locked, I looked across at Steve and gave him the thumbs up sign, but he shook his head. Things were beginning to look a trifle sticky, one wheel down, one up, low on fuel, too low to bail out and a pilot who had never taken off or landed one of these planes on his own. But no one seemed unduly perturbed as once again they went through the drill for getting the under-carriage down, and this time, it worked. The wheels were down and locked, but now there was another [underlined] flap on, [/underlined] [inserted] problem [/inserted] with everyone concentrating on the under-carriage we had lost sight of the landing strip, but fortunately not for long. All who could then took up [inserted] our landing [/inserted] [underlined] ditching [/underlined] positions and we came in to a perfect [inserted] X [/inserted] [underlined] three point landing. [inserted] touchdown [/inserted]
What a relieved and happy crew [inserted] we were [/inserted] to be back on solid earth, no matter where it was. Our rejoicing, however, was cut short by the [inserted] Lt Noel Sloeat the [/inserted] navigator, who reminded us that we may still be in enemy held territory and must destroy all secret papers and equipment. This was soon accomplished, and for safety’s sake the guns were unloaded and cleared. We then moved forward to meet the nearest of several groups of soldiers and civilians who were converging on the plane from different directions, but [inserted] we [/inserted] came to a sudden halt as one of the soldiers cocked his rifle. They appeared to be very suspicious of us and kept pointing to the ashes of the burned papers and obviously asking about them. But as there was no common language between us it took a long time, using signs, to convince them that we were their allies.
We found out much later from an interpreter, that they had initially thought we were Americans. Once they were satisfied as to our identities, the mood changed, everyone was happy and willing to help us in any way possible. By this time our thoughts were turning to food, this was easily conveyed to our new hosts, who provided us all with a hearty breakfast. The second pilot, navigator, bomb aimer and [inserted] I [/inserted] myself dined at the nearby village, whilst the top gunner, beam-gunner and the wireless operator were well catered for by the locals, as they stayed with the aircraft. It was at this meal that we had our first taste of vodka, we were all intrigued by the small glass of clear, [underlined] sparkling [/underlined] liquid by the side of each plate, but had no means of enquiring about it. Bob decided to sample it first, raised the glass to his lips then put it down quickly saying, “don’t touch it chaps, its poison”. On seeing our reactions, one of the soldiers took the glass and drained it in one gulp, indicating that it should not be sipped.
After resting for a few hours we were transported by an ancient wagon over dirt roads and wooden bridges to Novograd, where we spent the night. The following morning we were flown to Poltava. Here the reception party included an interpreter so for the first time since landing on Russian soil we were able to discuss the situation and clear up a few points with the Russians.
continued …..
[inserted] who stayed with the A/C [/inserted]
[page break]
4
When everything had been sorted out we were taken in small [inserted] bi [/inserted] by-planes to a nearby rest camp. Then after four days of rest and relaxation were returned to Poltava by the same means. Here we said our goodbyes before climbing aboard a D.C.3, which was standing by to fly us to Moscow. The one thing I could not get used to as a passenger was flying without a harness and parachute. On all previous flights we had been equipped with these items and without them I felt extremely vulnerable. On arrival at Moscow Airport we were met by [inserted] British [/inserted] Embassy Officials, who for the next fortnight took care of our needs and acted as guides on trips to the Bolshei [sic] Theatre for ballet and opera also sight seeing tours around Moscow etc., From Moscow the [inserted] 5 [/inserted] R.A.F. members of the crew were posted back to the United Kingdom.
Flying out on the fourth of September we landed at Cairo Airport on the seventh of that month. Travelling via Stalingrad, Baku, Teheran, Baghdad and Damascus. Our stay in Cairo was longer than we had expected or wanted, but at last, after almost two months we were on our way again, stopping at Malta, Sardinia and finally the South of England on the second of November, and what a contrast from the heat of Cairo to the freezing fog of Britain in two days, but we were not complaining.
W. CROSS. R.A.F.V.R.
REAR GUNNER WITH 31 SQUADRON S.A.A.F.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Warsaw Supply Drop 13-14 August 1944
Description
An account of the resource
William Cross Memoir of a supply drop to Polish fighters. They lost an engine and struggled to maintain height. The pilot had bailed out leaving the rest of the crew to fly the aircraft. They landed successfully in Russian territory and met up with their troops. Afterwards they were transported to Moscow then back to UK via Stalingrad, Syria and Cairo.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
William Cross
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944-08
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Four typewritten sheets
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Text. Memoir
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
BCrossWCrossWv10001,
BCrossWCrossWv10002,
BCrossWCrossWv10003,
BCrossWCrossWv10004
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
South African Air Force
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan--Baku
Egypt
Egypt--Cairo
Italy
Italy--Brindisi
Italy--Sardinia
Iraq
Iraq--Baghdad
Iran
Malta
Poland
Poland--Warsaw
Poland--Vistula River
Russia (Federation)
Syria
Syria--Damascus
Ukraine
North Africa
Ukraine--Poltava
Iran--Tehran
Russia (Federation)--Volgograd
Russia (Federation)--Moscow
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Tricia Marshall
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-08-13
1944-08-14
31 Squadron
air gunner
aircrew
B-24
bale out
bombing
C-47
flight engineer
navigator
pilot
Warsaw airlift (4 August - 28 September 1944)
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/19/23361/MAutonJ[Ser -DoB]-170119-11.jpg
711e1d6f0997172a9ee538cf2f621867
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Auton, Jim
J Auton
Description
An account of the resource
26 items. The collection relates to Sergeant Jim Auton MBE (1924 - 2020). He was badly injured when his 178 Squadron B-24 was hit by anti-aircraft fire during an operation from Italy. The collection contains an oral history interview and ten photographs.
The collection has been loaned to the IBCC Digital Archive for digitisation by Jim Auton and catalogued by IBCC Digital Archive staff.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. Some items have not been published in order to protect the privacy of third parties, to comply with intellectual property regulations, or have been assessed as medium or low priority according to the IBCC Digital Archive collection policy and will therefore be published at a later stage. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collection-policy.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2015-07-30
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Auton, J
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[List]
[William Cross flights to and from Warsaw]
PILOT 206788. LT. W. NORVAL
2nd PILOT 2nd/LT. R. BURGESS.
NAV. LT. Noel SLEED.
BOMB AIMER. SGT. A. BATES.
WIRELESS OPP. SGT Stan PAYNE.
TOP GUNNER SGT Taffy LEWIS.
REAR GUNNER SGT W. CROSS
BEAM GUNNER. GUNNER S. APPLEYARD.
[dividing line]
WB. CELONE – BRINDISI [ticked] 13/8/44 13.35 – 14.35
WB BRINDISI. – WARSAW – UKRAINE [ticked] 19.20 – 05.30
DW [indecipherable word] – POLTAVA [ticked] 15-8-44 14.30 – 16.00
[?] POLTAVA – REST HOME [ticked] 15-8-44 16-30 – 16-55
REST HOME – POLTAVA [ticked] 19-8-44 11-30 – 11-55
D.C.3 POLTAVA – MOSCOW [ticked] 19-8-44 12-30 – 15-45
DC3 MOSCOW – STALINGRAD [ticked] 4-9-44 07-20 – 11-10
DC3 STALINGRAD – BAKU [ticked] 4-9-44 12-05 – 16-40
DC3 BAKU – TEHERAN 5-9-44 07-40 – 10-05
LOD TEHERAN – BAGDAD 7-9-44 03-15 – 10-30
LOD BAGDAD – DAMASCUS 7-9-44 11-00 – 13-30
LOD DAMASCUS – CAIRO 7-9-44 14-20 – 16-35
DC3 CAIRO – MALTA 1/11/44 09-25 – 15-40[?]
DC3 MALTA – SARDINIA 2/11/44 05.30 – 08.00
DC3 SARDINIA – LYNEHAM 2/11/44 09-00 – 15-40
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
William Cross' Flights to and from Warsaw
Description
An account of the resource
A list of 15 flights to and from Warsaw and aircrew. They cover from 13 Aug 1944 to 2 Nov 1944.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
One handwritten sheet
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
MAutonJ[Ser#-DoB]-170119-11
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan--Baku
Egypt
Egypt--Cairo
Italy
Italy--Brindisi
Iraq
Iraq--Baghdad
Iran
Malta
Poland
Poland--Warsaw
Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation)--Moscow
Russia (Federation)--Volgograd
Syria
Syria--Damascus
Ukraine
Ukraine--Novohrad-Volynsʹkyĭ
Ukraine--Poltava
North Africa
Italy--Sardinia
Iran--Tehran
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
William Cross
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1944
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1944-08
1944-09
1944-10
1944-11
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Sue Smith
air gunner
aircrew
B-24
bomb aimer
C-47
navigator
pilot
RAF Lyneham
Warsaw airlift (4 August - 28 September 1944)
wireless operator
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1368/23113/PThomasAF20050044.2.jpg
f8f40716b1e0d4efc903737be0c257e2
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Thomas, Arthur Froude. Album 4
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2020-02-11
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Thomas, AF
Description
An account of the resource
42 items. An album containing photographs of 149 Squadron aircraft and personnel as well as pictures taken in 1946 of some of the bomb damage to German cities.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[photograph]
297 Squadron R.A.F. [indecipherable word] 1947.
[indecipherable word] L to R. P/O [indecipherable letters and name] D.F.C. D.F.M.
F/Lt. J. [indecipherable name], W/O Rowlands, F/O Price,
F/Lt [indecipherable name] D.F.C., F/Lt Downing,
P/O [indecipherable name], F/O [indecipherable name], F/Lt ?,
P/O Staves, P/O Powell, F/O [indecipherable name].
[page break]
[inserted] D/TELEGRAPH. 1/10/91 [/inserted]
Dresden protest over ‘Bomber’ statue
By Robin Gedye in Bonn and Jenny Rees
DRESDEN’S Lord Mayor appealed to the British Ambassador to Germany yesterday to press for the scrapping of plans to erect a statue in London of Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris, who masterminded wartime air raids.
Officials in other German cities which suffered bomb damage have also protested at plans to put up the statue in the Strand next year.
A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said it had “no position” on the honouring of a man known in Germany as “Butcher Harris”, and did not wish to become involved.
Herr Herbert Wagner, Lord Mayor of Dresden, said the memorial did not belong in the Europe of 1992. “I do not wish to mitigate Germany’s war guilt, but Harris’s carpet bombing against civilians was not militarily justifiable.”
He said that on Sir Arthur’s orders, Dresden, Würzburg and Pforzheim, bombed in the last months of the war, were turned into “skeleton cities”, with the loss of 35,000 lives over two nights in Dresden, and 20,000 lives over several days in Pforzheim.
A campaign to lobby the British Embassy was started by the mayors of Würzburg and Pforzheim, who appealed in letters to Sir Christopher Mallaby, British Ambassador, to help stop the erection of the memorial “in the name of countless victims of bombing attacks against civilians”.
The £100,000 statue was commissioned by the Bomber Command Association, and the money raised by its members and those of the RAF Air Crew Association. It is to be unveiled by the Queen Mother next May and will stand opposite an existing statue of Lord Dowding, wartime commander of Fighter Command, outside the RAF Church, St Clement Danes.
Group Captain Ken Batchelor, 77, chairman of the Bomber Command Association, which has 7,500 members, said yesterday: “Quite frankly, why does Dresden think they were the only people bombed during the war? What about our own towns and cities, such as Coventry?
“It is sheer ignorance to suggest that this is honouring retaliation. We are not erecting this statue to glorify war, for the members of our association are the ones who never want to see war again.
“It was not a question of retaliation. The Ruhr was full of armaments and industry from one end to another, and we had to bomb urban areas, with Dresden as the focal point, to destroy the German war potential. We were fighting for our survival.”
Gp Capt Batchelor said the erection of a statue of Sir Arthur was “long overdue”. It was intended to be a memorial to the 55,000 air crew of Bomber Command who died.
He added: “We regarded Sir Arthur as a forthright commander, who was carrying out the orders of the British War Cabinet. We want this memorial to him because the post-war government denied him his peerage, and we were denied our campaign medal.”
[Photograph]
Sir Arthur: Germans called him ‘Butcher’
[New article]
“General Sir Arthur Harris”
Dear Sir, 6th April 1982
I would like to say what should have been said many years ago. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me courage and hope after we had suffered the devastation of the ‘May Blitz. Bombed out, no light or water in the house, windows broken, shelter useless, our family evacuated to Blackpool but there was no telephone out of Liverpool, no postal service and no direct railways working. We went to the Cinema and heard you on the newsreel giving your sympathy and promising that what we had had would be as a little zephyr to that which you would inflict on the enemy. The tears rained down my face and my despair vanished, I said to my husband, at least someone cares. After that my courage never flagged. Mr. Churchill’s blood, sweat and tears didn’t affect me, but your words I have never forgotten although I am now 83 and my husband 84. Thank you once again.
E. A. McKnight (Mrs.) Great Crosby.”
Ed: Such was the boost to civilian morale in the darker, hopeless days of war.
[New article]
[inserted] DAILY TELEGRAPH. 2/10/91 [/inserted]
Remembering Bomber H
THE PLAN to erect a statue of Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris, wartime C-in-C of Bomber Command, outside the RAF church of St Clement Danes in the Strand has incurred the wrath of the Lord Mayor of Dresden, who has appealed for the project to be abandoned. Herr Herbert Wagner’s view may command some sympathy even in Britain, among those who today regard the RAF’s strategic bombing offensive against Germany as a serious blunder or even a war crime. Yet it would be ironic if Sir Arthur, by any standards a notable wartime commander, were to be denied a public memorial, while Whitehall, for instance, remains dominated by equestrian statues of Earl Haig and that 19th-century military booby the Duke of Cambridge.
Sir Arthur was not the architect of “area” bombing. Churchill, Lord Cherwell, Sir Charles Portal and others embarked upon the air offensive when Britain possessed no other means of carrying the war to Germany. Sir Arthur was appointed to execute the policy, and did so with extraordinary, even obsessive, single-mindedness. If his superiors judged that he exceeded his orders, it was in their power, and was indeed their duty, to remove him. This was never done.
Although Dresden featured prominently on Sir Arthur’s target lists in February 1945, it was Churchill, rather than Bomber Command’s C-in-C, whose concern to impress the Russians before Yalta precipitated the devastating attack.
Just as killing British civilians in the Blitz did not break Britain’s will to fight, so killing or “de-housing” far larger numbers of German civilians did not break that of Germany. But it is not good enough, half a century later, to seek to equate, for example, the mass murders in Germany’s concentration camps with the RAF’s bombing of Germany. There was no doubt then, and there remains none today, of the strategic military purpose that underpinned the bomber offensive, however uncertain its achievement.
Sir Arthur was tough, even ruthless; but also a formidable leader of great forces. He passionately believed that his men’s efforts were bringing Germany to defeat. He deserves to be commemorated, not least for the satisfaction of his surviving aircrew, who revere his memory, and whose courage and sacrifice were beyond praise. The Lord Mayor of Dresden may be forgiven for uttering sentiments that might be expected of his office. But he should not be heeded.
[New article]
[inserted] 2/10/91 [/inserted] Bombing was justified
SIR – While appreciating the feelings that have prompted the Lord Mayor of Dresden to call for the plans for a statue of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris to be dropped (report, Oct. 1), I am afraid that he does not realise the context in which the bombing offensive was launched.
The decision was a political one made by the War Cabinet and backed by the Americans. Without it there would have been no re-entry into Europe in 1944.
Back in 1940 Europe was conquered. The British Army had been defeated. The Royal Navy could only just keep the crucial Atlantic lifeline open; it could not conceivably blockade Germany which, with access to all the raw materials he wanted, Hitler was building into an impregnable fortress. The war had to be carried to Germany, and the bomber was the only means available.
As a result of the vast quantity of resources and manpower diverted to the defence of Germany – 900,000 men for searchlights and ack-ack alone – it acted as the equivalent of a second front from 1941. Most important of all, together with the U.S. 8th Air Force, the bomber offensive forced the Luftwaffe to come up and fight – leading to its final defeat.
When the Normandy invasion began, there was not one German aircraft over the beach. Had their bombers been there, I doubt it would have succeeded.
Of the 55 million lives lost in the war, 35 million were those of civilians. The bomber offensive accounted for about 500,000. Every day that the war lasted, an average of 10,000 innocent men, women and children were exterminated by Hitler in his concentration camps; and as it progressed, that extermination programme accelerated, a very different story from Dunkirk.
Inevitably, in a life and death struggle of such magnitude, mistakes are made. One of them, in my view, was Dresden. But it was a mistake made in good faith, because it was based on intelligence reports, some of which proved to be false. The city lay only 50 miles from the advancing Russians, who had asked for maximum bombing along the whole line.
At the same time the appearance of the German jet Me.262 signalled to us that the tide of the air war could be turned if it were produced in large numbers, and brought an added sense of urgency to finish the war as quickly as possible, in Germany’s true interests as well as that of the Allies. Had we not returned to Europe in June 1944, I shudder to think what would have been.
All the same, everyone in Bomber Command regrets the mistakes and wishes, to this day, that some other means of prising open Fortress Europe could have been found.
Group Captain the Lord CHESHIRE
London SW1
[inserted] D/TELEGRAPH [/inserted]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Four Newspaper cuttings
Description
An account of the resource
Item 1 refers to a protest from Dresden over a statue to Sir Arthur Harris.
Item 2 is a letter thanking Sir Arthur Harris from a couple bombed out of their home in Liverpool.
Item 3 is an article titled 'Remembering Bomber H'.
Item 4 is a letter from Group Captain Lord Cheshire arguing the bombing was justified.
Creator
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Daily Telegraph
Date
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1991-10
Format
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Four newspaper cuttings on an album page
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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PThomasAF20050044
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
United States Army Air Force
Wehrmacht. Luftwaffe
British Army
Royal Navy
Royal Air Force. Fighter Command
Spatial Coverage
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Germany--Dresden
Ukraine--I︠A︡lta
Great Britain
England--Liverpool
England--Coventry
Germany
Ukraine
England--Lancashire
England--Warwickshire
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Temporal Coverage
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1991-10
Contributor
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David Bloomfield
Anne-Marie Watson
bombing
bombing of Dresden (13 - 15 February 1945)
Cheshire, Geoffrey Leonard (1917-1992)
Churchill, Winston (1874-1965)
Harris, Arthur Travers (1892-1984)
perception of bombing war
Portal, Charles (1893-1971)
searchlight
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22594/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-023.2.pdf
a02db80744787a6f9a921729ebed4e0b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
Identifier
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Curnock, RM
Date
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2016-04-18
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
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THE
Prisoner of War
[Symbol] THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION, ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON, S.W.1 [Symbol]
VOL. 3 No. 36 Free to Next of Kin APRIL, 1945
The Editor Writes –
There is good news regarding the distribution of supplies from Switzerland to camps in different parts of Germany to which prisoners from eastern Germany have been sent. Fifty railway waggons, 48 with food and two with medical supplies, which left Switzerland for the neighbourhood of Moosburg, some distance north of Munich, have reached their destination and supplies are being distributed from there by lorry to British and United States prisoners of war in the vicinity.
Supplies by road
Eighteen lorries which crossed the Swiss frontier into Germany for Northern Czechoslovakia have reached their destination and distributed food parcels to some 18,000 British and United States prisoners of war in the Eger, Prague, Marienbad and Carlsbad areas. An extra 100 lorries are available in Switzerland for use as opportunity offers.
In the north at Lubeck, two large lorries already in use by the I.R.C.C. have been supplied with petrol and oil and it is hoped to obtain further lorries for use in this area from Sweden.
Ex-Prisoners at Odessa
Various estimated have been made unofficially of the total number of prisoners of war released by the Russians, but the only information that has been verified is that which has been given in reply to questions in the House of Commons. On March 6th Sir James Grigg announced that the arrival of 14 officers and 464 other ranks at the transit camp at Odessa had been reported by our Military Mission in Moscow, and on March 9th, Mr. Arthur Henderson, Financial Secretary to the War Office, in answer to a request for information about the 2,600 prisoners reported on their way to Odessa, replied that no further information had been received. Sir James Grigg has, however, given an assurance that he will give all the information he receives.
The advancing armies in the West are also overrunning prisoner of war camps, and one report speaks of 3,000 Allied soldiers, liberated from Krefeld, but there has as yet been no official information of this report.
[Group of people in uniform standing by a man at a desk] OFF TO SWEDEN. Officers of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John, bound for Sweden to look after British repatriated prisoners, take leave of Colonel Montague Brown at Red Cross Headquarters in London.
Exchange of Prisoners
Negotiations for the exchange of British and German able-bodied prisoners have not yet been completed but if they are successful the proposed scheme may well affect a considerable number of British and Commonwealth prisoners, captured before July 1st, 1940. But, lest too high hopes are raised, I must emphasise that the whole matter is still in the preliminary stages. During this war most of the prisoners exchanged have been gravely wounded men and non-combatants covered by the Geneva Convention of 1929, and the present negotiations are the first for an exchange in which the prisoners involved would be active and physically fit men.
Six British Red Cross welfare workers are waiting at a northern port ready to embark for Sweden.
As I write, approximately 800 Britons, Turks, Portuguese and Argentines have arrived in England in the repatriation ship Drottningholm for an exchange of German civilians.
Leave for Repatriates
Repatriated prisoners of war are given 42 days’ leave as soon as they are fit to go to their homes after arrival in this country. They are able to obtain ration cards, vouchers for handkerchiefs and Naafi rations of chocolates, cigarettes and tobacco. Arrangements are also made for them to be placed on the Service register as electors.
This was officially stated in the House of Commons
[Page break]
2 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
last month when it was also announced that if an ex-prisoner on leaving hospital is discharged from the Army on medical grounds he is given not 42 but 56 days’ leave.
New Arrangements
Repatriates receive the amount of leave only if they are not subject to the new arrangements for members of the Forces. That is, if their in-patient treatment in a Service or E.M.S. hospital is not complete, they will not be discharged from the Services until at least eight calendar months, including 56 days’ notice have elapsed from the date of their first absence from duty through illness. The new rule does not apply to patients such as those suffering from tuberculosis, once they have been transferred to civil sanatoria. Nor will it shorten any longer period of retention in the Service now allowed under normal regulations.
Tribute to Medical Officer
A prisoner in Stalag 383 who has been suffering from a badly septic hand has written home praising enthusiastically the British medical officer who has been attending to him in the hospital. Of his time in hospital he says: “Of course, I’ve had a lot of pain and it made me ill, but, oh, the treat to be in this quiet room (only four men with me) after years in the crowded Stalags and to be out of the bitter cold. We get a little more food in here, too, and I’m afraid that means a great deal to all of us now.” Like many other prisoners, he spends a lot of his time studying, and goes on: “I have had to give up my Spanish studies as I find that two subjects will be as much as I can cope with before next summer, as the standard is, of course, much higher than matriculation. My period of study for European history is 1500-1914, which is a big undertaking. My Polish teacher is now one of my closest friends. He is very fond of music and we go to a lot of gramophone recitals together. I hope I can show him a little hospitality after the war, in England, before he returns to his own country.”
Contents of Food Parcels
It has been announced that from the beginning of April food parcels for prisoners of war will each contain 8 oz. of butter. Up to the present time 54 per cent. contained butter and the rest margarine. In future no more margarine will be sent.
May I call the attention of next of kin to the important announcement from the G.P.O. about parcels which appears on page 16.
[Photograph of a large group of men] INDOOR MEETING. Men at Stalag IVB meet together in one of the camp huts.
Camp Hospital Conditions
I am grateful to a repatriated prisoner for information about conditions in the tuberculosis camp hospital at Reserve Lazaret 742, Elsterhorst. He wrote to the parents of a staff-sergeant who is official interpreter at the hospital and camp: “I was a prisoner at Lazaret 742 for six months where I was able to see the splendid work your son is doing. He runs the administration of the whole place, and runs it very well indeed.” The food and living conditions, he added, were much better than in the ordinary prison camps.
A Rifleman’s Violin
A rifleman in Stalag IVC had a very agreeable surprise last November, when he received his violin. It had been sent off to him two years before by his wife. Writing to the Red Cross telling the story, she says: “It had been to Italy and followed him to Germany. I felt you would be interested to know this as I brought the violin up the St. James’s myself and your organisation packed it and sent it off for me. It says much for the way it was packed, for it arrived quite intact and my husband was able to play it at once.”
Lucky Reunion
By a chance in a thousand, a captain captured in Normandy found to his amazement, on arrival at Oflag 79 that his elder brother was in the camp. His brother, who has been a prisoner for about three years, was captured in Egypt, had been a prisoner in Italy and in several camps in Germany as well. Sheer coincidence brought them to the same camp. In brotherly fashion, the captain writes: “Try as hard as I can, I can detect neither mental nor physical difference in him, there isn’t any. Neither fatter than he was nor thinner; neither older nor younger, in looks or in manner. Take it or leave it. Olly is Olly; and if anything a bit more so … so far I have been unable to do anything at all except talk and talk and talk to Olly.”
Repatriates Tribute
I much appreciated the letter sent to me by a private recently repatriated from Switzerland. “Without your marvellous organisation,” he wrote, “it would have been just a horrid existence.” He added that since he had been home he had derived a lot of pleasure from reading The Prisoner of War. “They must have proved a big help during that worrying time.” He enclosed a donation with his letter, writing “May I help others who are still behind the confines of the prison camps even as others who helped me whilst I was in that position? A letter received from an officer in Oflag VIIB shoes that those who are still prisoners are hearing news of repatriated prisoners. He writes: “I know a number of officers from here who have been repatriated, and we sometimes hear from previous repatriates. They seem to have ample rations, petrol, clothing coupons, etc., given them on arrival.”
Food for Body and Mind
Over 28,000,000 Red Cross parcels of food and invalid comforts and over 1,000,000 next-of-kin parcels have been sent to British prisoners of war and internees in European prison camps since the beginning of the war. But it must not be forgotten that while the greater number of food parcels are packed in England, all the Dominions and the British communities in the Argentine and Brazil contribute to the work either by packing, by financial aid, or by provision of bulk food, for which a parcel equivalent is included in the figure above. In addition many thousands of pounds have been spent by the Red Cross on sending to the prisoners about 500,000 books of every kind needed for education or recreation, on music and musical instruments, indoor games and outdoor sports equipment. Not only the body, but also the mind of the prisoner of war has been kept fit and healthy.
[Boxed] HAVE YOU MOVED?
If so, do not forget to notify the Army, Navy or R.A.F. authorities as well as the Red Cross of your change of address. [/boxed]
[Page break]
APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 3
Released by the Russians
[Photograph of a group of men] Russian seamen at Odessa watch the ships depart.
RELEASED by the Russians during their swift advance into Eastern Germany, 400 British prisoners of war are, at the time of writing, on their way home to the United Kingdom. They form an advance party which will be followed by others, bringing ever larger numbers of freed captives back to those who have waited so long for their return. The majority of these men come from camps near Torun, Stalags XXA and XXB.
A second shipload of repatriates follows closely in the wake of the first.
Upon arrival in the United Kingdom they will receive 42 days’ home leave, after which they will attend a medical board. Then, depending on their state of health, they will either return to their units for a course of training in the United Kingdom, or receive the hospital treatment which has been prescribed.
Three Welfare Officers of the British Red Cross and St. John War Organisation passed through Moscow, where a special British staff is now established to contact released British p.o.w.s, on their way to Odessa.
Other Red Cross personnel plan to join those now in Russia, and together they hope to set up a semi-permanent depot at Odessa, with supplies of Red Cross comforts sufficient for 10,000 men.
These comforts include books, games, tobacco, cigarettes, soap and other toilet requisites, gramophones with recordings of E.N.S.A. shows etc. Food, clothing and medical supplies are also being sent to supplement those provided by our Russian allies.
Special consignments of tea, milk, sugar and biscuits will be available to repatriates during the journey home, so that they may enjoy “elevenses.”
More Are Coming
Almost every day trains draw into Odessa, chief southern port of Russia, bringing prisoners rescued by the Red Army – British, American, French, etc. – a great many of them civilians freed from internment camps.
When they reach this old fortified city of the Ukraine, built by the Empress Catherine in 1784-1792, and now badly damaged in the war, British p.o.w.s are taken to warm and spacious quarters in large buildings adapted as rest homes, where hot baths and excellent food are provided. Worn uniforms and ragged underclothes are exchanged for new outfits, comprising great-coats, battledresses, and warm underwear. New badges of rank and medal ribbons are issued to those entitled to wear them.
“See you in Berlin”
Various entertainments have been arranged to fill in the days of waiting until ships can take the men home.
Winter in the Ukraine is both longer and colder than in Western Europe. In January the temperature is much the same as in Stockholm at that time of year, whilst in July it is on a par to that experienced in Madrid.
As the first repatriate ship, a luxury liner of pre-war days, weighed anchor with her load of excited, happy men, someone shouted to the crowd of Russians watching from the quayside: “Thanks for everything. See you again soon, in Berlin.”
The remark brought a thunderous reply from the Russians- “Da, da” (Yes, yes) roared back from a dozen throats.
Ex-Internees Welcomed Home
AFTER years of internment, between two and three hundred British civilians, men, women and children, have been released from the German camps of Biberach, Wurzach, Liebenau and Ilag VII.
The large majority of those freed are Channel Islanders, who were forcibly deported from their homes by the Nazis in September, 1942.
A number of medical cases with their families were included in the draft. Fourteen men who joined this repatriation had been scheduled to join a previous one, but were held up in Sweden at the last minute. They had been detained at the request of the German Government when the total number of British to be exchanged was found to exceed that of the German.
Help and Gifts
At the port of embarkation at Gothenburg, in Sweden, and during the homeward voyage in the Drottningholm, the Swedish Red Cross looked after the comfort and welfare of the repatriates. When they reached the United Kingdom they were met by officers of the British Red Cross, who gave them every assistance in addition to dispensing gifts of chocolates, cigarettes and newspapers. Warm clothing costing up to £10 per head had been provided by the British Red Cross, through their Swedish colleagues, to each ex-internee before sailing.
The Ministry of Health is responsible for all arrangements made for the reception of British civilians released from enemy hands. There are excellent hostels provided at the port of disembarkation, where those requiring temporary accommodation may stay.
Previous repatriations took place in January, 1942, October, 1943 and August and September, 1944.
[Photograph of a group of people outside]
[Page break]
4 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
The Brighter Side
[Boxed] Most of the paragraphs on this page refer to activities in the big base camps and it should not be assumed that they are typical of conditions in all camps or in outlying working detachments where facilities for sport and amusement are much fewer. [/boxed]
[Picture of the front and rear pages of a pantomime programme] Pantomime programme at Marlag und Milag Nord.
FEW camps have put on a more impressive selection of shows than Marlag und Milag Nord. Bandwaggon and Marlag Coons are among the regular features. Such well-known plays as French Without Tears, Hobson’s Choice, and The Importance of Being Earnest have been produced; while Gilbert and Sullivan have been well represented with H.M.S. Pinafore, The Gondoliers and Pirates of Penzance. Pantomimes are regular favourites and the men have produced Aladdin, Cinderella, Robinson Crusoe and Dick Whittington.
Their skill in reproducing all the atmosphere of a West End show is shown by the front and back covers of the programme devised for Dick Whittington, which was written and produced by one of the prisoners. There were three acts of two scenes each and music by Mac and his Grand Pantomime Orchestra. The cast consisted of 25, with a chorus of ten villagers and eight “rats.”
On New Year’s Eve the Merchant Navy arranged a Fancy Dress Ball with some of the prisoners dressed up as girls, and had an excellent entertainment.
Hogmanay Dinner
A prisoner at Stalag IVC writes of the New Year celebrations in the camp: “Two of my pals, being Jocks, they insisted that at New Year we should have a real Hogmanay Dinner. One chap, a sign-writer, did some excellent painting of seasonal greetings, decorated the room and gave it a really cheerful and cosy appearance. Three of us did the cooking and 18 sat down to dinner.” Afterwards they had impromptu turns and a sing-song accompanied by an accordion and guitar, and finally finished up with a supper.
In the same camp they recently put on the sketch The Monkey’s Paw. It was originally intended to produce it as am “eerie hair-raising drama,” but as things were rather hectic they eventually put it on unrehearsed as a farce, rather, it appears, to the despair of the promoter. Still, the audience got plenty of good laughs.
High Opinion of Shakespeare
They have a very high opinion of Shakespeare in another camp, where The Comedy of Errors is halfway through its run. It is being played as a sort of pantomime farce, with song and dance, bright colours and red noses, and one prisoner writes: “I think the audience enjoy it, but they can’t get over an almost religious respect for William Shakespeare; they sit and chuckle, refuse to applaud the songs and afterwards tell one that they are coming to see it twice more. Very odd…”
On Tour
A corporal from Stalag 344E3 has written home to say that he is now at an entirely new place, 600 miles from his own camp. It appears that he is out on tour with one of their shows, Night Must Fall, which they are playing to prisoners who are not able to put on shows of their own. He added: “I am having some quite novel experiences. It is quite a change after four years in E3. You have probably read of the camp in the papers. It is a very nice place.”
Plenty of Entertainment
There is plenty of entertainment to be had at Stalag IVB and prisoners have a choice of going to the pantomime or the musical revue, listening to music, or reading, playing football or indoor games. At Christmas they produced a modern Nativity play, Christmas on the Green, which, in the words of one prisoner, recalled “a beautiful Miracle play of the Middle Ages.” The pantomime started its run just after Christmas, following a musical revue, Springtime for Jennifer, which had been written by a prisoner and was “one of the best yet.”
English football enthusiasts at the same camp are feeling very pleased with themselves because England recently beat Wales 3-0.
Another prisoner who wrote home is more enthusiastic about music. He writes: “Bolt, who recently gave the Unfinished, Rosamunde, Ballet and Gluck-Motte Suite, has thrilled us with Beethoven (Ind. Sy. Fidelio, Egmont and that exquisite poem Romance in F). The orchestra of 45 men is international and now plays finely. A young Warsaw violinist gave a sensitive rendering.”
Prisoner Playwright
As a pleasant reversal of the usual conditions, it is interesting to be able to record that a prisoner of war in Germany was able to bring laughter and joy to a large number of people in England this Christmas. L/Sgt. Derek C. Lunn, a prisoner since Dunkirk and now at Stalag 357 (22), was asked by his fiancée in Woking to send her something for her Girl Guides to perform. He forwarded a delightful outline of a pantomime, which, being too ambitious for her small company, was taken up by the local Commissioner. A treatment was worked out by an amateur playwright in the neighbourhood, and four performances were played to crowded houses.
The net result was a cheque for £100 being handed over to the Y.W.C.A. Appeal Fund, and the pantomime has been so successful that hundreds of would-be spectators who were unable to secure tickets have insisted on further performances in the near future. The whole of the cast, comprising Brownies, Guides, Rangers and Sea Rangers, signed a special letter of thanks to the author.
Indoor Games
At this time of year indoor games and recreation are naturally very popular. In Stalag IVB they organise quiz shows, and entertainments and lectures as well as all the usual indoor sports. Before the prisoners at Stalag Luft III were moved to the south-west, the camp had for a time a special entertainments section, with provision for lectures and classes. The most popular were those in French, German and shorthand.
[Page break]
APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 5
Escaped Prisoners Reach Italy
DOROTHY M. CLARKE,
Official Red Cross Correspondent, Describes Their Reception There
[Photograph of a line of men peeping out from washing cubicles] Hot showers are enjoyed by all.
ONE Belgian and thirteen British soldiers who had escaped from German prison camps reached Italy at the end of December. Several of them had been prisoners of war since 1940, when they were captured defending Metz during the Battle of France.
Private J. Creighton, whose home is in Sligo, Eire, was one of those taken at Metz. After a long period in prison in German Occupied France, he managed to break out and reach Switzerland. Then, when the American Army invaded Southern France and advanced to the Swiss border, he crossed the frontier and joined them.
Private William Powell, who comes from Sydney, Australia, told me that he had been on the run in Northern Italy for many months after escaping from a German prison camp. After many adventures he made his way through the enemy’s lines into Allied territory.
Upon arrival at a special reception camp in Southern Italy each man received a hot meal and a comfortable bed. Next morning after breakfast, which was served from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the new arrivals had to report at the reception office and fill in forms giving full particulars about themselves and their movements. Then they went to the disrobing-room and removed their somewhat heterogeneous collection of garments, which were taken away for disinfestation whilst the men themselves enjoyed hot showers. This was followed by medical inspection and injections, and a full issue of fresh clothing from the Quartermaster.
Called on the Red Cross
Dressed in their new outfits, the men called at the British Red Cross store, where an officer of the War Organisation presented each with a Red Cross “Glory Bag” containing various toilet necessities, writing-paper, etc.
The men had next to be interrogated by officials of the Security Department, who checked their credentials and established their identity; after this they received their first pay as free citizens – a memorable occasion they will not easily forget.
Whilst awaiting repatriation to their homes the men are at liberty to enjoy all the amenities of the reception camp; their only fatigue, if it can be called such, is attendance at one parade daily to answer to their names at roll-call.
Three times a week a cinema performance is given at the camp. In charge of the large and well-equipped club room, with its billiard and ping-pong tables, dart-boards, and E.F.I. canteen, are two English ladies, members of the W.V.S. One is Mrs. Dimbleby, mother of the well-known broadcaster.
The days of waiting need not be spent in idle leisure only, for a fatherly War Office has provided the facilities of a warrant officer’s education for those desiring to avail themselves of the opportunity of hearing lectures, studying maps, joining in discussions of topical interest, and making use of the well-stocked library.
From the Folks at Home
The British Red Cross Welfare Officer attached to the camp has been largely responsible for equipping the sick bay and small chapel. She made the altar-cloth in the chapel herself, and on her orders local craftsmen executed the wooden crucifix and candlesticks.
Gifts of the British Red Cross in the sick bay are the cheerful looking yellow counterpanes, hiding drab Army blankets; and the bright curtains at the windows, which give the plain flambo hut a more homely appearance. The wireless set, gramophone, easy chairs, hot-water bottles, bedrests, rugs, heating stoves, flower vases, games, etc., which do so much to ease and cheer sick men who have known little comfort or happiness during long years of captivity, were all bought with those pennies subscribed each week by the folks at home.
“When you write your report there is one thing I would like you to be sure to mention,” the Camp Commandant said to me before I left; “and that is, that every man who comes to this camp tells me he would not be alive if it had not been for the British Red Cross food parcels which he received whilst a prisoner.”
I can report how Red Cross money is being spent, but if only subscribers at home could actually see the use to which their gifts are put, then they would be amply repaid for what they have given. It is not only the material contributed, but the spirit of remembrance and gratitude of the giver, which means so much to men in exile. As Sir Walter Scott wrote:-
“It is the secret sympathy,
The silver link, the silken tie,
Which heart to heart and mind to mind,
In body and soul can bind.”
When the “cease fire” sounds, and all prison gates open, the still captive comrades of these men will return to a changed world; but not, one hopes, to a world in which people will easily forget their sacrifice and their suffering.
[Photograph of people gathered around a fireplace] The first real rest in years.
[Page break]
6 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
Official
[Photograph of a large building by a bridge over water] BESIDE THE STILL WATERS. View of Oflag IXA/H.
DULAG 339, MANTUA
This is the new name for the transit camp in German-occupied Italy, formerly known as Stalag 337. The camp is intended to serve as a transit camp for prisoners captured on the Italian front while awaiting transfer to Germany. As a rule prisoners are here only two or three days, but lately, owing to the bombing of communications and transport, prisoners have been kept two or three weeks. On the day of visit there were 321 British and 95 American prisoners of war in this camp.
The camp is situated on the outskirts of Mantua, near the Lake Inferiore. Four large buildings and an old garage have been converted and made habitable, two are used as dormitories, one is reserved for stores, and the fourth is used for workshops, showers, etc. A kitchen has been installed in the middle of the camp and underground there is an air raid shelter to hold 500 prisoners.
The dormitories are not heated and are well aired. The temperature is at present adequate. Each prisoner has three blankets. The beds are the two-tier type. There is practically no lighting in the camp.
There is a large washhouse with running water. Fifteen shower-baths have been installed, but there is no hot water. The prisoners receive soap. The kitchen is run by a German N.C.O. helped by six prisoners. The food was not plentiful, but appeared sufficient. Supplementary rations are provided for prisoners who work. It has not been possible to install a canteen in the camp. There is a shortage of clothing.
Medical treatment is available at the neighbouring hospital, where the prisoners can also have dental and eye treatment. There is no British chaplain.
The prisoners are entitled to send a postcard to their next of kin as soon as they arrive in the camp. Permanent staff may write every week.
There is a library of 350 English books, and the prisoners have supplies of games and playing cards.
(Visited November, 1944.)
OFLAG IXA/H, SPANGENBERG
Upper Camp
28 newly captured officers had arrived from the Western front, making a total of 185 officers and 36 other ranks.
Interior arrangements are adequate at the moment, but it is feared that if many more prisoners arrive from the Western front the dormitories will be overcrowded. This will also apply to the library and recreational rooms.
All the Roman Catholic prisoners of war have been moved to Oflag IXA/Z, since there is no priest in this camp.
Recreational facilities are satisfactory. Walks are organised twice a week.
Lower Camp
Total strength on day of visit was 210 officers and 34 other ranks.
The situation with regard to overcrowding was the same here as in the Upper Camp. Many dormitories are already very full. If many new captures are sent to this camp the overcrowding is likely to be serious.
The central heating will be out of use when the present stock of coke is exhausted. It is hoped that further supplies will be forthcoming, this being a camp for senior officers, the average age being 43 years.
Recreational facilities are well organised. The prisoners go for two walks each week and in addition parties go out of the camp nearly every day to collect wood.
Mail is stated to be very good. Letters from England arrive within two or three weeks.
The general impression from both the Lower and Upper Camps is that at present conditions are fairly satisfactory; but it is the future which causes anxiety, in that if there is to be a large increase of officers, both camps will be seriously overcrowded and the existing facilities such as heating, lighting, water supply, and sanitation, will be unable to stand the increased burden.
(Visited November, 1944.)
OFLAG IXA/Z, ROTHENBURG
Total strength 405 officers and 56 other ranks.
Interior arrangements are satisfactory at the moment, but an increase in the camp strength is expected, which will cause overcrowding.
[Photograph of a group of men in uniform outside] CAPTIVE BUT NOT DOWNHEARTED. A smiling group of men at Stalag IVF.
There has been no improvement in the lighting of the camp, and if extra lighting is to be given to the recreational rooms it will be necessary to reduce the lighting in some of the other rooms. Central heating is at present only available for a few hours in the evenings. The shortage of coal, owing to transport difficulties, is current throughout Germany, and it was considered unlikely that the full scale of coal could be delivered before the winter. The officers are allowed to go out most days to collect wood.
[Page break]
APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 7
from the Camps
[Boxed] In every case where the conditions call for remedy, the protecting Power makes representations to the German authorities. Where there is any reason to doubt whether the Protecting Power has acted it is at once requested to do so. When it is reported that food or clothing is required, the necessary action is taken through the International Red Cross Committee. [/boxed]
Owing to the shortage of coal, hot showers are available only once a fortnight, and the prisoners are only able to have a hot evening meal four times a week.
Nearly 300 prisoners have been inoculated against typhus, with anti-typhoid inoculations to follow. German supplies of drugs and medicines are now better, but most of the supplies are received from Red Cross sources.
There are three chaplains at the camp – one Church of England, one Roman Catholic, and one Baptist.
The spirit in the camp is high, and it is hoped that there will be no considerable increase in the number of prisoners, since the existing facilities are likely to prove inadequate.
(Visited November, 1944.)
LABOUR DETACHMENTS
Dependent in STALAG IVF
No. Z128, Marienthal. – 20 prisoners of war work in a tramway factory 10 hours daily. Sunday is generally free.
The only complaint is a lack of working gloves, which the Germans promised to provide.
9 British prisoners at W123, Bogenstein, are employed digging air raid shelters for 55 hours weekly. Sundays are free.
[Photograph of group of men] HOLD IT NOW! Members of a working party at Stalag IVG pose for their photograph to be taken.
[Drawing of a large building OFLAG IX AZ. Germany] LAST CHRISTMAS IN GERMANY? A sketch of Oflag IXA/Z drawn by a senior British officer, and sent as a Christmas card to the Red Cross.
There were no complaints at Detachment No. Z15, Suedkapmfbahn, where 97 prisoners of war are engaged on various maintenance jobs for nine hours daily.
No. G168, Glauchau. – This camp is housed in a large wooden barrack and has good air-raid shelters. There are 26 British prisoners of war employed in an artificial wood factory for 60 hours a week, with Sundays generally free. There are four sleeping rooms with a separate dining room and a separate room for the medical orderly and the cook. There are sufficient tables and chairs. Some of the roofs leak. Each prisoner has two blankets.
The washing facilities are adequate and the prisoners can have a hot shower each week in the factory. There is a small library in the camp, also a gramophone. Prisoners are able to play football.
Detachment No. L106, Loessnitz. – The 58 British prisoners of war in this detachment live in a two-storied stone building near a small village. There are no air-raid shelters in the camp, but there are good shelters at the factory where the prisoners are employed manufacturing cotton for 60 hours a week. Sunday is generally free.
Interior arrangements are adequate. There are two sleeping rooms. Lighting and heating are in order. Every prisoner has two blankets. Hot showers are available at any time in the factory. The prisoners of war have their own cook. Prisoners do their own laundry, but the soap is said to be insufficient.
Detachment No. 87, Oberstuetzengruen. – 53 British prisoners work 60 hours weekly loading and unloading wood. Every third Sunday is free.
The prisoners have only been having a hot shower once every fortnight. In future they will be able to have one every week. The 191 British prisoners of war in Detachment No. 104, Kohlenschacht Lugau had no complaints. They work eight to nine hours daily on the surface of a coal mine and every second Sunday is free.
At Detachment No. 129, Rachau, 20 British prisoners of war work in a paper factory. The hours are 60 a week with Sunday generally free. The 16 prisoners at No. A13, Lindengarten, work for the German Red Cross eight to nine hours a day, and had no complaints.
There were no complaints at the following detachments:-
No. 149, Wuestembrad, where 18 British prisoners of war work for 8 1/2 hours a day at digging air-raid shelters; at No. C89, Neemestrasse, where 24 British prisoners of war work at load-
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8 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
ing and unloading glass for nine hours a day; and at No. C104, Limbacherstrasse, where 7 British prisoners of war are employed in a brickworks for 9 1/2 hours a day.
(Visited November, 1944.)
RESERVE LAZARET HOHENSTEIN (STALAG IVF)
On the day of the visit there were 41 British and 38 American patients in this hospital. There are two British medical officer and four British medical orderlies on the staff of the hospital. There were no complaints on either the conditions or the treatment at this hospital.
The drug supply is in order, and there was a good stock of medicaments. Dental treatment is done by a French dentist and is reported to be satisfactory.
(Visited November, 1944.)
LABOUR DETACHMENTS
Dependent on STALAG IVG
The delegate only visited a few working detachments, but met most of the district Men of Confidence.
District Leipzig East. – There are 971 British prisoners of war in 11 detachments. The Men of Confidence had no serious complaints.
District Leipzig Nord. – 344 British prisoners of war in five working detachments. The only complaint was that in this district all stocks of Red Cross parcels have been moved outside the camps and the keys not given to the Men of Confidence.
District Leipzig West. – 497 British prisoners of war in seven working detachments. Here again the Men of Confidence complained that stocks of Red Cross parcels are inaccessible. Arrangements will be made to secure more store-rooms.
District Espenhain. – 500 British prisoners of war in three working detachments. The chief complaint was that there was a French doctor in charge of the prisoners who does not speak English. As it will hardly be possible to get a British medical officer to this area, arrangements will be made to secure an interpreter.
[Photograph of five men in uniform] RED CROSS STAFF AT STALAG IVG, where the general health of prisoners is reported to be good.
District Grimma. – 368 British prisoners of war in six working detachments. There were no complaints.
District Wurzer. – 533 British prisoners of war in ten detachments. There were no serious complaints.
District Borna. – 266 British prisoners of war in five detachments. The only complaint was that at Detachment No. 102, Bad Lausick, the men had been unable to play football although there is a good sports field at their disposal. It was agreed that prisoners will again be allowed to play football on their free Sundays.
Detachment No. 654, Coswig. – 26 British prisoners of war are employed 65 hours a week in workshops and had no complaints about working conditions. There was no Sunday work.
The prisoners are well accommodated in a large barrack with two sleeping rooms. Lighting and heating are satisfactory. There are adequate air-raid shelters. The clothing position is bad in this camp. The laundry has to be sent out to a German firm, who often lose the prisoners’ garments. Medical attention is good.
Detachment No. 434, Grossteinberg. – 79 British prisoners of war work in a stone quarry for nine hours a day. Prisoners work one Sunday in each month. The prisoners sleep on wooden three-tier beds and have two blankets each. Lighting and heating facilities are in order. Medical attention is satisfactory. The camp is visited regularly by a padre. There were no complaints.
Detachment No. 104, Rittmitz. – There are 41 British prisoners of war in this camp, some of whom work in a factory and the others in a stone quarry. There was no Sunday work. Living quarters in a stone building are adequately furnished with double-tier beds. Hot showers are available at the factory. A stove for cooking Red Cross food parcels was expected to arrive shortly. The general impression was that this was a fairly satisfactory camp.
(Visited November, 1944.)
RESERVE LAZARET HAID (b)/TRAUN
This lazaret is attached to Stalag 398. It consists of several barracks forming part of a large compound housing foreign labourers engaged in a nearby ironworks at Pupping.
The hospital accommodates prisoners of any nationality. At the time of the visit there were 30 British prisoners, and 14 Americans for whom special rooms are reserved. These arrangements are considered satisfactory.
Clinical equipment is adequate. There is one British medical officer who is able to carry out any treatment required. The British medical staff work amicably with the German authorities. Cooking is done by foreign prisoner cooks and rations are considered to be very unsatisfactory. The chaplain from Stalag 398 pays regular visits to the hospital. There are sufficient recreational grounds within the compound.
(Visited November, 1944.)
Reports on Stalag IVG, Oshatz and IVF, Hartmannsdorf, will be found on page 16.
[Photograph of eleven men in uniform] BRITISH AND SOUTH AFRICAN Back Row, Left to Right: Bobs Tatham (Natal); Ned Sparks (Gt. Britain); Bob Cullen (Natal); Ronald Abbot (Cape Town); Geoffrey Reid (Cape Town). Front Row: Bobby Gain (Cape Town); Paddy Doyle (Gt. Britain); Neil Orpen (Cape Town); Billy Reynolds (Somerset West); Zander Dewar (Natal); Tony Burch (Uitenhage).
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APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 9
The Letters They Write Home
[Photograph of two men boxing, watched by a group of men] THE FIRST ROUND OPENS.- Men of a working party at Stalag XVIIA hold a boxing match in a wood.
Like Great-Grandmother’s
Oflag VIIB 26.12.44.
As by a German order all reserves of food in the camp must be consumed before new parcels are allowed in, everyone has had (and is having) a very well-fed time of it. I made a really excellent brawn from bully, meat roll and bacon, and Steve and I produced a Christmas cake which would not have made a bad show of it even in the presence of the genuine article á la Great-Grand-mother’s recipe!!
The ingredients may interest you: 1 small tin Horlick’s, 3 Canadian Red Cross biscuits ground to flour, egg powder, milk powder, bicarb. of soda, chopped raisins and apricots, and prune kernels and hazel nuts, butter, sugar.
Officers made toys, which were auctioned and the money and toys are to go to the Ilags for the children, mostly from the Channel Islands.
We had an old time Boxing Booth á la Sanger. They produced an excellent Christmas number of our magazine, with a ghost story and a new poem on Cheshire. Steve and I got up in darkness for the 7 a.m. service, and it was jolly cold, but we made it.
We are able to help the new boys out over food, and just at present there is plenty for all and the future will have to look after itself.
Carved Crib with Razor
Oflag V A. 27.12.44.
We have had days now of very hard frost; Christmas Day itself was beautifully sunny, clear and crisp, without a cloud all day. I managed to finish the crib I tried to make. It finally consisted of a very plain stable of cardboard, with a star over it, and inside Joseph, Mary and one shepherd. The Child was a vague head sticking out of a bundle of cloth in the manger-only just adequate-but Joseph was quite imposing with a green robe, and Mary was really very sweet, in blue, sitting on a stool, leaning forward to put a covering over the Child. The Shepherd, in what looked like a brown gym tunic, was kneeling at the other side. It was put in the chapel, and, I says it as should not, really looks very nice.
I really enjoyed carving the figures-though with nothing but a razor blade some bits were difficult, and, to begin with, my “anatomy” was bad - arms and legs would not come right.
I went to Mass at 7.30, when there were 140 there. At 9 o’clock there were twice as many.
We had a good breakfast in the mess (porridge, sausages, eggs and coffee), and later on an excellent lunch (meat pie, mashed potatoes, peas, trifle, cake and mincepie), complete with orchestra playing.
Christmas in Cookhouse
Stalag 383. 27.12.44.
Considering the circumstances, we had a very good Christmas as prisoners of war. Wacky and I spent Christmas Eve and Day with Dai (a sergeant in the Welsh Guards) who, being in charge of the soup kitchen, has a room in the cookhouse.
On Christmas Eve, we each had a litre or so of beer and a bit of a sing-song.
The following morning we started the day with an English breakfast (we managed to save a few tins during better times). Our dinner consisted of mashed and roast potatoes, peas, swede and roast meat, and followed by an excellent pudding (made with bread and raisins) with “Klim” washed down with a bottle of beer. I suppose the beer here is no stronger than it is at home nowadays.
We had a very nice cake for tea; Ivor spent a few hours endeavouring to give it the necessary seasonal appearance and finished up by having the words “A Merry Christmas” printed on the wrapper.
Imposing Little Ceremony
Stalag IVF. 6.11.44.
My last outing was on All Souls Day, when I went down to the hospital cemetery to attend a short memorial service conducted by the French chaplain. I went from there with the French and Belgian Men of Confidence, and the Italian chaplain, in the French Red Cross lorry.
A large contingent from the hospital marched down to the cemetery. After prayers the names of the prisoners of all nationalities who had died, were read out. Our senior doctor read the British names.
Then we went on to the civilian cemetery in the town, where other prisoners are buried, and the service was repeated. It was quite an imposing little ceremony.
A Pretty Decent Chap
Stalag IVD. 23.2.45.
This week has been a record for illness. We all have rotten colds – it has run all round the Stube – 40 of us. Tons of snow and very cold still. But hope you are free from colds yourself.
Still plenty of work and the hours are long. Am on night shift every other week on a metal press, Have a pretty decent chap in charge named Max, who has a bit of sympathy for us. No cigarettes or mail yet, but tell Hilda to get the baking pans ready as we are betting on seeing you in the near future.
Fire Fuhrer
Oflag VIIB. 1.1.45.
At present, as I am our room “fire fuhrer,” I seem to spend my entire days trying to make lumps of wood fit into our tiny stove, which won’t burn when we want to cook, and soars through anything when we try to damp it down.
It really isn’t fair, this business of ten officers living, sleeping, eating in the kitchen; or you might call it cooking, eating, living in one bedroom.
To-day I spent hammering old tins out flat and joining them together to make tops for cooking pots, my tool kit consisting of a rusty iron bar and a jagged knife. I get quite a bit of amusement out of it really.
To turn to a less squalid side of life, I’ve spent half to one hour daily, for the last week, on skates on the flooded hockey pitch.
News and Rumours
Stalag IVF. 29.10.44.
Most of our lads have just received their first personal parcels, and are they happy? Socks with the foot complete, shirts in one piece, and cigarettes are arriving as well. So just at a time
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10 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
when things looked black, owing to the food parcels being cut to one between two men, we are laughing again. It is good to see how everybody takes all hard knocks with a smile, and they are numerous these days.
You were asking in your letter, do we get news of the progress of the war? Yes; we hear and see enough to help us form opinions on what is happening. But genuine news is far outweighed by rumours, so we have to sort it out.
I notice you have not been able to make any plans for the post-war. I believe that applies to most of us. I often think of the worry ahead for all of us. What a splendid opportunity for all to make a great effort to create a better standard of living in Europe. Nobody should go short of food after six years of suffering. May we be able to give the lead to other nations. I am continuing my letter on another card.
Arguments and Discussions
Stalag 357. 5.11.44.
The location of this new 357 is quite good, being on grass this time, and down the side of a real Scottish wood. There are about 6,500 men here, mixed R.A.F. and Army and all nationalities, so arguments and discussions are many and varied. We have electric light installed, and now have a hot plate in each hut.
Lights were out again last night at 7 p.m., so we had an evening’s community singing with all sorts of songs and stories. An Aussie in the bed above me is pretty good!
I have been issued with a pair of new boots and a French great coat, so am now well equipped.
Making a Start
Stalag 357. 20.9.44.
We are gradually organising our social life in this new camp. The library has opened and once again I spend a few hours in it every day. For sport we have football, rugby, cricket and racing.
It should not be long before the school is open and then I will be able to resume my studies.
Saw Volkssturm Practicing
Stalag IVB. 1.12.44.
Seeing the Volkssturm practicing on the range near the camp on Sundays is just like seeing the Home Guard at home.
To-night I saw at the theatre Springtime for Jennifer; these productions are excellent and amazing.
The editor of New Times, the paper for
[Photograph of a group of people performing a play] CLOTHES AND THE MAN.- An Able Seaman gives a realistic rendering of Lady Bowden during a theatrical performance at Stalag 344.
4,000 English-speaking prisoners, has asked me to join the editorial board and contribute regularly, so I am not out of touch with my life as it was and as it will be.
Each day I cook our two meals for my “mucker” and myself and I am modestly an increasingly good cook. You would be amazed to see me in my skyblue French overcoat, maroon beret, et.
Midnight Parade
Stalag XIA. 25.12.44.
Christmas Day here was really quite amazing. All the boys have entered into the spirit of things and are
[Boxed] SEND US YOUR PICTURES AND LETTERS
Ten shillings will be awarded each month to the senders of the first three letters from prisoners of war to be printed. Copies instead of the originals are requested, and whenever possible these should be set out on a separate piece of paper showing the DATES on which they were written. The Editor welcomes for other pages of the journal any recent NEWS relating to prisoners of war.
Ten shillings will also be awarded for photographs reproduced across two columns, and five shillings for those under two. Photographs should be distinct, and any information as to when they were taken is helpful.
Address: Editor, “The Prisoner of War,” St. James’s Palace, London, S.W.1. The cost of these prices and fees is defrayed by a generous friend of the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation. [/boxed]
determined to have as merry a time as possible. On Christmas Eve we had a carol service complete with orchestra and choir. After that we had a concert in our room, and finished up by parading round the other rooms at midnight singing at the tops of our voices.
The following morning at 6 o’clock they had their own back by waking us with a fanfare of trumpets, trombones, drums, etc.
Our Christmas dinner was a great achievement; we had saved some stuff from our parcels and made a big pudding for sixteen of us, and our three-tier cake was the talk of the camp.
We are all feeling a little uncomfortable now, but nevertheless contented. We toasted you all after dinner (in tea) and feel sure we will be with you soon.
New Arrivals
Biberach. 26.11.44.
We have quite a mixed crowd of people in the camp, including about 140 (men, women and children) who arrived recently. Special arrangements had to be made on their arrival, and they are now getting more settles down. The women are up fairly early in the morning, and soon the lines outside their barracks are full of washing.
We now have 84 persons in our barrack with none in hospital. There are 17 in our room.
The hospital and Red Cross staff have had a little more to do lately, and have done it well. About 2,000 Red Cross parcels arrived here recently, and are very welcome.
Nearly a Black Christmas
Stalag IVD. 26.12.44.
It looked like being a black Christmas for us here with no parcels, but on Christmas Eve the works foreman came in dressed as Father Christmas and brought good news. Parcels were at the distributing centre and he had been able to make arrangements for collecting them on Christmas morning. After that the band got going with a swing and the dance was on.
On Christmas morning we went to the pictures. The big picture was an ice skating film and was very good. Also news and a short picture taken in Salzburg area. Going again on New Year’s Day, the picture being a circus film, which should be good.
It has been very cold all the holiday – well below freezing point. Start work again tomorrow.
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APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 11
“Rookery Nook” at Stalag XXA
[Group of three photographs of a number of players in stage production]
GERALD: “She’s just a sweet, innocent little girl.”
Putz leaves in a nasty rage.
Clive and Gerald tell Twine to get Rona’s clothes from the German.
The well-known play Rookery Nook was first produced in London many years ago when Ralph Lynn, Tom Walls and Robertson Hare played the original parts. Since then, it has been revived by many theatrical companies, including those in prisoner of war camps, and is a favourite everywhere.
The theme of the play is a matrimonial muddle at a country house, and as the scenes shown here were not marked on these photographs from Germany, we asked Mr. Ralph Lynn to caption them. In returning them, he says, “I think they have done wonders by the photographs. God bless them, and good luck to them all.”
LETTERS (Continued from previous page)
Table Bombs
Stalag XIA. 25.12.44.
To-day we put on the best show for the camp at 10 o’clock until 12 mid-day. We all put our iced cakes and puddings on show and all down the centre of the room on the decorated tables were paper flowers and table bombs. They really looked well. Mind you the inscriptions would not pass the censor, but none the less for all that we enjoyed it.
The table bombs gave us all enough hats and flags for the room. To-morrow I have to arrange, by way of entertainment, a mock trial for some unfortunate individual. For all this good food and so on we have to give our thanks to the Red Cross.
A Wizard Day
Stalag Luft III 26.12.44.
We had an absolute wizard day yesterday, which I shall always remember as one, I think, of the best in my life. After ten weeks of pretty lean diet on half parcels, a consignment of American Christmas parcels arrived, and from them we enjoyed, among many good things, turkey and Christmas puddings which were the last word.
One fellow from our room has cooking right at his finger tips, and we were supplied through the day with an assortment of eats which, in my opinion, would have graced with distinction the tables of a Royal household! We have plenty left over for to-day and the New Year, which includes a 16lb. cake untouched from yesterday.
Excuse all this talk about food, but here at times it is an interesting topic.
3,000 Feet Up
Stalag XVIIB. B.H.V.101. 3.12.44.
The snow I wrote about went away, but to-day it is snowing again. This time we want it for the sleighs to get in the winter firewood. The Austrians tell us that they get snowed up here.
We are 3,000 feet up the mountains. One place where we have been working is higher still. On a clear day we can see the Alps in the distance.
I shall soon be a Jack of all trades. We have been chaff-cutting on a motor saw, laying floorlogs, forestry and roadmaking – a bit of everything. I am keeping fine despite all.
We have a cat that catches the rats; it is hard to feed her these days.
Bit of a Miner
Stalag IVD. 25.12.44.
I have now changed my kommando and am no longer at the sugar factory, but am a bit of a miner. The work is hard, but I am used to that, as you know. Work makes the time pass more quickly.
This Stalag is very well organised, which is a great asset. Last night they held a dance which was a “wow.” You would be surprised to see what wonderful looking girls some of the chaps turned out to be. Went for a laugh and I certainly had it.
To-day we went to a service, and although it was only held in a hut it was as impressive as any held in a church.
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12 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
[Boxed] How They Help
In addition to those mentioned below, we wish to thank the many kind readers whose help to the funds this month we cannot find room to record here individually. [/boxed]
MR. PAYNE, of “The Crown and Anchor,” Gallows Tree Common, near Reading, has collected £33 7s. from a sale of goods given by his customers, which he forwards with the comment: “It is only a little, but I must thank you for the Red Cross parcels received by my son who is a prisoner of war in Germany.”
With the help of friends Mrs. Agnew has collected £94 7s. 6d. in Jarrow, also for food parcels.
Mrs. Kellow, who writes from Liskeard that she has recently had two cheerful letters from her nephew in Stalag XIA, sends £3, and a total of £15 is reached by a fifth contribution from Mrs. Millard, Risca, Monmouthshire. On behalf of his staff at Llantwit Major, W/O A.S. Hamblin has forwarded £20.
Father Helps Son
A further donation of £5 17s. 6d. has been received from the staff of Nicholl’s Stores, Kensington, and the staff of 50 at Messrs. R.W. Greff and Company of Bishop’s Stortford, who have two colleagues prisoners of war, one in Europe and the other in the Far East, have raised the sum of £112, an increase of £2 on the total for the previous year and the result of the sale of their handwork and toy making.
“Friends at Electra House, London,” have been keeping their eye “on the ball,” and over £2,000 has been collected in sixpences during the past eighteen months or so, and they give us the following “crazy” figures realised from other recent efforts:-
A dart-board … £15
Three fruit cakes … £13
A portable gramophone and tennis racquet … £55
A trug of fresh fruit … £22
Bunches of cut flowers per bunch … £4
Shell eggs … £1 a piece!
Nat Gonella, the ace trumpeter, and the dance band of the Royal Tank Regiment were the star attractions at a ball and cabaret held in the Bournemouth Town Hall, which resulted in £71 15s. 8d. being raised for prisoners of war. Mr. Leo Wells, the promoter, has a son who is a prisoner of war and writes that he is already organising another ball which promises to be an even greater success.
Another successful dance, organised by the Aeronautical Inspection Department, raising £170 17s. 4d. took place at the Co-operative Hall, Nottingham.
Jean Medlock and some of her friends at Shefford, all nine years old, wrote and performed a play, and from the entrance fee of 1d. per person were able to send 5s. Rita Burgess of Luton, who is also nine, has given a second donation, mentioning that she is knitting mittens from the pattern published in the journal, for her father, who is a prisoner of war.
Prisoner Wins Prize
Half of the proceeds of three plays presented by the Upper Killay Young People’s Dramatic Society have been devoted to the Red Cross, and the carols of the Wantage Rangers profited the fund by £1. £2 in Victoria pennies has been saved by Jean Rome, Dunstable, and the combined efforts of the Parsons, Jones and West families at Tirphil, New Tredegar, in collecting threepenny pieces have produced £5.
The East Wales v. West Wales Secondary Schools Union rugby match, which was played on the Gnoll Ground, Neath, was the means of raising £192 1s. 4d., which is a particularly fine result, as the match had to be postponed on the first date arranged because of bad weather.
The two organisers of the Blaenclydach and District Prisoners of War Fund arranged a competition which brought in £120. The prizes were donated by Miss Thomas, Tonypandy, and one of the winners was previously a prisoner of war in Italy.
Gave Own Coupons
A courageous helper is Mrs. Futcher, of Catford, who is 87, who through physical disability can seldom go out of doors, and then only in a wheel-chair. Mrs. Futcher gave her first donation in March, 1942, and has now contributed £42 earned from the sale of kettle-holders at 6d. each, and towels purchased with her own coupons which she converted into face cloths.
Mrs. Say, of Marlborough, has sent in £1 10s., which she writes, “is the result of turning out sundry small things which have been put out of sight. A lot of people perhaps would like to follow suit.” Domino tournaments and competitions run by Mr. A. Garrett, of Hedge End, near Southampton, have produced the splendid figure of £115, while patrons of the Mansfield Hotel, Hove, have raised more than £500 over fifteen months and are aiming at £1,000.
By January 31st, 1945, expenditure and allocations to p.o.w.’s food and comforts had reached £15,511,000.
[Picture of a cherub] [Underlined] Our Gift. £51 * 10 * 0. [/underlined]
[Picture of a candle] [Underlined] To Prisoners of War [/underlined] 22nd. Dec. 1944.
Accept this our donation for the Prisoners of War.
Made by the sale on calendars and Xmas cards galore,
We are but five young tracers and we’ve made our own design
And printed by all by hand a thousand cards without a whine.
Individually each card is made, no copying, no stencil,
A box of paints, a brush, a drawing pen, and just a pencil.
Altho’ the work entailed has used up nearly all our leisure,
We wish to state emphatically it’s been the greatest pleasure
And tho’ we’ve sometimes floundered when we’re making up our rhyme
Each card has its appropriate verse, and is dispatched in time.
So to conclude we send to you the best of Xmas cheer,
And may the boys look forward to a happier New Year.
[Underlined] From – [/underlined] [Signatures]
Surveyors’ Dept., P.D.Ltd., Ystrad Mynach, Glam. [Drawing of a duck]
Five young tracers of Messrs. Powell Dufftyn of Ystrad Mynach, sent the above poem with a donation to the Penny-a-Week Fund.
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APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 13
Prisoner of War Artists
[Drawing of a man carrying a full load of kit] Packed and Ready! A cartoon sent home as a postcard to his wife by Corporal Harold Coulter.
[Drawing of a country scene] A view seen looking north from an Oflag theatre painted by Major W.F. Anderson.
[Drawing of Pinocchio] Pinocchio was painted by Warrant Officer Gordon C.G. Hawkins and sent home from Germany as a birthday card for his small son Richard.
[Drawing of a bed with associated furniture] A corner of the hospital was the subject of a first attempt at a pen and ink sketch made by Captain Robert Ferguson who has taken up drawing and painting as a winter occupation.
[Drawing of a cartoon rabbit] ‘Pooky Rabbit was crayoned in bright colours for Richard by his father, Warrant Officer Gordon C.G. Hawkins.
[Drawing of men walking inside a barbed wire area, with look-out post] A barbed-wire view painted by Lieutenant Worsley, official Naval war artist.
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14 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
Examination Successes
Since the beginning of the year over a thousand examination scripts have reached the Educational Books Section from camps in Germany. Many more are arriving almost daily and are being forwarded to the examining bodies concerned for correction. It is very encouraging to have this evidence that the autumn and winter examinations have been able to be held before the break-up and dispersal of some of the camps owing to the Russian advance.
Applications for future examinations are also coming in in great numbers: as one camp leader says of the men in his camp, “Will their keenness never flag?” and it does not look as if it will, as since the New Year nearly 1,200 examination entries have been received.
More than one camp education officer has written about the difficulties under which the examinations have been taken, e.g., intense cold, interruptions due to air-raid alarms, shortage of stationery, etc. We have every reason to be proud of the men who can work and study in such conditions.
New Pass List Ready
The most recent edition of the pass list giving the examination results for July to December, 1944, is now available. Copies are obtainable on application to the Educational Books Section at the New Bodleian, Oxford, 3d. in stamps should be sent with the application.
Some copies of previous lists are also still available (July to December, 1943, and January to June, 1944).
News From Camps
Lieut. D.C. Crichton has been elected an Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on the results of the examination which he took in camp last year.
A Canadian flight lieutenant, J.P. Gofton, has been credited with written papers in chemistry and biology towards a medical degree at the University of Manitoba. He took papers in these subjects in the first M.B. examinations of the University of London under a special arrangement whereby members of the United Nations may take the London examinations for the purpose of obtaining credits in the equivalent examinations in their own countries.
Two prisoners of war have passed the Final Examinations of their respective professions, viz., Lieut. E.S. Bell, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and Sgt. R.C. MacKenzie, the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants.
Another accountant prisoner of war, Sgt. P.C.G. Montgomery, has passed the First Division of the Final Examination of the Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Lieut. A.H. Eagles, who passed the Associate Membership Examination of the Institution of Sanitary Engineers last year, has been elected as an Associate Member of the Institution.
One civilian internee in Ilag Kreuzburg has passed the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English examination, and three in the same camp have passed the Lower Certificate.
Lieut. G.C. Sunley has passed the examination for the Certificate in Russian of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies.
A corporal who passed the written papers for the City and Guilds of London Institute examination in Gas Fitting in Stalag XXA in 1942 has now been repatriated, and has applied to take the practical part of the examination. Arrangements are being made for him to do so.
RESULTS AT A GLANCE
[Table of numbers of candidates applying for and taking examinations, with numbers of results from December 1942 to February 1945]
THE ABOVE FIGURES GIVE THE TOTALS BY THE END OF EACH SIX-MONTHLY PERIOD
Proportion of total successes for results published during February: 82 per cent.
OFLAG 79 – Described by a Repatriate
OFLAG 79 was previously used by the Germans as a Luftwaffe Cadet School, and in consequence the fittings, buildings, sanitation etc., are of a higher standard than one expects to find in a normal Oflag. There are seven double-storey buildings in the camp, which are sub-divided into small rooms accommodating anything from six to fifteen persons. The centre of the camp has a large pine-grove, which helps to break the monotonous barbed wire outlook. The inside perimeter wire is about a mile in circumference, so really one need not suffer from lack of exercise.
The camp is not actually in Brunswick, but is situated in a small village about 5 kilometres east of the town. The village is called Braunschweig Querem.
The German rations were not good. The sole diet, with a few exceptions, was black bread and potatoes. Occasionally vegetable soup, millet and fresh meat were issued, and once weekly a small ration of ersatz margarine, sugar, jam, coffee and tea.
This diet, of course, would have been almost impossible without the aid of the Red Cross food parcels which were issued to us weekly. I really feel that one cannot do enough to help the Red Cross in the wonderful work.
The chaps in the camp have things fairly well organised. When I left they had the theatre going with a new play every week. The junior University – covering almost every subject under the sun – was operating very efficiently. The camp library (most of the books from private parcels) was fairly well stocked, and the indoor and outdoor games were going strong.
The treatment from the Germans was not bad, and I personally have not witnessed any individual acts of cruelty.
H.D.G.
NOTE: This account was written by an officer p.o.w. repatriated in the Autumn of 1944 and therefore describes conditions at the time he left Germany.
[Page break]
APRIL, 1945 The Prisoner of War 15
An All Purpose Pullover
WITH SHOULDER CABLE STITICHING
[Photograph of a man wearing uniform and a pullover]
[Instructions for making a pullover]
[Page break]
16 The Prisoner of War APRIL, 1945
New Film on Loan
A NEW film entitled “Prisoner of War,” compiled for the British Red Cross and St. John by the Gaumont British Picture Corporation Ltd., with commentary by Mr. F.V.H. Emmett, is available free of charge, for private or public display.
The film is 35 mm. size, one reel, with sound recording, and takes ten minutes to run. It is the story of a man captured in Europe and records various incidents which occur during his sojourn in enemy hands.
Applications to borrow Prisoner of War must be made at least two weeks before the date fixed for showing.
Private individuals should apply to:- The Central Film Library, Imperial Institute, South Kensington, London, S.W.7, and pay return carriage.
Professional requests should be sent to:- The Publicity Department, Red Cross and St. John War Organisation, 24, Carlton House Terrace, London, S.W.1.
Please Note
Owing to urgent last minute alterations at the time of going to Press, three errors were made in the camp names in the March issue of “The Prisoner of War.” On page 2, in the article Transport of Food Parcels, Oflag VIIIB should have read Oflag VIIB. On page 16, in the first paragraph of Camp Transfers, Stalag IV should have read Stalag Luft IV; and in the notice Parcels, Luft VIII should have read Luft VII.
REPORTS FROM THE CAMPS
(Continued from page 8)
STALAG IVG, OSCHATZ
The main camp was not visited, there being only 19 British prisoners on the permanent staff. There are 64 British working detachments in the Stalag area containing 4,055 British prisoners of war.
The three British medical officers in the Stalag area reported that the general state of health is good. Dental treatment is done by local dentists and is satisfactory.
STALAG IVF, HARTMANNSDORF
There are only 27 prisoners of war in the main Stalag. The total number dependent on the Stalag is 5,524 British and American prisoners of war, who are dispersed in 95 labour detachments. Interior arrangements in the main Stalag are good and there were no complaints.
[Boxed] NUMBER PLEASE!
Please be sure to mention your Red Cross reference number whenever you write to us. Otherwise delay and trouble are caused in finding previous correspondence. [/boxed]
Camp Transfers
LATEST NEWS OF PROGRESS
(Red Cross Map Reference Shown in Brackets)
FROM DATE OF INFORMATION LOCATION
Stalag IIB March 10th Marching to west part of Wehrkreis II (3D/E).
Stalag IID March 10th Marching to west part of Wehrkreis II (3D/E).
Stalag IIIB March 10th At Maerkisch Reitz (E.4).
Stalag IIIC March 10th At Seefeld, near Werneuschin (E.4).
Stalag 344 Feb 27th Teplitz Schonau being used as assembly point (E.6).
[Stalag 344] March 7th 4,000 British and American sick journeying by rail to:
Stalag XIB – Fallingbostel (C.4).
Stalag XIIIC – Hamelburg (C.7).
Stalag VIIA – Moosburg (D.8).
Stalag IXB – Wegscheid Badorb (C.6).
Stalag VIIIA March 9th Head of southern group (marching towards Nuremburg) east of Jena (D.6). Sick prisoners and British Medical Officers remained at Gorlitz (F.5).
Stalag VIIIB March 7th Advance groups at Rakonitz (E.7). Rear groups at Melnik (F.6).
Stalag VIIIC March 9th Head of northern group (moving towards Hanover) west of Soemmerda (D.5). Head of southern group (moving towards Cassel) near Gersund, west of Eisenach (C.6).
Stalag XXA Feb. 25th Prisoners collected in Uckermark region (E.3) and moving westwards.
Stalag XXB Feb. 21st Near Malchin and Tetorow (E.3) and moving westwards.
Stalag Luft III Feb. 23rd Prisoners transferred to S.E. region of province of Oldenburg (B.4), Stalag IIIA Luckenwalde (E.5) and other camps (see March Journal)
[Stalag Luft III] March 7th 480 sick left at Sagan (F.5).
Stalag Luft IV March 10th 1,500 British and U.S. prisoners are proceeding to Stalag Luft I, Barth (E.2). 1,550 British and U.S. prisoners proceeding to Nuremburg [missing reference]. 3,600 British and U.S. prisoners proceeding to Stalag XIB (C.4) and Stalag 357, Fallingbostel (C.4).
Stalag Luft VII Feb. 20th Reported at Stalag IIIA, Luckenwalde (E.5).
PARCELS POST SUSPENDED
THE Postmaster General announces that in the present phase of the war, transport conditions make it difficult to forward next-of-kin and permit parcels to prisoners of war in Germany.
Although, therefore, it is hoped that it may be possible to forward some, or all, of the present accumulation of these parcels to destination, it is necessary to suspend further posting of next-of-kin and permit parcels for the present.
Labels and Coupons
No more labels and coupons will be issued for the present. This applies to first and later issues.
Next of kin and acting next of kin (including county branches, associations and packing centres) are asked particularly not to return issues already in their possession, but to keep them until further notice. Parcels partially prepared should also be kept intact with any remaining unused coupons.
The Red Cross will repack and hand over to the G.P.O. any parcels received at the Packing Centres at Finsbury Circus or Glasgow, which were posted before the G.P.O. announcement was made.
[Boxed] FREE TO NEXT OF KIN
This journal is sent free of charge to those registered with the Prisoners of War Dept. as next of kin. In view of the paper shortage no copies are for sale, and it is hoped that next of kin will share their copy with relatives and others interested. [/boxed]
Printed in Great Britain for the Publishers, THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION, 14 Grosvenor Crescent, London, S.W., by THE CORNWALL PRESS LTD., Paris Garden, Stamford Street, London, S.E.1.
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Title
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The Prisoner of War, April 1945
Description
An account of the resource
The official journal of the Prisoners of War Department of the Red Cross and St John War Organisation. This edition covers the Editors comments, POWs released by the Russians, ex-Internees welcomed home, entertainment at the Camps, Escaped Prisoners reach Italy, Official reports from the Camps, POW letters to their homes, Rookery Nook play, charitable contributions, POW artists, Exam results, a description of Oflag 79 camp, a knitting pattern for a pullover, a new film titled 'Prisoner of War', Camp transfers and the suspension of parcel post.
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1945-04
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16 printed sheets
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eng
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Text
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MCurnockRM1815605-171114-023
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
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Czech Republic--Prague
Germany--Krefeld
Russia (Federation)--Moscow
Germany--Liebenau Site
France--Metz
Ireland--Sligo
Australia
New South Wales--Sydney
Germany--Spangenberg
Italy--Mantua
Germany--Marienthal
Germany--Glauchau
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Coswig (Saxony)
Germany--Braunschweig
Poland
Poland--Tychowo
Czech Republic
Czech Republic--Karlovy Vary
Germany--Moosburg an der Isar
Ukraine--Odesa
Czech Republic--Cheb
Sweden--Göteborg
Germany--Biberach an der Riss
Italy
France
New South Wales
Germany
Ireland
Russia (Federation)
Sweden
Ukraine
Germany--Ruhr (Region)
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Great Britain. Red Cross and St John war organisation. Prisoners of war department
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
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Anne-Marie Watson
Temporal Coverage
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1945-04
aircrew
arts and crafts
childhood in wartime
entertainment
faith
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
prisoner of war
Red Cross
Stalag 8B
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 4
Stalag Luft 7
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22593/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-022.2.pdf
7926a26f45c20e495523731963048cc3
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Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
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IBCC Digital Archive
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Curnock, RM
Date
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2016-04-18
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
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Transcription
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THE
Prisoner of War
[Symbol] THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION, ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON S.W.1.
VOL. 3 No. 35. Free to Next of Kin MARCH, 1945
The Editor Writes –
MANY inquiries are, naturally, reaching the Prisoners of War Department from anxious relatives for news of the camps in Poland and Western and Eastern Germany, which have either been overrun by the victorious advances of the Russian Army or else lie in the direct path of the Allied Armies both in the east and west. The progress of the Allied attacks, accompanied as they have been by terrific air bombardment, have necessarily resulted in the mass movement by the Germans of camps and prisoners towards the centre of Germany under difficult conditions, and in almost complete disorganisation of the German transport system. The resulting effects on the condition of our prisoners is discussed in the statement made by Sir James Grigg, the Secretary of State for War, on February 28th, which is printed in full on page 3, and the Chairman of Red Cross and St. John Prisoners of War Department on p. 2.
Liberated Prisoners
It is now possible from the various official statements that have been made to gain a fairly clear picture of what is happening as regards prisoners of war who have been overtaken and liberated by the Russian advance. Information has been received from the Soviet authorities that 2,661 British Commonwealth prisoners of war (of whom 70 are officers) recovered from German camps were on their way by rail to Odessa and that they were to be assembled in a transit camp which was under construction. Since that news arrived, Sir James Grigg has stated in the House of Commons that the Soviet authorities are giving facilities for officers in our military mission to visit the camp in Lublin where prisoners are awaiting transfer to Odessa. Officers from the mission are also on their way to Odessa and their first task on arrival will be to collect and make lists of names and then telegraph them home at the earliest possible moment. The Service Departments will inform next of kin of any news of individual prisoners immediately it is received. A list of the camps involved and information of German plans for their transfer will be found on page 16.
[Photograph of five men in uniform] A group of prisoners at Stalag IIID which was situated at Berlin-Steglitz and to which the Postmaster-General advises that no more parcels should now be sent.
I must call readers’ attention to the important announcement on page 16 concerning parcels and letters to these camps and emphasising that no new parcels should be sent.
Red Cross Depot at Odessa
In accordance with the agreement recently concluded in the Crimea, the Soviet authorities are providing food, clothes and any necessary medical attention for our men. These basic supplies which the Russians are providing will be supplemented by the food, medical parcels, cigarettes, tobacco, chocolate and soap to the value of £77,000, which was sent to Russia last year by Red Cross and St. John. Red Cross and St. John are preparing to co-operate wholeheartedly with the Soviet Government in caring for our ex-prisoners of war until they can be repatriated. They are desirous of setting up a depot at Odessa, with stocks of Red Cross comforts and a team of women Welfare Officers. Already over 400 cases of Red Cross comforts have been shipped to Odessa and further shipments will take place in the future.
A Word of Warning
I would advise nest of kin to watch the papers for statements made in the House of Commons or issued as official announcements, but to be sceptical of any unofficial reports about prison camps or prisoners of war until they have been officially confirmed. The newspapers indicate the sources of reports which reach them from time to time through neutral countries, and it is easy to distinguish these reports from the official statements.
[Page break]
2 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
Prisoners Exchange
Mr. Eden has announced in the House of Commons that a fresh proposal regarding the exchange of able-bodied long-term prisoners of war has been handed to the Swiss Government for communication to the German Government providing for the direct repatriation through Switzerland of a number of British prisoners of war from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Merchant Service captured before July 1st, 1940, in exchange for an equal number of German prisoners.
Priority for Discharge
In answer to a question in the House of Commons of February 6th as to whether prisoners of war repatriated to this country are required to undergo training, with a view to their services being used again in other theatres of war, and whether any long period of imprisonment by the enemy will entitle released prisoners to immediate or early discharge from the Army either now or at the conclusion of hostilities in Europe, Sir James Grigg said: “Returned prisoners will be given no formal priority for release, but as a large number of them joined the services in the early years of the war their priority will be high.”
Medical Attention
Those people who have any fears that the medical attention supplies to prisoners of war upon their return to this country is not fully adequate may be reassured by the recent statement of the Minister of Health, Mr, Henry Willink. “Returning prisoners of war,“ he said, “have the benefit of all the resources of the Emergency Hospital Scheme, when the Service Department concerned requests that they be treated under that scheme.” As for those suffering from tuberculosis whose condition calls for sanatorium treatment, special measures are taken to secure their admission to a sanatorium and they need treatment, but it is not always possible to avoid a short waiting period at home, during which the patient is under the expert care of the tuberculosis officer.
The Best Yet
“The best since I have been a prisoner of war” was the verdict on Christmas pronounced in a letter from Stalag IVG. “We had from Saturday mid-day to Tuesday night holiday. We spent the time with concerts, dancing and singing. We cleared one of the barrack rooms out which we used for the shows and dancing. The sixteen lads in our room clubbed together and had a high tea on Christmas Day.” The Entertainment Committee in Stalag XIA have kindly sent a special report of their Christmas festivities. I am sorry that it arrived too late for it to be printed in full. They say: “To all our loved ones at home it will be very pleasant to know that this Christmas and New Year was certainly the best we have ever had during our captivity.”
Studied by Margarine Light
A vivid impression of the difficulties under which students in camps have to work is given in a letter received from a warrant officer in Stalag 357. He writes: “Those students who can afford sufficient margarine from their ration or who have enough cigarettes to purchase one of these lamps work in the dim, uncertain light of a ‘Fat Lamp’ for periods of four to five hours.” In spite of the handicaps (which include overcrowding and “paralysing cold”), all the students “display a keenness that is surprisingly alive.” Another typical instance of difficulties conquered comes from Stalag IVB, where the lack of chalk precipitated a minor crisis until one prisoner, after experimenting privately with plaster of paris and tooth powder baked in the oven, produced a successful substitute.
Spectacles from England
In 1942 the Joint War Emergency Committee of the Optical Profession offered to provide spectacles with Army standard-type frames, free of charge, for prisoners of war. Up to the end of December the Invalid Comforts Section of the Red Cross Prisoners of War Department received no fewer than 3,340 pairs of spectacles from the committee. These represent an extremely valuable gift to our prisoners of war, and a deep debt of gratitude is owed to all members of the committee for their kindness. When spectacles cannot be obtained at the camps the senior medical officers send lists of optical prescriptions to the Invalid Comforts Section. These are then sent to the committee and distributed amongst its members for dispensing.
Reception in Cyprus
On November 16th last 300 repatriated prisoners of war arrived in Famagusta, Cyprus. These men were escapees to Switzerland, where they had been for a year, and they were full of praise for the kindness shown them. All the workers of the Prisoners of War Bureau in Cyprus assisted in the reception that was given to them by the Red Cross and at which the Governor, the Officer Commanding the Area, and the Deputy Commissioner, British Red Cross, were present. From all accounts the ex-prisoners of war were in very good heart and health and much appreciated the special Cyprus food and drink given to them. The men, I am told, have since been to the Prisoners of War Bureau, and were most grateful to the Red Cross for the parcel which kept them alive in Italy. There are still 1,500 Cypriot prisoners of war in Germany.
TRANSPORT OF FOOD PARCELS By Sir Richard Howard-Vyse, K.C.M.G. D.S.O.
IN the February number of this journal I told our readers that the flow of parcels via the Mediterranean and the Baltic had improved sufficiently to allow the resumption of the full issue of a parcel a week as soon as sufficient stocks were available in camps. I said that it was entirely a question of rail transport through Germany, as to which we had reason at the moment to feel hopeful, but I added that in view of the Russian advance it was dangerous to prophesy.
These words were written in the first half of January, since when it has become clear that the successes of the Russians, coupled with bombing attacks from this side have thoroughly disorganised the German railway system. Matters have been complicated, of course, by the fact that the men from many of the camps overrun by the Russians were moved away beforehand by the Germans. Details of these moves, so far as they are known, have been published in the Press, and I understand that supplementary information will be issued from time to time; reports of statements by the Secretary of State for war appear elsewhere in this journal.
We now know that in December and early in January supplies arrived at some camps, for instance, Oflag VA, Oflag VIIIB, and Stalags IVD, XIA, XXB and Stalagluft III (since moved) and 357; they may have reached others, and geographically it seems likely that they may have done so; but we have no information one way or another.
The position to-day – and I am writing on February 28th – is that hardly any despatches are being made from Switzerland, but that, after a total cessation of several days, there is, for the moment at any rate, a flow through the Baltic port of Lubeck, though nothing like sufficient.
The supplies, as all know, are there. As regards food parcels the steps which are being taken to produce the transport so vitally necessary, I have little to add to the statement made by Sir James Grigg to-day. It will be seen from that statement that all available resources have been enlisted, including the active co-operation of S.H.A.E.F., and, of course, the good offices of the International Red Cross Committee. The War Organisation has authorised that Committee to incur, on our behalf, any expenditure which may be necessary to procure and operate additional transport and we are in the closest possible contact with all concerned.
One thought I would offer which may be comforting. The prisoners know, as well as we do, that this is the dawn of victory and of release.
[Page break]
MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 3
EMERGENCY SUPPLIES
For the Camps
Statement by Sir James Grigg, Secretary of State for War, in the House of Commons on February 28th
THE House is already aware that the progress of the Allied attacks on Germany by land and from the air has resulted in mass movements of prisoners and civilians from the perimeter toward the central districts, particularly from the eastern side of Germany. The conditions under which such movements must take place have largely been created by the military success of the Allies. But inevitably these conditions involve for large numbers of our prisoners in Germany movement on foot, under difficult conditions, with inadequate provision on the road for accommodation at night and for food, and eventually overcrowding in the camps to which they are moved back.
The representatives of the Protecting Power in Germany are doing all they can to secure improvements from the Germans; and their efforts have not been without some results. For example, they have been assured that in future sick or weak prisoners will be moved by train or lorry, and we know for certain that this has been done in some recent cases. Between February 19 and 24 their inspectors were due to pay special visits to certain camps to which British prisoners of war have been transferred, and I will give the substance of their reports to the House as soon as they arrive.
FOOD RESERVES.
The Government and the British Red Cross War Organisation had foreseen that as the weight of attack on Germany was pressed home this situation might arise. Efforts had therefore been made to establish substantial reserves in the camps of Red Cross food parcels, medical supplies and comforts, clothing and boots; and we hope that in spite of the interruptions in supplies to Geneva consequent on operations in the south of France last summer, the position in the matter of clothing will not become serious.
In the case of food parcels, however, the Germans last autumn insisted on those reserve stocks being reduced to a weekly basis. To the best of our knowledge this order was enforced in most of the camps, and the excess stocks were consumed accordingly. Recently the International Red Cross Committee, as a result of long negotiations, had secured agreement from the German authorities to the establishment of limited reserve supplies of food parcels outside the camps, but this agreement came too late for it to become effective before the dis-organisation in Germany had reached a point where transport facilities for Red Cross supplies from Switzerland had been seriously reduced. Not only are few railway wagons reaching Switzerland from Germany, but such trains as are dispatched from Geneva cannot, we understand, get very far into Germany. While everyone will welcome the results of this disorganisation so far as the war effort is concerned, it has created increasing anxiety for the welfare of the British Commonwealth prisoners.
Naturally this situation has for a long time been present in the minds of His Majesty’s Government and of the British Red Cross Society, and various possibilities have been examined in order to meet it. The supply of food to prisoners from the air is one of those possibilities. The Government have satisfied themselves that this is not at present practicable, but if circumstances change and it becomes feasible use will certainly be made of this means of supply.
LORRY CONVOYS
Negotiations are in train for the purchase of lorries in Sweden which could enter Germany and be used to transport supplies for Lübeck to prisoner-of-war camps in northern Germany. These lorries burn wood. As Sweden is so abundantly supplied this is a great advantage, but we have undertaken to replace any tyres or oil which are used for this project, and also any petrol in the event of ordinary lorries being used as well as the wood-burning ones.
Similar projects have been examined for introducing supplies from Switzerland. The railways in south Germany are apparently so disorganised and clogged with traffic that the supply of wagons in Switzerland in not likely to help. It has been possible to proceed further with the supply of lorries. The Supreme Allied Command, who are, as it were, on the spot, are obviously in the best position to do whatever is possible. The British Government in the United Kingdom, as well as the Commonwealth and the United States Governments, in agreement with the respective national Red Cross organisation, have asked the Supreme Allied Command in France to carry on on their behalf all negotiations with the International Red Cross in these matters. Members will realise that nothing is likely to be achieved except through the good offices of the International Red Cross Committee.
One hundred lorries which were being used in France by the International Red Cross have been assembled in Switzerland, and they are now ready to enter Germany with food parcels. It is, however, impossible to proceed further without the agreement of the German authorities, and I do not yet know to what extent the steps which the International Red Cross are endeavouring to take will be in fact be acceptable to the Germans. I understand that a representative of their left Switzerland yesterday for Berlin in order to obtain the agreement which is necessary.
UNSPARING EFFORT
But I would like to assure the House that there will be no difficulty on the score of provision of lorries by the Supreme Allied Command. Indeed, 100 more lorries are ready to go into Switzerland at once if those which are there now are allowed into Germany, and arrangements have been made to supply petrol, oil, tyres and spare parts to Switzerland when they are needed. I should add that the British Red Cross War Organisation have authorised the International Red Cross Committee to incur on their behalf any expenditure which they consider necessary in connection with the care of our prisoners now in German hands.
I hope I have shown that the Government in this country, the Supreme Allied Command, and the British Red Cross are doing all in their power to see that any request from the International Red Cross for vehicles, fuel, or maintenance stores which can be effectively used to supply our prisoners is met, subject only to the condition that such assistance will not weaken the attack on Germany and so delay the conclusion of hostilities. I will give the House any further information I can at the earliest possible opportunity.
[Boxed] HAVE YOU MOVED?
If so, do not forget to notify the Army, Navy or R.A.F. authorities as well as the Red Cross of your change of address. [/boxed]
[Page break]
4 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
[Drawing] “We know how to cook”
BY NORMAN W. GOULD
ILLUSTRATIONS BY FLETCHER
YOU may not know it, but we prisoners of war are pretty good cooks. So would you be if you had been without the Gentle Ministering Hand for four years. Of course we are not the only ones. There are our traditional comrades on the home front – husbands of Service wives and other hairy citizens, who make aeroplanes by day and cook their own supper at night. Men who couldn’t be trusted to boil an egg, men who didn’t know a saucepan from a frying pan now boil the egg in the saucepan with perfect confidence. (When they can get the egg.)
We prisoners are proud to be in the vanguard of this movement. We have learned to keep our chins up in our prison kitchens; we shall be able to carry our heads no less high in our own homes. We have broken the tyranny of the Women’s Kitchen Front: WE KNOW HOW TO COOK!! For us it has been a bloodless victory; no woman has yet dared to invade our kitchens. (We have even jettisoned this effeminate word, the scenes of our culinary triumphs are known as cook-houses.) For the hairy aeroplane merchants we have great respect. Time after time they have successfully repelled the invasions of wives on leave. But what of the enemy within our ranks? The man who still has a woman in his kitchen. To those soft, overfed creatures – martyrs to the feminine Fresh Wholesome Food cult, we address this message: “Be a master in your own kitchen, free yourself from woman’s age-old tyranny: cook your own food!”
Take the Gestapo, the Ku Klux Klan, and a pinch of the British Secret Service. Roll them into one – a deep, dark and sinister combination, yet a mere crew of amateurs compared with the secret Sisterhood of British Housewives. For centuries we British males have been in the stranglehold of this organisation, weak tools in the hands of our unscrupulous women.
Napoleon knew all about it. He taught his soldiers to march on their stomachs. They got so stomach conscious that they took to cooking their own food when they got home again. To-day the finest cooks in the world are Frenchmen. No Frenchman cares two hoots if his wife does walk out of the house and kitchen, he can cook his own food. The poor, envious Englishman can’t even light the gas. Or rather, couldn’t.
Any foreigner who has been around will tell you that English cooking is the worst in the world. Plain and stodgy. But we liked it, because from birth we were stuffed with the S.B.H. propaganda about Fresh Wholesome Food. We were taught that tinned food is slow poison, we were lulled to sleep as children with tales of bachelors who lived on tinned salmon. Day after day it was dinned into us that no man was to be trusted with the preparation of food. In the end we believed it.
In four short years, we prisoners (together with our traditional comrades, the hairy aeroplane supper cookers) have achieved complete liberation. We started under a tremendous handi-
[Drawing of three men cooking]
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MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 5
[Drawing of a man cooking on a stove, throwing a tin into a bin]
cap and we have had to overcome great obstacles.
Some idea of the magnitude of our task can be gained when we reveal that of the hundreds of thousands of letters that have poured into our camps, not one instance is recorded of a recipe being given. *
*This article was written before the issue of the Red Cross recipe book.
In the first dark year (1940) when we were groping for knowledge, a hardy pioneer made a cake from a packet of old pancake mixture (and not much else) and put it on display. In one day, in a spirit of true brotherhood, he answered 249 questions about cake-making and cooking generally. To-day any prisoner will don his boiler suit and mix a cake without thinking twice about it.
Symbolic of the revolution are the communal prison cook-houses. Eight, ten or even twelve men stand shoulder to shoulder stirring their porridge or stewing their prunes. Friendly advice is passed from one to the other; a haze of tobacco smoke hangs in the air. From time to time an empty tin is aimed with deadly accuracy at the bin. These are the men who are furthering the cause of culinary science. Already before the end of 1941 they had discovered six new ways of cooking potatoes: they are responsible for the introduction of crushed biscuits as a substitute for flour; by untiring research they have overcome the pink salmon problem, with no less than 22 different methods of disposing of this pest. Camp medical officers have been furnished with invaluable data on the treatment of boils.
No less successful have been our comrades on the home front. Business men have applied business efficiency methods to the kitchen. It has been found that by using the whole range of crockery, including the Sunday tea service, washing-up need only be done once every ten days, in place of the old method of washing up small units three or four times a day. The total saving of time and energy is of undoubted significance.
We prisoners are busy planning for the future. A committee of camp leaders has already adopted the Master Plan. Post-war reconstruction will leave us no time for the trivialities of the kitchen. Our Plan, the New London and the “Homes Fit for Farmworkers To Live In” schemes will engage our full attention. Our women will return to the kitchen.
Complacently we shall sit in the back seat – and tell them how to drive.
[Cartoon]
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6 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
The Brighter Side
So many letters have been received in which the chief topic was Christmas Festivities that this month’s “Brighter Side” is devoted to their cheerful accounts of how Christmas was spent in the camps.
[Two photographs of people in a play] Two scenes from the lavish production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Which was produced at Stalag IXC.
A TYPICAL account of the way in which prisoners spent Christmas Day is given by a flight lieutenant in Stalag Luft 3, who writes: “I started the day by taking Holy Communion, and the rest of the day was spent eating excellent food and plenty of it supplied by the good old Red Cross.” The menu was:
Turkey
Roast and Mashed Potatoes
Peas Carrots
Christmas Pudding and Cream
Chocolate Tarts
Apple Tart
Christmas Cake
Dates, Sweets and Nuts
Coffee
“We had a film called ‘Male Animal’ featuring Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland, and the Christmas show put on by the boys was excellent.”
True to Army Tradition
In Oflag VA the “other ranks” had their Christmas on Boxing Day, and, as one prisoner puts it, “true to the British Army tradition, we were waited on completely – tea brought to our barracks I the morning and all carry fatigues done by officers.” The officers cleaned out the barracks, waited at table, and provided a full day’s entertainment. The weather was ideal: “10 degrees below in the morning and arm enough to sunbathe at midday.”
Padre Kept Busy
A padre in Stalag Luft 3 states that he has beaten all his previous records for services – and for parties. He took eight services in two days and attended nine parties. ”The carol services were very good. The midnight service was crowded to the doors of the theatre. I had a large Communion service in the theatre at 8 a.m. Christmas Day. I was so pleased all were well attended and appreciated.” There follows a staggering list of the food that was consumed at all the parties, and the padre did justice with a bumper feast on Boxing Day, “the most delightful meal for 4 1/2 years.”
Christmas Fare
Writing on Christmas Eve from Stalag 357, where food parcels had been arriving infrequently and were shared one between four men during the festive season, a prisoner says: “I am afraid the stocking is nearly empty this year, but we are going to make the best of things.” That they did is borne out by another prisoner’s letter, which insists: “All our saving was definitely worth it, although I am afraid we rather over-did things. Our stomachs could not quite cope with the Christmas pudding, but after a rather bilious afternoon I was tucking away merrily at tea-time and right through the evening.” Eight waggons of Canadian parcels arrived from Sweden just before Christmas, and the special British Christmas parcels arrived soon afterwards.
Our Wonderful Duff!
In Stalag 383 food was not so plentiful either, and their Christmas menu was, according to one letter, “Breakfast: two slices of bread and perhaps fried egg flakes and tea. Dinner: stew and our wonderful duff. Tea: two slices of bread and jam and our cake. Supper: the issue soup.” The decorations in one room at this camp were carried out with holly, evergreen and coloured paper.
Stalag IVB decorated their menu with greetings in all languages a week before Christmas, and IVG’s huts were decorated with streamers, lanterns and fans. IVF received decorations from Geneva, and IVB made hangings from tins and labels.
“A Christmas tree as high as the roof, helped to give a traditional touch to Christmas at Stalag 398; while Oflag 79 produced a tree from pine sprays and rowan berries, trimmed with coloured shavings.
Better Than Expected
Christmas in Oflag VIIB turned out even better than expected, because they were ordered by the German War Office to eat all the Red Cross food stocks by the middle of January. The entertainments are reported to have been good and very crowded. They included a “Fun Fair” and a “Toy Fair,” from which most of the actual toys went to civilian internee camps, musical evenings and carol singing.
At Oflag IVC they also had a carol service. In a panto., “Hey Diddle Snow White,” was written for the occasion. Snow-White was a blasé young lady, and the Fairy Queen arrived on the stage once by parachute and once by tank.
Cakes – a Speciality
In nearly every camp over Christmas they made cakes and the account of the one made in Stalag XIA is pretty typical: “The little combine of three with whom I share grub decided I must make a cake! I did! – ground-up biscuits, currants, jam, egg powder, prunes, powdered milk, marmalade and salt all went into it – a solid lump, believe me! We then decorated it, and although it was slightly heavy it went
(Continued on page 12)
[Boxed] Most of the paragraphs on this page refer to activities in the big base camps and it should not be assumed that they are typical of conditions in all camps or in outlying working detachments where facilities for sport and amusement are much fewer. [/boxed]
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MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 7
Letters They Write Home
[Photograph of a group of men playing musical instruments] The dance band plays in the courtyard at Oflag IXA/H.
P.o.W. Craftsmen
Oflag VIIB. 30.11.44.
I DO wish you could see some of the absolutely staggering things which are being made in the camp. Some of the work is as fine as I shall ever see in my life. It is fantastic what is being done with the material available. For instance, in our mess we have a complete little kitchen range, made out of cocoa tins, and lovely brogue shoes are being made out of army boots. The wood-workers have got busy making looms which turn out scarves, ties, etc., in all kinds of patterns. The knitting too. I have never seen anything like it – sweaters, hats, rugs. Then there is the embroidery work which I would not have believed possible.
The theatrical world is doing great stuff. French Without Tears was excellent. But I do not know what we should do without our 50-piece orchestra who are responsible for prom. concerts. A change of programme every week – Saturday and Sunday. Just as well, for months now we have not been allowed out for an airing. I badly want a holiday.
Protection from Mud
Stalag 383. 12.11.44.
We have at last conquered that arch-fiend, mud! The place was inches deep in it after all the snow we had. It’s about an inch deep now.
Home-made mud-pattens laboriously carved out of wood raised about 2in. from the ground with 4in. shields of tin fore and aft have done the trick. You just buckle them on when you go out and your boots remain clean, polished, and above all dry. These things are a real craze here: you can hear them being made all over the place at all times of the day.
I’ve been feeling rather a fraud at meal times lately whenever I butter the bread for the five of us, as I dip into a whacking great 5lb. tin of the stuff, part of the fortnightly issue from the Argentine. Poor starving gefangeners! We are having a loaf baked up at the cook-house to-day, 2-3lb., and did it have a hammering! Should be good and certainly will be a nice change.
After Arnhem
Stalag IXC. 5.11.44.
I HAVE now got settled into work after our adventures in Holland. We were captured after a stiff battle at Arnhem. From there we went to another town in Holland and looked after our patients for about three weeks before being moved to Germany. We arrived after a long journey and had a wonderful reception, being met with cigarettes and a good meal. We rested for a day, and then I was sent with another M.O. to another hospital, where I was pleasantly surprised to find two friends.
I am in the best of health and am kept busy looking after quite a number of patients. We have a comfortable mess (there are nine of us) and good food from Red Cross parcels. I share a room with three other M.O.s, and we get along very happily together.
Putting on Weight
Stalag XVIIIA. Undated.
THINGS are about the same here – plenty of work in the woods, but still find time for our bit of sport. There was a grand game of football last Sunday-England v. Scotland-and, lo and behold, Scotland won 6-2.
Do you know when I joined the army my weight was 142lb? I’ve never gone below that, and now I’m 178lb. Yes, God bless the Red Cross.
A Poster Artist
Oflag 79. 29.9.44.
I AM busily engaged on internal publicity – mainly concerned with entertainments. I have also just finished eleven small and three large posters for a Red Cross Appeal Week scheme. I have also started a series of “interest” wall sheets – “Stop, Look, Listen” topic, and others, each dealing with one current and one post-war subject. I am so busy that the time is zipping by.
Keeping Shop
Stalag IVB. 25.11.44.
THINGS here are not too bad except that we are short of cigarettes and parcels. However, there are six of us in the office and four have received parcels, so we share cigarettes. Had a bulk issue this week, and I feel just like a shop-keeper behind the counter of a well-filled store dishing out groceries and cutting up cheese. I cut the cheese so well there are no makeweights!
Varied Activity
Oflag VIIB. 10.11.44.
WE have had snow for the past two days and are all preparing to hibernate for the winter! Coal is very short – much less than last year, which was less than the previous year.
We are still on half rations of Red Cross parcels, but a number of private parcels have come in recently.
The new conductor of the orchestra now holds weekly promenade concerts, and I very much enjoyed the first one last week-end, as I also did a show given by our orderlies and a choral and orchestral concert.
We have just had another number of our camp magazine Touchstone, in which there is an able article on land nationalisation.
No, I have not had any more parole walks or cinema visits. These were stopped by a higher authority in the autumn and for the main body of the camp have not been restarted.
The Feminine Touch
Stalag VIIIB. 17.12.44.
I THINK I will dare the Censor and give you an interesting letter. The subject – the village and the people in it amongst whom I have now lived for three and a half years. Commencing with the women … they age early; those engaged on the land begin to age at thirty! Whilst working they dress in old clothes no English Miss would be seen dead in; but on Sundays they are very neatly dressed and, indeed, do really know how to wear clothes. The older women wear rather long skirts, a cute little silk coatee that hangs loose behind, but is tucked into the skirt in front, and a shawl over head and shoulders.
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8 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
[Photograph of a lovely garden with a wooden arch] A view of the garden in the Merchant Navy Section at Marlag und Milag Nord. The seeds were sent out through the Red Cross by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Thawing of an Icicle
Oflag 79. 20.11.44.
LAST week, but for the central heating, I would have surely become an icicle. The weather was very cold, with quite a bit of snow, and everyone went about wrapped up in overcoats and blankets.
One or two officers managed to produce furs, and adorned themselves with foxes and minks draped around their necks. I borrowed a beautiful-looking skunk, which I wrapped round my face. Very fetching. I also wore a muff – an old sock with no foot to it.
Then in the midst of our shiverings came the news that the central heating was coming on, and I flew to the nearest radiator. Sure enough it was warm, and as it became hotter so I discarded my apparel. Off came my skunk, my overcoat, my leather jacket, my battle-dress jacket, and my cardigan, and I was left with my woollen vest and two shirts.
It was a pleasure to thaw, and now I never wander very far from the radiator, which has also become my kitchen, heating up meats and puddings nicely and warming me inwardly.
Keeping Warm
Oflag IVC. 17.11.44.
I AM now an “usherette” for our theatre as well as being “second in command” for cinema, a very humble job, but something to keep one out of mischief.
They seem to be bringing quite a lot of fresh prisoners here, and you would laugh if you could see us all on parade. We wear anything to keep warm, and look like ladies from Lapland.
Tough Guy
Stalag IVB. 16.9.44.
THREE of us attend the weight-lifting class. We were all measured this morning; I have put on 1 1/4in. on my chest and 1in. on both biceps, also there has been a vast improvement in my wrists, forearms and legs. The heaviest weight I can lift above my head is 155 lb., which is good going, considering we have only been training for one month.
The instructor here has written to the Health and Strength Club and we have all been made members, so that we can continue physical training when we reach Blighty. Am told this is the only weight-lifting class in the P.o.W. camps in Germany.
Shifting Dirt
Stalag XIIIB. 19.11.44.
I MOVED here with about 150 others three weeks ago to-day on the first British working Commandos in this area. Apparently it is a fairly safe area from the point of view of the R.A.F. The nearest bomb was reported as five kilometres away. I can hardly believe it was as close as that, or the building where we live would have fallen down! I understand now there the term “Jerry-built” comes from, although this place was Russian P.o.W. built.
The job we are on is general labour on the construction of what appears to be a canal running parallel with a river; but I cannot imagine what the canal is for, and I hope I am not here long enough to find out. Shifting dirt from one place to another does not appeal to me as a pastime.
I had hoped at one time to be there in person to wish you a “Merry Christmas,” but I’m afraid that this will have to do. Save me a pudding, though, and a jar of mincemeat – it won’t have time to go bad.
Keeping Fit
Stalag IVF. 29.10.44.
ALL in all, things are pretty good everywhere – even here on our half parcels. We had some parcels from Stalag yesterday, enough until the middle of December. We notice the difference, of course, but we are still doing pretty well.
Football every week-end keeps us pretty fit, and the news keeps us cheerful. The German civilians here can’t make out why prisoners of war are always laughing and singing. They think the English are mad. So they are, I think!
From a Man of Confidence
Stalag 383. 12.12.44.
… HERE we are settling down once more for the winter. Things are not so good as they were with us, but nevertheless we have small reason to complain. We are still on half rations of Red Cross food, but that amount is a godsend to us and very precious.
Enthusiasm for educational work and theatrical entertainment keeps as high as ever. A record number of exams are being taken by our men here, and we are in the midst of them at present. Many of the chaps have done extremely well, and in two years our honours list is very gratifying. It is strange to raise pride in an Alma Mater in a P.o.W. camp, but nevertheless we do get the “old school tie” feeling, even for our Stalag school.
[Photograph of four men playing cards] A cosy game of cards at Stalag XVIIIA.
A Lengthy Move
Stalag VIIA. 10.9.44.
THE reason why I have been so long in writing is that we took three and a half weeks to go to our camp and correspondence was impossible. On our way we passed Munich and saw some nice towns and surroundings. Finally, we arrived at Augsburg, where our camp is situated.
I have plenty of mates as our whole company was captured in Italy. We are in a working camp (treatment so far in good) and we go out every day to different jobs and we are not too hard worked.
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MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 9
In Full Dress
Oflag 79. 17.10.44.
WHAT a day! Have received my first parcel, dated June. Am now sitting in my new slippers, socks, shirt and a tie given me by a room friend who also got a parcel. It is the first time I have had a tie on for just over a year, and it feels wonderful! To-night I shall sleep in pyjamas instead of a vest and pants.
The parcel was absolutely marvellous, and could not have been packed better. I shared the chocolate with twenty of my friends who have given me some in the past. They all said how good it was.
All That Glitters …
Stalag IVB. 16.9.44.
I HAVE been reading quite a lot since I got here, having access to plenty of books.
This camp is situated well into the country so do not worry – I’m not getting into the R.A.F.’s way at all. We are able to follow the progress of the war although a little behind with the news.
The scene here resembles a tinsmith’s shop. The improvised tables are glittering with plates and mugs – you would be astounded at the extent of our improvisation. Anything and everything is made from tin – even clocks.
From a Theatre Enthusiast
Stalag 344. 12.11.44.
IT is a glorious mushroom season here in the forests, although the lovely red ones with white spots on that one imagines the pixies and gnomes to use at night are very poisonous.
We are going to have a very quiet Christmas here this time. Our loved ones at home will figure very largely in our thoughts and songs. We hope sincerely the doodles will not interfere with your own Christmas and that the New Year will bring the continued success of the companies, theatre and otherwise. (Referring to the Old Vic, and Sadler’s Wells.)
[Photograph of four men, one with boxing gloves] In a fighting mood at Stalag XXB.
[Two photographs of groups of men in uniform] Cheerful groups of men pose for a picture at Stalag XVIIA (right) and Stalag IVD (below).
All Kinds of Work
Stalag IVF. 24.12.44.
I AM miles away from any town of importance. There is only a small village three miles from us, and that is miles from any town. We never see any air raids, so never worry in that respect.
I am doing all kinds of work – roof repairing, joiner, blacksmith and painting on all quarry property at camp.
Music in Camp
Stalag XVIIA. 13.11.44.
We held a short Remembrance Service on Saturday, and at Sunday morning service the choir sang “Oh Valiant Hearts.”
We formerly had two C. of E. padres, viz., Rev. Price-Rees and Rev. J. Collins. The latter, a former Cambridge Blue, left about five days ago. He must have been well over six and a half feet tall, and he was very well liked here.
I received another of your most welcome letters. I think home letters are the “Bovril” in our camp life, which prevents “that sinking feeling.” Parcels have run out, so things are more or less unexciting at the moment.
Our last concert went well but I still have lots of ground to cover before I regain my former confidence in playing the piano before public gatherings. Still, after four years’ stagnation, I suppose this is not surprising. I have arranged the finale chorus of The Mikado for the next show, as the boys here seem to enjoy this opera most of all.
Food Production
Stalag 357. 20.11.44.
Sport is defunct at present. Reading and cards are the main items over and above the varied interests we all take up to try and keep the rust from the grooves. I have taken up maths., insurance and German grammar. Nothing much stays put though.
“Concoctions” is the over-powering topic now to spin out half-rations of food and tobacco. We are all fit and cheery.
[Boxed] SEND US YOUR PICTURES AND LETTERS
TEN SHILLINGS will be awarded each month to the senders of the first three letters from prisoners of war to be printed. Copies instead of the originals are requested, and whenever possible these should be set out on a separate sheet of paper, showing the DATES on which they were written. The Editor welcomes for other pages of the journal any recent NEWS relating to prisoners of war.
Ten shillings will also be awarded for photographs reproduced across two columns, and five shillings for those under two. Photographs should be distinct, and any information as to when they were taken is helpful.
Address: Editor, “The Prisoner of War,” St. James’s Palace, London, S.W.1. The cost of these prizes and fees is defrayed by a generous friend of the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation. [/boxed]
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10 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
Official Reports from
[Photograph of the archway over an entrance to a courtyard] The courtyard at Oflag IVC where there have been no changes in the general layout of the camp since it was last visited in July, 1944.
OFLAG IVC, COLDITZ
Total strength of camp at time of visit was 239 officers and 51 other ranks, the total number of British prisoners of war being 200. There were no changes with regard to the general layout and interior arrangements of the camp since the last visit in July, 1944. The privileges promised by the camp commandant for further recreational facilities had not materialised. It has now been said that the chapel may be reopened.
There is a decided increase in the number of sick personnel, the most common symptoms being nervousness, insomnia and dyspepsia. There is a lack of medical and surgical equipment. British stocks are almost exhausted and the German supplies are inadequate.
(Visited October, 1944.)
STALAG IIA, NEUBRANDENBURG
This is a new camp and was visited for the first time. There are 253 American prisoners who were recently captured on the Western Front and 200 British N.C.O.s captured at Arnhem. It is situated in the vicinity of Neubrandenburg, about 70 miles north of Berlin. There are three barracks, of which two are at present partially occupied, and one serves as a reserve for expected new arrivals. There are slit trenches for protection from air raids.
Each barrack contains two sections. The sections are divided into 10 partitions, each partition holding 24 to 30 double-tier bunks, with hessian mattresses filled with wood shavings and two blankets for each man. There are tables and benches, and in each section one oven and one stove; between the sections there is a wash-room and a boiler for heating purposes. Hot showers are available once a week. Electric lighting is inadequate.
The cooking is done by French cooks in the camp’s central kitchen. The German rations are considered inadequate both in quantity and quality. The commandant agreed to detail American cooks to the kitchen. Red Cross supplies were exhausted at the time of visit.
The camp hospital was excellently equipped; the surgical section is under the care of a Polish doctor.
No Red Cross clothing supplies have arrived so far and many prisoners are badly in need of articles such as socks, shoes, underwear and greatcoats, Prisoners do their own laundry, but it will later be done by the camp laundry when that has been repaired.
There is no American or British chaplain. Prisoners of the Roman Catholic faith may attend Mass in the camp chapel, where a French priest officiates.
Although there is adequate recreational space there is a complete lack of sports equipment and so far the only physical exercise available has been walks. No incoming mail had been received at the time of visit. The visiting delegate was satisfactorily impressed with this camp; the German authorities appeared reasonable.
(Visited November, 1944.)
STALAG VIIA, MOOSBURG
The total strength of the camp at the time of visit was 11,688 prisoners of war, of whom 91 were British officers, 908 British N.C.O.s and 5,720 British other ranks.
Officers’ Section. – Two new barracks have been opened since the last visit and constitute a substantial improvement in the living arrangements. Officer are not allowed to meet other ranks in sport or entertainment activities. The prisoners have double-tier wooden bunks with straw mattresses. There is one recreation room with tables and benches. Heating arrangements are inadequate, and although there are stoves for the cooking of Red Cross food, the fuel supply is not sufficient. Each officer has one hot shower a week.
General state of health is good. Medical attention is given by a British medical officer when necessary.
There is a general shortage of clothing such as greatcoats, battledress and underwear. Officers have to wash their own socks and handkerchiefs as these articles are not accepted by the laundry.
Mail is still erratic. Complaint was made of a shortage of messing equipment. Only one bowl and one spoon has been issued to each officer.
This camp, it must be realised, is merely a transit camp for officers, and the inhabitants are all recent captures who are awaiting admission to a permanent oflag.
Other Ranks. – There have been no material changes in this section of the camp since the last visit in April. 1944. More wells have been dug, thus improving the water supply. There were no complaints regarding shortage of water during the summer. British cooks are now employed in part of the cookhouse. There were no complaints about the food.
The new arrivals are all recent captures from the Italian and Western Fronts and are without winter clothing.
Religious and recreational facilities are well organised and there were no complaints. There is good liaison with the German welfare officers. Concerts and shows are frequent.
The general state of health in the camp is satisfactory.
(Visited October, 1944.)
LABOUR DETACHMENTS
Dependent on Stalag VIIA
After the heavy bombardment of Munich a work detachment of about 1,400 men was formed for demolition work. The men have to travel for about three or four hours each day. They receive two meals in Munich and their full regular ration at Stalag. In the event of air attacks shelters are provided.
The Delegate held a meeting with the Men of Confidence from the following detachments:-
3911 Ludwig Ferdinandstr. Strength 571 prisoners of war.
3732 Hindenburgstr. 264.
3785 Pasing. 604.
3881 Laim. 101
3841 Schleissheimstr. 85.
3657 Res Lazaret Bad Tolz. 46.
3712 Schleirsee. 20.
3914 Wolfratschausen. 16.
also Nos. 1, 2 and 4 and 6 Railway Companies.
Since the last visit, the city of Munich has suffered several air raids. Up to the time of the visit there had been no British casualties. There are adequate air-raid shelters. The general conditions in all these detachments was reported to be satisfactory though here and there overcrowding occurs owing to destruction of barracks by fire bombs. The chief complaint by the medical officers was that several barracks were infested with vermin, chiefly fleas, but no lice.
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MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 11
the Camps
[Photograph of a group of man in costume putting on a play] A play in progress at Oflag IVC, and (below) a corner of the gymnasium at Stalag VIIA, Moosburg.
[Photograph of men boxing training]
[Boxed] IN every case where the conditions call for remedy, the Protecting Power makes representations to the German authorities. Where there is any reason to doubt whether the Protecting Power has acted, it is at once requested to do so. When it is reported that food or clothing is required, the necessary action is taken through the International Red Cross Committee. [/boxed]
The state of health in all the detachments is reported as good. Further supplies of Red Cross clothing and shoes are badly needed. Draught beer is available in all detachments. The chaplain from the main stalag pays regular visits. Welfare work is well organised.
(Visited October, 1944.)
STALAG VIIA, GORLITZ
Strength of camp at date of visit was 1,225 British prisoners of war. 1,960 prisoners of war are scattered in 47 working detachments. There have been no changes in the material layout of the camp since the last visit in July and the interior arrangements are still satisfactory. There were no complaints about washing and bathing facilities.
This camp is now entirely out of stock of Red Cross parcels, but the men realise the difficulties of transport in the despatching of supplies and it was hoped that a new supply would arrive in the near future.
The Red Cross clothing position is reported to be good, the only shortage being small-size boots and jackets. There were 184 prisoners sick at the time of visit, but none of them seriously. The camp hospital is still run very satisfactorily by British medical officers and there was an adequate drug supply.
Recreational facilities are still very satisfactory. Rugby and football are played daily and there is physical training every morning and evening. The camp band was on tour to work detachments. English and American films are shown.
The discipline barrack mentioned in the last report was said to be more or less over-crowded and only a very few British prisoners of war awaiting court martial are being kept there.
Conditions at this camp remained very good and all possible support is received from the German authorities.
(Visited November, 1944.)
LABOUR DETACHMENTS
Dependent on STALAG VIIIA
No. 12403, Fellhammer. – 152 British prisoners of war work in a coal mine, of whom 102 work below ground. Accommodation has improved, in so far as a new recreation barrack has been built. The Man of Confidence complained that not enough disinfectant was being used and there are far too many fleas and lice. Clothing is short, especially trousers. Heating is inadequate, but the German authorities promised to issue a third blanket for each prisoner. Medical attention is given by a German civilian doctor, medical supplies were short.
No. 10003, Siegersdorf. – 34 British prisoners of war work in a tile factory for nine hours a day. every second Sunday is free. The only complaint was that the margarine ration had been cut. The German authorities promised to look into this matter, but it was feared that this cut is current all over Germany.
[Photograph of a group of four men] A group of prisoners of war at Stalag VIIIA Gorlitz, where conditions were reported good and recreational facilities satisfactory.
26 British prisoners of war at No. 11101, Weise, are employed in a stone quarry for nine hours daily, no work on Sundays. There were no complaints. At detachment No. 1102, Kerzdorf, 57 prisoners of war are employed in a cement works making blocks for houses. Saturday afternoons and Sundays are free. The prisoners had no complaints.
No. 14804, Konigshan.- 50 British prisoners of war are accommodated in a stone house in the small village of Konigshan. They are engaged in the repair and maintenance of railway lines. Working hours are 9 1/2 hours daily, with Saturday afternoons and Sundays free. Work is said to be hard, but can be managed by the prisoners.
There are double-tier beds and each prisoner of war has three German blankets. There is plenty of space in the house. Good light and air, the electric lighting is sufficient. The prisoners are
[Page break]
12 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
able to have a hot bath daily. Food is adequate and is cooked by the prisoners themselves. The only complaint was that they have had only horse meat issued to them, but it appears that the whole population of this area is having no other kind of meat.
There is one recognised medical orderly at this detachment. He is able to treat all minor ailments. Seriously ill prisoners are taken to hospital at Trautenau, where they are very well looked after. There is an urgent need of boots and greatcoats. Laundry is done by two prisoners who have every Saturday and Monday free to do the washing for the whole camp. In winter difficulty is experienced in the drying of the washing. The Germans have promised to issue more coal for this purpose.
Football is played regularly in a nearby field. There are plenty of indoor games and musical equipment. The general impression given to the delegate was that this is an excellent detachment.
No. 14808, Ober-Altstadt. – Strength of this detachment is 85 prisoners of war. They are accommodated in a large wooden barrack situated near a small village in the valley of the Riesengebirge. The men work in three different flax factories for 9 1/2 hours daily. Saturday afternoons and Sundays are free with the exception of some men who have to work every third Sunday. Full compensation is given in the week.
Twelve men sleep in each room. Each man has a cupboard to himself and has been issued with two German blankets. There is a very good washroom in the barrack with running water. Each man has a hot shower each week and if desired one can be had almost daily.
There is a large well-equipped kitchen with two large boilers and a good-size stove. The cooking is done by two British prisoners. The only complaint about the German rations was the quality of the meat. There had been no issue of Red Cross parcels for two weeks.
Medical treatment is not satisfactory as the German doctor is always too busy to examine the prisoners properly and the men have to rely on the medical orderly. The clothing situation is quite satisfactory except for boots and greatcoats. There is plenty of opportunity for football and indoor sports. The large messroom has been transferred into a theatre, which is much in use and very satisfactory. Mail is slack at present.
This working detachment which used to be so good has deteriorated since the appointment of a new commandant. A further commandant is to be appointed and it is hoped that the detachment will again flourish.
(Visited November, 1944.)
[Photograph of six men in uniform] Some prisoners at Stalag 317 (XVIIIC) where the total number of our men is 982. The interior arrangements here have not improved since the last visit in March, 1944.
STALAG 317 XVIIIC, MARKT PONGAU
The total number of prisoners in the stalag area is 982, of whom 713 are in the base camp and 269 in six labour detachments. The interior arrangements have not improved since the last visit in March, 1944. Many of the newcomers to the camp are without palliasses and have to sleep on the bare planks of wooden double-tier bunks. Working men are now able to get a hot bath on two extra evenings.
At the time of the visit the stock of Red Cross parcels was expected to last about two months. Stocks of Red Cross clothing are now practically nil owing to the outfitting of new arrivals.
The hospital is satisfactory and the three British medical officers work amicably with the German doctor. Laundry is done by the men themselves. There is a regular issue of soap.
Prisoners in the work detachments are engaged on surface work, building, demolition, road mending, etc. Men in the Stalag who work on Sunday mornings have Saturday afternoons free. There is a fair-size recreation field for sports and exercises. Four American films have recently arrived. Three have been shown and the fourth will be shown in the near future.
Mail is again coming in quite regularly.
The camp did not give a good impression to the visiting delegate. The former fair-minded commandant had been replaced by an East Prussian, who fails to exact the necessary authority from his subordinated. The visiting delegate met the British Men of Confidence from the six detachments. There were no serious complaints from any of them.
(Visited October, 1944.)
HOSPITAL, MEININGEN
The total number of patients in the hospital at the time of visit was 252 American and 160 British. The hospital staff numbered 60, making a grand total of 472 British and American prisoners of war. Since the last visit the hospital is now slightly overcrowded owing to an influx of new patients from Arnhem. The increased number of patients has resulted in more beds having to be put up in the various wards, but two new barracks are to be erected, replacing two smaller ones, which should improve conditions in all wards and rectify the overcrowding. A weekly hot shower is still available, but the existing number of washrooms is insufficient. A new barrack with washrooms and toilet facilities is also to be built.
The supply of fresh vegetables had increased greatly during the last few weeks and there were no complaints regarding food. There was six to seven weeks’ supply of Red Cross parcels, including invalid diet parcels.
As pointed out in the last report on this hospital, all the patients have been transferred from Obermassfeld for orthopaedic exercises. Experienced sports officers are daily directing courses of physical training, and artificial limbs are being made in the special well-equipped workshop. There is an adequate supply of drugs and medicines.
There is still no stock of upper clothing. Greatcoats and blankets are greatly in demand.
1,000 razor blades were recently received from the Germans, but otherwise there was nothing on sale in the canteen. The cigarette position is now bad for all prisoners of war, the German monthly issue having been stopped. Mail, which was bad at the time of the invasion, is now coming in again for long term prisoners of war.
The general impression of this hospital is till good. When the new barracks have been completed the overcrowding should be considerably decreased and conditions will be very satisfactory.
(Visited November, 1944.)
BRIGHTER SIDE (contd. from page 8).
down O.K.” One pudding at this camp weighed 22 lb.
Story with a Moral
“Here we are again with good news and a story with a moral.” Thus begins a letter from Stalag 344, which continues: “For the last two or three weeks our faces were growing longer and longer as Christmas approached and Red Cross receded. As we did not expect - or get – anything, it was a blue outlook.” Then the parcels began at last to arrive – a small issue on the Saturday morning, and a larger one in the afternoon. So the writer was able to report: “Everyone has that cheerful feeling only to be succeeded by that day to come.”
[Page break]
MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 13
More Come Home
[Photograph of a group of men in uniform] Some of the first repatriates to step ashore from the Arundel Castle which brought 764 of them home early in February.
WHEN the ship loomed slowly into sight out of the Merseyside mists her whiteness made the scene almost unreal. Gradually the large red cross and the lettering on her side became discernible. Then as the tugs brought her with painful slowness to the quayside, the rows of men on every vantage point aboard could be seen. When the silence had become almost unbearable, they broke suddenly into a full-throated cheer, the echo of which was taken up by the famous warbling call from the Australians. The military band played familiar tunes and the singing of those on the landing stage mingled with the voices from the ship.
Greetings from the shore were short and to the point. We were delighted to have the men back again. They would be conveyed to their destinations as speedily as possible. That was all they were really anxious to know. Every sentence of welcome spoke into the microphone was echoed back with an answering cheer from the ship – particularly loud when the magic word “home” was voiced.
Later, on board, the 764 repatriates ceased to be a cheering, excited mass and separated into their varying personalities, each with his own personal hopes and fears. These were the men lost to England on the fighting retreat to Dunkirk, at the Salerno landings, in the air over Germany and at Arnhem. Now they had returned, some after a captivity lasting five years.
They were eager for news, eager to tell of their experiences. Smiles were the order of the day. When you saw the expression on a man’s face, his injuries mattered no longer. Often the greater his incapacity, the broader seemed his grin. This was the moment for which they had been waiting for so long. Their patience while they waited their turn to go ashore was remarkable, as they listened for the cheerful and efficient announcements over the ship’s radio for “Such and Such” to report on “C” deck ready to disembark.
An R.A.F. Warrant Officer, who recounted proudly that he had been taking part in the famous raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal when his aircraft was shot down, said that he had been an expert in feminine make-up for shows in Stalag Luft I, III, VI, VII. He expected people in Oldham would find him “different” after five years away, but was reassured to the contrary.
A young Pole with a particularly beaming smile who was bound for a hospital in Scotland to have an artificial limb fitted, said that the loss of a leg would in no way hamper him in his profession, which was law.
A lieutenant from Oflag 79 spoke enthusiastically of the small daughter who had been described to him in letters, but whom he had not yet seen. His home was in Surrey, and he asked keen questions about flying bomb damage.
Many repatriated naturally wanted news of flying bombs and rockets from the “receiving” end. These weapons had been so highly propagandised by the Germans that our humorous term “doodles” and buzz bombs, which were new to many, seemed almost flippant.
There was one big fact, however, which the Germans could not hide from our men, and that was the work of the R.A.F. Quite apart from any experience they may have had in camp of the raids, they were able to see for themselves through the carriage windows as they journeyed across Germany the mile upon mile of devastation.
Many had brought themselves up to date with news of this country in their chats with the six British Red Cross and St. John – and one Australian Red Cross – welfare officers, and the eight nurses of Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, who cared for those too ill to be up and about. These women with their Red Cross comforts and the canteen which had supplied 200,500 cups of tea during the voyage had been the first link with home, and this had obviously meant a very great deal. Enthusiastic signed tributes were received on behalf of the repatriates by these welfare officers and more than £100 was given in donations as expressions of gratitude. B.C.S.
[Boxed] How They Help
In addition to those mentioned below, we wish to thank the many kind readers whose help to the funds this month we cannot find room to record here individually. [/boxed]
THE annual dance and whist drive held by the wardens of “A” district, Northwood, was well supported, and a lively account of the proceedings related that “during a break from dancing the guests allowed a mysterious ‘Mr. S.’ to hold one of his unique ‘sales of work,’ when he disposed of an assortment of goods at amazing prices. This gentleman seems to work on a system that extracts money from willing bidders at £2 per minute, as in half an hour he ‘took’ £52 from a very generous audience, so bringing the total for the evening to £143.”
Wardens at Post 22, Turpens Lane, Chigwell, have helped, too, with another donation, and the Rattery Platoon (Devon) of the Home Guard arranged whist drives and a dance from which they made £55 11s., thereby achieving £112 in all to help our prisoners of war. Whist drives for which Mr. J.C. Gendenning, of Brampton, Cumberland, was responsible, have brought in the handsome amount of £219 14s., while the Swinton branch of the British Legion send £12 3s. 6d., a further gift.
£2 7s. 6d. has come from Mrs. Peck, of Sheffield, who sold a glass bowl and stand, and £3 as a Christmas present for her son who has been a prisoner for three years from Mrs. Bromham, of Addiscombe. Miss Davies, of Leeds, who has two nephews who are prisoners of war, has realised an average of £1 5s. each month for the last twelve months by means of eggs!
A cheque forwarded from some thirty members of the Rowley Regis Areas of the British Prisoners of War Relatives Association, with the amount previously subscribed since March, 1943, adds up to £700, and money to cover the cost of 418 food parcels was raised from a New Year’s concert arranged by Mr. A.G. Baxter at the Odeon Theatre, Llandudno, among the artists being Clive Richardson and Tony Lowry of the B.B.C.
[Page break]
14 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
Football in the Camps
[Photographs of football teams from STALAG 344, STALAG XXB, STALAG 383, STALAG XVIIA, STALAG IXC, B.B.AB. 21 and OFLAG VIIB.]
[Page break]
MARCH, 1945 The Prisoner of War 15
Personal Parcels Man
A P.o.W. at Stalag 357 Describes his Work
[Photograph of five men in greatcoats] These five prisoners of war at Stalag IVA act as postmen.
I BUSY myself with the affairs of the R.A.F. here, who number some 3,200 men. This means that their interests at all times must be cared for, whether it be a question of food parcels or private parcels. It signifies little on paper, but I can assure you that many problems rendered here would tax the tactfulness of Solomon himself.
We manage to get to work before the others go on roll-call as our parcel office is situated outside the compound, in what is called the Vorlager, which adjoins, but is separated from the compound. Here our office deals with all the personal parcels which arrive at the camp. The parcels are coming in very well, but we expect a hold-up shortly due to the parcel route closing in July and August. They are sorted into the various sections, listed, and the lists sent round the camp informing the lucky individuals when to collect them. The parcels are then pushed on a two-wheeled cart into he compound and opened and searched by the Germans in a central room.
When They Move
Our other department deals with parcels which belong to individuals who, for some reason or other, are no longer with us. As previously reported, the whole of Stalag Luft 6 did not come here with us, and, as most of the parcels addressed to Luft 6 arrive at this camp first, this department is kept very busy.
It is also our duty to report any parcels which have been damaged en route, and, believe me, there are quite a number. Sacks of parcels sent on by other Stalags have lists inside them telling us the number of parcels contained therein and it is our duty to ensure that everything is all right, sign the receipt and return to the Stalag concerned. If anything untoward has happened to the sack a report must be made to the P.O.
Book Censorship
Book parcels are dealt with in a different way. These are not allowed in the compound until such time as they have been censored. We therefore open the parcel, and prepare the book for censoring, and take them to the censor. This officer controls all matter (printed) which is destined for the compound. He is assisted in his work by three ladies and a few men, and everything that concerns parcels or books is reported to this office either by the German in charge of our department or by myself. My face is becoming known here as it was previously at the Luft camps.
How Parcels Arrive
The sacks of personal parcels arrive by two distinct means. Some come by rail to the station, and we collect them by motor. Recently, however, it has been very hard to obtain a motor so we have had to perform this task by hand-cart. The others come by post and we collect them from the local post-office on the hand-cart.
The personnel at both of these4 sources are beginning to know me now, and the job of collecting parcels, although quite hard, is most enjoyable. A better knowledge of customs and language is obtained, and the chance of my becoming a victim of barbed-wire fever is very remote. One of the fair sex even went to the extent of calling me a funny man, but it might even mean that I have developed a “Stalag-happy” complex. This is a current expression now in use.
December 3rd, 1944.
[Photograph of a knitted scarf]
Knit This Practical Scarf
IN MOSS STITCH
[Instructions for knitting a scarf]
[Page break]
16 The Prisoner of War MARCH, 1945
Camp Transfers
Statement on February 13th
TWELVE camps, whose numbers are given below, have either been over-run by the Soviet Forces or are in their direct path. There were about 60,000 prisoners from the British Commonwealth in these camps.
Following are the camps:-
Stalag IIB, Stalag IID, Stalag IIIB, Stalag IIIC, Stalag 344, Stalag VIIIB, Stalag VIIIC, Stalag XXA, Stalag XXB, Stalag Luft III, Stalag IV, Stalag Luft VII.
Information given in the House of Commons on February 22nd
AS regards the movements of camps in Eastern Germany, the present position, according to the latest information available, is as follows:
Stalags XXA, XXB and IIB are moving through the Province of Mecklenburg. Some are being moved by rail.
From Stalag Luft III 2,000 British and American prisoners of war have been transferred to Stalag IIIA, at Luckenwalde; 2,000 to Marlag und Milag Nord (near Hamburg); 2,000 to Stalag XIIIC, east of Frankfurt-on-Main, and 4,000 to Stalag VIIIA in Bavaria.
Prisoners of war from Stalags VIIIA and VIIIC are moving through Saxony. A number of prisoners unfit to travel are being moved from Stalag VIIIA by rail.
Some prisoners from Stalag Luft IV are reported to be at Usedom, near Swinemunde on the Baltic.
Stalag Luft VII was reported to be near Spremburg, from where the prisoners are to be transferred to the neighbourhood of Nuremburg and Moosburg in Bavaria.
Stalag VIIIB is reported to be moving towards Aussig, south of Dresden.
The final destination of the prisoners transferred from the above camps is not yet known.
War Office Statement, February 26th
Four thousand British and American sick have left Lamsdorf (Stalag 344) for a destination in Germany as yet unknown. Fit prisoners from Stalag 344 are on the march between Boemisch Lippa and Carlsbad.
Prisoners from Stalag VIIIA are dividing: part are proceeding towards Cassel, part to Nuremburg, while prisoners from Stalag VIIIC are moving – some towards Hanover, others towards Cassel. Advance parties are already nearing their destination.
PARCELS
For P.o.W.s Formerly in Camps in Easter Germany and Poland
THE Postmaster-General announces that PARCELS should not now be sent to British prisoners of war formerly in the camps (including associated labour detachments and hospitals) in Poland and Eastern Germany mentioned below until new addresses are received either through official notification to the next of kin from letters from the men themselves.
LETTERS for these prisoners can continue to be posted addressed to the last-known camp address.
The camps in question are:-
Stalag IIB
Stalag IID
Stalag IIIA
Stalag IIIB
Stalag IIIC
Stalag IIID
Stalag VIIIA
Stalag VIIIB
Stalag VIIIC
Stalag XXA
Stalag XXB
Stalag XXID
Stalag 344
Stalag Luft III, Luft IV, Luft VIII
B.A.B. 20 B.A.B. 21
Oflag 64
The Post Office will despatch, as the opportunity offers, next of kin parcels for those camps which have already been repacked and reposted by the British Red Cross, and also parcels of cigarettes, tobacco, etc., posted by holders of censorship permits in expectation that they will be redirected by the German authorities.
In order, however, not to add to the difficulties of redirection, the British Red Cross will return to the senders any next of kin parcels for these camps which have not been reposted, and the public should not place further orders with holders of censorship permits as parcels sent by this means cannot be returned.
In the case of other camps, next of kin and “permit” parcels as well as letters can continue to be sent for the time being. Readers are advised to look out for further official announcements.
Labels and Coupons
In view of the G.P.O. announcement, no more labels and coupons will be issued for the time being to the next of kin of prisoners whose last address was that of one of the camps mentioned. This applies to first and later issues.
A postcard will be sent to the next of kin of men in these camps whose parcels were despatched shortly before February 16th, giving the date of despatch and explaining the position.
Next of kin already holding labels and coupons for men in these camps should keep them until a new address is known. They are advised to consult the P.o.W. Department before despatching any further parcels and to look out for further official announcements by the General Post Office.
[Boxed] NUMBER PLEASE.
Please be sure to mention your Red Cross reference number whenever you write to us. Otherwise delay and trouble are caused in finding previous correspondence. [/boxed]
Y.M.C.A. SPORTS MEDALS
The British Man of Confidence at Stalag IVA has written to inform the mother of a lance-corporal there that the Y.M.C.A. Sports Medal has been awarded to her son “who has organised football under difficult conditions and has striven week after week to keep the ‘lads’ at the game. He demonstrated his sportsmanship and love of the game in a recent ‘England v. Scotland’ match. He captained the losing team (England) and, as a token of goodwill, presented his Regimental Cap Badge to the captain of the winning side. A cap badge to a soldier in captivity is his most treasure possession. Such spirit as his puts Britain where she is in the world of sport…”
P.o.W. Exhibition Catalogues
Those who may still wish to obtain a copy of the catalogue as a souvenir of the Prisoners of War Exhibition which was held in London last year should send 7d. to cover cost and postage as soon as possible to-
Mr. Tomlins, Red Cross and St. John War Organisation, Publicity Department, 24, Carlton House Terrace, London, S.W.1.
Gift from Woolwich
The British Armaments Inspection Department at Woolwich is helping to provide weekly food parcels for prisoners of war. They have already sent Red Cross a cheque for £100, with their good wishes and their target is £500.
County Representatives
Please note the following change:-
DEVONSHIRE.- Mrs. Geoffrey Tomes, B.R.C.S. Office, Prudential Chambers, Exeter.
[Boxed] FREE TO NEXT OF KIN
This journal is sent free of charge to those registered with the Prisoners of War Dept. as next of kin. In view of the paper shortage no copies are for sale, and it is hoped that next of kin will share their copy with relatives and others interested. [/boxed]
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN for the publishers, THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION, 14, Grosvenor Crescent, London, S.W.. by THE CORNWALL PRESS LTD., Paris Garden, Stamford Street, London S.E.1.
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Title
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The Prisoner of War March 1945
Description
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The official journal of the Prisoners of War Department of the Red Cross and St John War Organisation. This edition covers the Editors comments, the transport of food parcels, Emergency supplies for the camp, POW cooking, articles about Christmas in the camps, letter written by POWs for home, Official reports from the camps, More Come Home -repatriates returning, charitable donations, photographs of camp football teams, a POW postman who deals with parcels and a knitting pattern for a scarf.
Date
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1945-04
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16 printed sheets
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eng
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Text
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MCurnockRM1815605-171114-022
Coverage
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Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
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Cyprus--Famagusta
Switzerland--Geneva
Germany--Berlin
Netherlands--Arnhem
Germany--Colditz
Germany--Neubrandenburg
Germany--Munich
Germany--Görlitz (Görlitz)
Germany--Meiningen
Germany--Obermassfeld-Grimmenthal
Great Britain
England--Merseyside
England--Oldham
England--Surrey
Germany--Lübeck
Germany--Barth
Poland
Poland--Łambinowice
Poland--Tychowo
Poland--Żagań
Germany--Moosburg an der Isar
Ukraine--Odesa
Germany
Cyprus
Netherlands
Switzerland
Ukraine
England--Lancashire
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Great Britain. Red Cross and St John war organisation. Prisoners of war department
Publisher
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IBCC Digital Archive
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
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Anne-Marie Watson
Temporal Coverage
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1945-04
aircrew
arts and crafts
entertainment
faith
forced labour
prisoner of war
Red Cross
sanitation
sport
Stalag 3A
Stalag 8B
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 4
Stalag Luft 6
Stalag Luft 7
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/501/22592/MCurnockRM1815605-171114-021.2.pdf
0b8bc57160c8e208e9ed946757257721
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Title
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Curnock, Richard
Richard Murdock Curnock
R M Curnock
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IBCC Digital Archive
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Curnock, RM
Date
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2016-04-18
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Description
An account of the resource
92 items. An oral history interview with Warrant Officer Richard Curnock (1924, 1915605 Royal Air Force), his log book, letters, photographs and prisoner of war magazines. He flew operations with 425 Squadron before being shot down and becoming a prisoner of war.
The collection has been licenced to the IBCC Digital Archive by Richard Curnock and catalogued by Barry Hunter.
Transcribed document
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Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE
Prisoner of War
[Symbol] THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE PRISONERS OF WAR DEPARTMENT OF THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION, ST. JAMES’S PALACE, LONDON, S.W.1 [symbol]
VOL. 4. No. 37. Free to Next of Kin MAY, 1945
The Editor Writes –
IT is just three years since on May 1st, 1942 we launched the first number of The Prisoner of War. For most of our readers three long years of strain and toil, of hopes and anxieties. “It is hard,” wrote Her Majesty the Queen in a message printed in our first issue, “for those who wait at home to go cheerfully about their daily tasks in the knowledge that someone dear to them is in exile and a prisoner.” But their long ordeal is coming to an end, as I write, and indeed for many thousands has already ended. By the time these lines are printed it may well be that all our men in Germany will once again be free.
A Host of Friends
This journal will still appear for a few months so long as there is any useful information to give to ex-prisoners of war and their next-of-kin, but, happily, it will no longer contain news of what is happening in the Stalags and Oflags, for they, I hope, will have become a very bad dream that is now over. From the first I have looked forward to the day when the journal in this form would no longer be needed.
But there is sadness in the thought that I shall be saying good-bye to a host of good friends, personally unknown to me, but brought very close by means of correspondence.
[Photograph of a large group of cheering men] Wild scenes of excitement at Stalag 357 as the camp is liberated.
So Many Letters
Never, I am sure, has a journal been so eagerly looked for each month by so many readers. Never has an editor received so many thousands of grateful letters as have reached my colleagues and myself month after month from relatives who were cheered and comforted by the scraps of news we were able to give them, heartened by the knowledge of what the Red Cross and St. John War Organisation was able to do for their men, but, above all, brought closer to their dear ones by the intimate revelations of what other prisoners were doing and thinking.
Fare You Well!
To all our readers and their men with whom they are once more united, I would say: “Thank you for your gratitude and your confidence. I wish you a full life and every happiness.” But in the general rejoicing, let us not forget the relatives of those who will not come back, and especially of those (few in number we believe) who in the last weeks of the war were marched out of the camps to death by hunger or exhaustion. Our hearts go out to them.
News Without Delay
Events are moving so rapidly in these great days of victory that the news of recent developments grows stale from hour to hour. The latest news of the camps is given on another page. The Secretary of State for War announced on May 1st that 43,000 prisoners had reached this country from North West Europe. A further 3,436 had been evacuated from Odessa. Many others have doubtless been liberated by the Red Army in the neighbourhood of Berlin and Dresden and by the American Armies on their way to Munich and the Austrian frontier.
Sir James Grigg undertook to give out immediately any information, and next of kin may rest assured that they will be notified without delay of any definite news of their men.
Transfers Cease
The German Government has stated through the Protecting Power that all transfers of prisoners have ceased in areas under German control. The prisoners have been collected, as far as possible, in large Stalags, and the German Government has
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2 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
asked the I.R.C.C. and the Protecting Power to send representatives to these camps. When the German military authorities withdraw, these representatives will remain in charge of the camps until the Allies arrive.
The “Master” Race
The unspeakable atrocities perpetrated at the concentration camps are a revelation of the depths of vileness to which Germans have been brought by leaders who invoked their pagan instincts and barbaric lusts. The victims of these sub-human torturers and murderers were almost entirely Germans. Poles, Jews, and other Europeans enslaved by the “Master Race.” Ordinary prisoner-of-war camps were not exposed to any similar system of torture.
450 Miles Winter March
The treatment of prisoners of war who were moved from camps in Silesia when the Russians approached is evidence, however, of the generally callous cruelty of the German to those in his power. They were marched for 450 miles in the depths of winter. The Germans had prevented them from making any preparations for the move, and failed to make adequate provisions for food and accommodation or for those who fell ill on the way. They were visited on the march by a representative of the Protecting Power, and a protest was made. The Secretary of State for War, answering questions on this matter, added that the Germans were becoming more and more incapable of looking after things in their own country, and he feared a good deal of hardship was inevitable. Some camps were grossly overcrowded by incoming prisoners from the East.
“The LatestReprisal”
A petty example of German vindictiveness has come in a report from Oflag VIIB and Stalag 357 (now captured), where the British prisoners were deprived of their mattresses, palliasses and most of their furniture ostensibly as reprisals for the ill-treatment of German prisoners in Egypt. The allegations, says Sir James Grigg, were entirely without foundation. An apt comment reached me from a prisoner in Oflag VIIB: “Just in case you should get hold of a garbled version of the latest reprisal, … our mattresses and 90 per cent of our tables and chairs were taken away. As you may imagine, we have improvised and everybody seems quite comfortable.”
[Boxed] NEW ADDRESS
If you have moved, do not forget to notify the Navy, Army, or R.A.F. authorities as well as the Red Cross of the address of your new home. It is MOST IMPORTANT that official news should reach you without delay. [/boxed]
REPATRIATION ARRANGEMENTS
By Major-General Sir Richard Howard-Vyse, K.C.M.G., D.S.O.
(Chairman of the Prisoners of War Department)
THE repatriation of British Commonwealth prisoners of war on the Western Front is the responsibility of SHAEF in conjunction with the War Office; we have been in close consultation with both authorities. The continued resistance of the enemy has necessitated certain modifications in the original plans, Instead of the great majority of the prisoners being freed at the moment of the signing of an armistice, and while still in their original camps, they are now being recovered by degrees. Some, mostly the sick, are found in camps and hospitals, some have escaped and reached the allied lines, but most of them are apparently being overtaken while on the march. This makes it easier as regards the numbers to be dealt with at any one time, but much more difficult from the point of view of making definite plans beforehand.
Strictly speaking, a freed prisoner of war, unless he is sick or wounded, is no longer a concern of the Red Cross; but it is unthinkable that we should immediately lose all interest in him. We have therefore prepared, in numbers sufficient to supply every man, gift bags containing a razor and other toilet requisites, chocolate, cigarettes and a message of welcome. The message is from all the Dominion and Indian Red Cross Societies, and not only from the War Organisations. Many, but not all, the ex-prisoners will need other articles such as pullovers, pyjamas and socks, and these also we are providing on a liberal scale, as well as invalid diet and medical supplies. To assist in the distribution of these articles, to give as much information as possible to the men, while they await transport to this country, and to co-operate with the Army Welfare officials, we have enrolled a number of our own representatives.
Helping in North-West Europe
These plans have already been put into operation at Odessa, and, in order to complete the arrangements for North West Europe, not long ago I paid a visit to SHAEF. As the result, 40,000 gift bags with the necessary proportion of other supplies have already left this country, and another 60,000 are on order to go. Eight representatives have also left. The British Commonwealth character of this service is emphasised by the fact that these eight representatives include 3 British (one of whom has knowledge of Indian), 2 Australian and 1 each Canadian, South African and New Zealander. These have all gone to the zone of one particular Army Group and will be called forward to P.o.W. Assembly Camps as and when required. Similar arrangements will have been put into operation in other zones before these words appear in print.
We are, of course, extremely anxious that our Gift Bags, and especially the Message of Welcome, should reach ex-prisoners of war at the earliest possible moment; and I am sure that SHAEF and the various Army authorities concerned will give us every help in this. But some men are sure to miss them, and stocks of Gift Bags are therefore being sent to a port of embarkation in N.W. Europe, and to all counties in this country where Reception Camps are being established. It will therefore be very bad luck if every man does not, at some stage or another, receive our gift. The speed with which repatriation is at present being carried out may make it impossible to issue the more bulky articles such as pullovers. We provided these originally in anticipation of a fairly long wait at staging or transit camps overseas, and no one is likely to grumble if this does not materialise.
Reception Camp Welcome
War Organisation representatives are also present at the Reception Camps in this country and are ready, in co-operation with Army Welfare, to welcome and help all repatriates. In particular, I hope they will be used to make arrangements for those who wish to be met on their arrival at their home station. Here again, I would emphasise that the speed with which men are being passed through the various stages of repatriation, though admirable in every other respect, inevitably results in administrative difficulties for the Red Cross.
Reunion
This brings us to the longed-for time of reunion, an event so intimate and so sacred that is seems inappropriate to intrude upon it, even in print. We think, however, that most next of kin will be glad to have advice on the very important question of diet, and with the kind help of the Ministry of Food we are drawing up some hints which we shall be circulating to all next of kin of repatriated prisoners.
As regards the many other problems which may arise, we have also prepared some notes, which we have communicated to Joint Committees and Prisoner of War Representatives in all counties, who are therefore in a position to give advice where it is needed.
N.B. – This article has of necessity been written in the second week of April and much of it therefore may be out of date by the time it appears in print.
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MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 3
Liberation Comes to Stalag IXA
Described by SGT. THERON, of the 1st R.L.I., Union Defence Force, South Africa, who was captured at Tobruk
[Photograph of a large group of men in uniform, cooking outside] Oflag 79 is liberated, and British Ex-p.o.w.s cook their first meal in freedom.
THERE had been no Red Cross food parcels since the arrival of the British p.o.w.s from Silesia; all of them had walked the gruelling 500 miles and most were in a state of utter physical exhaustion. But the German radio announced on the 2nd April, that the American 3rd Army had penetrated deeply over the Rhine at Frankfurt; and hopes and morale soared. The pet phrase in the British compound was the “Three P’s” – Patten, Parcels or Peace! Rumours were rife, but at least hunger was replaced by the excitement of imminent liberation.
Then came the blow. On Wednesday, the 4th April, at 4 p.m., all senior men were sent for by the German Commandant and told that on Thursday all fit men would move out on foot. The news hit us all very hard, as most of the lads had just completed a previous “hike,” and had barely recovered from its effects.
Mass sick-parades were held; and the ruling of the Senior British Medical Officer was that those who could manage to walk should do so in order to protect the really crippled and weak. The Germans had threatened to force everybody out, and such action would have meant certain disaster to many. We were in three categories – the walking fit; the not-so-sick who were to be transported; and the serious cases who were to remain in Stalag hospitals.
Those Who Remained
At 8 a.m. on Thursday the 5th April, the marching columns left, and we who remained watched their straggling line disappear into the trees about a mile from the camp. Along the road leading past Stalag IXA there were evident signs of German withdrawals – on foot, by cart and horse, and in trucks hundreds of Germans were streaming back from the front.
In the valley our fighters straffed incessantly. We were told that all men in camp would remain indefinitely but we couldn’t believe that the Germans would allow us to be retaken so simply. It was apparent by 3 o’clock that only a very skeleton guard would remain. Volunteers from among the guards were called for, and eventually at 5 p.m. all who remained were three officers and 26 other ranks. Their attitude was one of complete resignation – the camp was virtually ours.
All afternoon and during the nigh the battle-sounds came closer, and very few men slept that night. The whole camp seemed tense and uncannily quiet. Friday dawned sunny and clear – except for a distant rumble all was quiet. The morning dragged to 11 a.m., and still no sign of Allied tanks. Spotters reported German tanks on the hill behind the camp and we feared a battle might develop in our vicinity. Everybody was ordered to get into barracks and remain quiet. At 11.15 a.m. the German Acting-Camp Commandant formally handed the keys of the camp to our senior officer.
[Photograph of a large group of cheery men behind barbed wire gates] The gates of Stalag XIB open to release the British captives within.
At a few minutes after midday a line of tanks was spotted coming towards us from the east. We could scarcely breathe. I grabbed a pair of binoculars from a German officer and in the tense excitement could only see a blur! German or ours? It meant so much. The Germans knew, however, and fell in neatly, ready to hand over to the first American soldier. All this while the camp was quite deserted and incredibly quiet. A shot passed overhead, and shortly afterwards at exactly 12.30 p.m. the first Sherman reached the gates.
At Last!
The p.o.w.s were held in check until the Germans were disarmed, and then as the main American convoy moved up pandemonium broke loose.
Singing, yelling, cheering , prisoners mobbed the liberators – everybody was shaking hands with everybody else. Incoherent babbling and tears were frequent signs of a relived gladness that is beyond description. All that day Americans poured past, and the starved and smokeless p.o.w.s had armfuls of cigarettes and “C Rations” handed to them. It was a great day.
The next morning truckloads of chocolate, cigarettes and chewing gum rolled into camp. The Yanks were incredibly kind to us and only asked that we re-
(Continued on page 11)
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4 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
PRIVATE D.W. GARDNER, liberated by the Russians, from Stalag XXB and now home again was prominent in his camp in helping to produce shows. In this article he takes us –
BEHIND THE SCENES
[Two photographs of actors in stage shows] These two shows produced at Stalag XXA, Sinbad the Sailor, (Above) and The Wind and the Rain (Right) show the ingenious costumes that can be produced in a prison camp.
YOU have probably all had letters at one time or another from your friends or relations who are P.o.W.s, with the phrase, “We had a jolly good show last night,” or “We had a dance last night,” with perhaps more details. What lies behind these phrases?
Way back in 1940 about two hundred tired and rather dirty P.o.W.s arrived at Stalag XXA, in Thorn, Poland. After finding somewhere to sleep, someone came into the barrack saying, “There’s a show on in such-and-such a barrack in half an hour.” A show? What kind of a show? Let’s go and have a look.
Several hundred men crowded into a sleeping barrack, facing a “stage” made out of table-tops. There they listened to a mouth-organ band with a drummer. Oh, yes, there was a drummer complete with different-sized jam tins is place of drums. Interspersed with monologues, the band played for about an hour, bringing memories and forgetfulness to the weary audience.
The first show was born, and it was the same in every camp. The Germans were amazed at the enthusiasm shown by the men to “dress up” and amuse themselves.
Time passed; Red Cross parcels began to arrive. With the main worry removed, the shows became more elaborate.
Money began to come into the camps from the men who were working. Permission was given to buy instruments. A violin was followed by a piano, then came accordions, trumpets and saxophones, through the Red Cross; until at last dance bands, quintets and even military bands came almost to perfection.
The idea of a “show,” in those days, was to have the band on the stage; then it would come off for periods to let the concert party give short sketches or perhaps a monologue or song. The whole show was held together by a compère.
This type of show was rather unwieldy and depended too much on the compère. Producers became more ambitious and split in two directions. One concentrated on straight shows, such as “Journey’s End,” “Dover Road,” and “Dr. Clitterhouse,” the other on musical comedies.
The musical comedies were usually more popular, but were well balanced by the drama. Many men found themselves talent to write these shows, usually “two and a half hours of music and mirth,” to quote posters.
These shows brought out the amazing ingenuity of the average P.o.W. Take almost any show based on a civvy street film. The producer asks for a Chinese costume, a girl’s evening dress and sailor’s costume amongst others. The Chinese costumes are made out of dyed pyjamas with dyed Eastern decorations. Sailor’s costumes – Air Force trousers, a blue roll-neck sweater with cardboard anchor stitched on, and a paper hat completes the dress. Ladies’ evening dress – a sheet cut and stitched to shape, decorations by coloured paper stitched round hems and neck or on the skirt.
There were a thousand and one “tricks” – wigs and moustaches made from Red Cross string, 18th-century dress, hoop skirts made with wire and crêpe paper, cardboard evening dress collars, paper ties, paper umbrellas, suit of armour from empty tins straightened and “sewn” with wire, blouse from a shirt trimmed with crêpe paper.
These large shows were limited to large camps, but even the smallest camps arranged some sort of show. Perhaps they had a band – an accordion and a drum, or a mouth-organ and a guitar; and they had their little “jam-session” with everyone singing or learning to dance.
Many will look back on those long years with memories of their “first appearance” and the knowledge that they tried to, and did, break the monotony.
[Picture of a dance band with a singer] A “turn” with the dance band at B.A.B. 20.
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MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 5
BARBED-WIRE UNIVERSITIES
[RAF Crest] The story of study at Stalag Luft VI is told in illuminated book* [University crest]
[Boxed] FOREWORD
BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE FACILITIES offered through the channels of the Red Cross Society it has been possible to establish in a Prisoner of War Camp this Education Organisation, an outline of which is given in the following pages.
To convert this period of enforced military inactivity into one of further training is our final aim. The principal value of the scheme however lies in its power to provide a distraction from Boredom and an antidote to Mental Stagnation.”
E. Alderton. [/boxed] This is the Foreword of the book, reproduced in facsimile.
“THE moments we forego, eternity itself cannot retrieve,” run the words of an old proverb. Mindful of this ancient truth, N.C.O.s of the Royal Air Force, imprisoned in Stalag Luft VI (later 357). Formed a study circle in preparation for taking examinations and so qualifying themselves for post-war appointments.
The venture became known as the Barbed-Wire University.
The British Red Cross and St. John War Organisation sent books and materials and arranged for the despatch and handling of examination papers; no mean undertaking when the courses on the “University’s” curriculum included as many as 84 different subjects.
The men behind the wire produced an illuminated prospectus, which told how: “This unique school was formed to provide educational facilities for flying personnel interned in Germany. The aim of the school is to expel boredom and mental stagnation by providing educational courses which can be profitably put to use in post-war life.”
Their Majesties’ Good Wishes
Lord Clarendon showed Their Majesties the original manuscript, and later a copy of the prospectus was sent to Buckingham Palace. Its receipt there was acknowledged by Lady Katherine Seymour, Lady-in-Waiting, who wrote: “The King and Queen have seen the illuminated book from Stalag Luft VI N.C.O.’s Education Committee. Their Majesties are both deeply impressed by the beautiful workmanship which has been put into the book, and by the splendid courageous spirit with which it has been completed. I am to say that the Queen hopes the booklet will meet with every success.”
The book did meet with great success, 10,000 copies were printed and sold in the United Kingdom. The illuminated prospectus has been reprinted in colour and is now on sale, price 2s., at bookshops and bookstalls.
Studying Under Difficulties
Study and examinations were carried out under incredibly difficult conditions. Five times the “Barbed Wire University” was moved to a different locality; and each move meant a loss of books and a fresh search for suitable accommodation at a new camp.
The Germans allowed no artificial lighting in prisoner of war camps until after 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and as the men had to sit for their examinations between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., this ruling caused considerable inconvenience. The rooms where they worked were unheated, and frequently the temperature there dropped below freezing point. Sometimes there were no tables or chairs, and Red Cross packing cases were utilised as furniture.
In Other Camps
Stalag Luft VI has not, however, been unique in its experiences. Almost every university in other P.o.W. camps has had to contend with similar difficulties. At Oflag VIIB the university, which was formed in 1940, was the first of its kind. It had 17 different faculties and a library of 50,000 books. The officers sat for their examinations in a storeroom because it was the quietest place. During one examination a bag of pepper in the store burst unexpectedly; somebody kicked a football accidentally through the window, and as a crowning disturbance pipers held a bagpipe practice in the immediate vicinity.
The illumination in the room used for study at Luft VI came from “fat lamps.” These ingenious little lights were made with margarine saved from the candidates’ rations, or bought with precious cigarettes from the ration of a friend, and old suspenders used as wicks.
Improvising at Stalag IVB, blackboard chalk was concocted from a mixture of toothpaste and plaster of paris baked in an oven.
Equestrian Ingenuity
Men at Stalag 383 wishing to learn horsemanship formed an Equestrian Society and built a dummy horse from an old wooden barrel. Occasionally the German guards were persuaded to loan the society a live cart-horse.
By March 24th this year no less than 16,122 applications to take examinations had been received from British P.o.W.s in Germany.
Over long years of captivity men whose minds might have become stagnant in thought and warped in outlook through enforced idleness, have learnt by their attendance at barbed-wire universities and stalag schools to conquer boredom and fit themselves for post-war work.
LIBRARIES FOR EMPIRE REPATRIATES
SEVEN camp libraries are being given by the War Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John to reception centres in this country for repatriated prisoners of war of the Dominion Forces. The books are of a type that ate scarce to-day, but are in great demand. They will include volumes of standard works on travel, biography, arts, science, classics, etc. Books on British country life are particularly popular.
The centres are already well supplied with fiction from their own Dominions.
BOOKS FOR THE VOYAGE
Twenty-four bales of books and magazines have been sent to Odessa by the British Red Cross and St. John Hospital Library Headquarters to provide reading matter for repatriated prisoners during their voyage home.
* THE ROYAL AIR FORCE SCHOOL FOR PRISONERS OF WAR, STALAG LUFT VI, obtainable from bookshops and bookstalls, price 2/-. The trade distributors are:- Messrs. Simpkin Marshall (1941), Ltd., 12, Old Bailey, London, E.C.4. All profits on the sale of the book will go to the Red Cross and St. John Fund for prisoners of war.
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6 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
FIRST TASTE OF FREEDOM
BRITISH AND AMERICAN PRISONERS OF WAR LIBERATED BY THE RUSSIAN ARMY PASS THROUGH ISTANBUL IN CHEERFUL MOOD ON THEIR WAY HOME FROM ODESSA
[Photograph of a ship at sea]
[Photograph of a man in a uniform coat] A pilot officer in board keeps warm in Russian fur cap and greatcoat.
[Photograph of a group of men on a ship] THUMBS UP expresses the high spirits of the liberated prisoners of war.
Welcome at Brussels
Reprinted by courtesy of The Times
From The Times Special Correspondent
THERE can have been few episodes more touching in the wartime experience of the Belgian capital than the daily arrival last week of prisoners of war, mostly British, released by the allied armies in Germany, and the manner in which they have been welcomed, refreshed and given a new start on their way to England.
They came by hundreds – on several days more than 1,000 were registered – and the stream still flows in. To deal with them, all concerned, from Military Headquarters “A” Branch (whose business, primarily, it is) to the Belgian voluntary welfare workers and Belgian boy scouts, have worked all day and half the night. Prominent as always in service of this kind has been the British Red Cross and St. John War Organisation, which concentrated on assisting the liberated prisoners as soon as the first batch reached Brussels last Tuesday. These came from the advanced collecting centres in transport aircraft which, after landing them at the Brussels airport, filled up with supplies and took off again for the front.
Mingled Joy and Sadness
The men arrived at the Red Cross offices in the Rue de la Loi just as they had left their prison camps, and the spectacle was one of mingled joy and sadness for those who saw them – joy in their new freedom and return to friends, but sadness at the drawn, weakly, subdued look of so many. They told of marches for weeks on end, between camps in Germany, since the beginning of the year, with barely enough food to keep life in them. While on the move they were deprived of the Red Cross parcels without which, in the established Stalags, they would have died. Besides those brought in by air, a multitude arrived by other kinds of transport, including bicycles, or on foot. Tree men came on a German fire engine which, they said, they had driven all the way from Hanover.
Every man was given a linen bag containing toilet articles, pyjamas and underwear, writing and smoking materials, handkerchiefs, and a card with the message “best wishes for a happy return home,” from the Red Cross organisation of the Empire. Many tired eyed lighted up at the sight of the handkerchiefs. Most men wanted first to put into words their gratitude to the Red Cross for all that its care had meant to them in their captivity, and many were in tears as they did so. Several hostels had been quickly got ready and meals with every sort of delicacy that the men’s state of health permitted or demanded were provided by Naafi.
The men who came in by road all spoke of the wholehearted help that they had received from the troops, British and American, all the way down the line, including the sharing of their rations. They leave Brussels in better heart, cheered and comforted by the efforts of many different people with a common bond of practical sympathy.
BRUSSELS, April 23.
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MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 7
The came home via Russia
[Photograph of ranks of men in warm clothing and uniforms] Allied prisoners freed by Soviet troops marching towards Odessa.
By courtesy of Pictorial Press.
IN an Army Reception Camp on the green slopes of a Buckinghamshire wood, 590 liberated prisoners of war, back from Odessa, spent Easter Sunday in England – for many it was the first in five years. They were on their way home on 42 days’ leave – with full pay and double rations. No doubt every man agreed heartily with the Camp Commandant’s policy of seeing them through the last formalities with the utmost speed and efficiency,
The atmosphere of the camp is informal and friendly and discipline is kept to a minimum. Soon after arrival the ex-prisoners have a square meal. The follows form-filling concerning arrears of pay, kit, medal claims, and so forth. Each man receives an initial payment to cover immediate expenses. He has a thorough medical examination and visits the radiology department for an X-Ray. The Quartermaster completes the gaps in uniform and equipment. Naafi is there to provide cigarettes, chocolate and the ever-popular cup of tea.
Their Problems Solved
To the Welfare Office in the middle of the camp drift those with problems, large and small. Working side by side with the Army welfare officer is a representative of the British Red Cross and St. John War Organisation. The men are obviously reassured by the friendly sight of her uniform, and she in turn is touched by their overwhelming gratitude – not just for any help she is able to give to them in this office, but as the personification of what Red Cross has meant to them in prison camps.
A corporal in a parachute regiment enters the office diffidently. He is not sure whether his problem is in the welfare category. He is anxious to trace his wife, a corporal in the W.A.A.F. The latest address he has of a camp in the Midlands is several months old, and he fears she has been moved or even sent abroad. Within three minutes the Red Cross officer has put a call through to the camp, and in another three minutes the corporal is speaking to his W.A.A.F. wife, excitedly making arrangements for their reunion.
Many problems had arisen through the irregularity of mail in prisoner of war camps in Germany in recent months. Some men in outlying working detachments had received scarcely any letters since D-Day. They wished to verify the addresses of their wives and families. The Welfare Office checked changes of address caused sometimes by bombing, by telephoning directly to the local police.
Middle East Welcome
Personal contact with the Red Cross was, however, made before reaching England. Many repatriates spoke warmly of the magnificent reception accorded to them in the Middle East. Red Cross personnel boarded their ships at Port Said as soon as the ships had docked. Once ashore, meals and entertainment were arranged, and on the second day an impromptu dance was organised at very short notice. It was not known how many ex-prisoners would wish to go, but over 1,000 attended and the evening was an outstanding success. The ladies of the party consisted of 15 Red Cross and St. Johns welfare workers, some 30 Wrens and 45 British women residents. A cabaret show, an excellent band and plentiful refreshments were put on.
Many men told the Red Cross Middle East Commissioner that this party did more to restore them to normality than anything else that could have been planned for their entertainment. At the end of the evening O.C. Troops of one of the transports called for three cheers for the Red Cross, and 1,000 men roared their appreciation before singing “God Save The King.”
Their Adventures
Interrogation by the Army Intelligence Corps is a very important part of the machinery of a reception camp. Repatriates are eager to collaborate, hoping to help their less fortunate comrades.
Typical of the experience of many prisoners was that of Private Perkins, who went to India with the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry in 1937. After service in Iraq, Palestine and Egypt, he was eventually captured at Tobruk, and after thirteen months in an Italian prison camp he arrived at Stalag VIIIB. He became one of a small working party at a benzine factory situated in a part of Germany which during the last weeks he was there had thirty visits from “our friends the Yanks … complete with their headaches,” as he described the raids.
Towards the end of 1944, the demeanour of the guards became noticeably gloomier, and by a contrary process, the spirits of the prisoners rose. Finally, on January 21st, the Germans evacuated the major part of the camp westwards, and Private Perkins in the outlying working party was “one of the lucky ones” who escaped.
With Polish and French ex-prisoners he hid in the woods for five days. They broke into a German magazine for food, sledges were hastily improvised, and piled high with tinned meat, sugar and coffee. The Russian army took this area in an encircling movement and the prisoners finally contacted the Russians 10 kilometres behind their lines.
Precious possessions collected for years in a prison camp had for the most part to be left behind. But in a few cases, P.o.W.s had clung tenaciously to some favourite object. One man was playing his guitar in the reception camp. It had been sent out to his prison camp by the Red Cross; he had learned to play it there, and managed to bring it all the way home. Another man had arrived in England complete with typewriter.
Private Baggott, captured in Crete and a P.o.W. for four years, worked in a grube (coal mine) attached to the same camp. When the Germans evacuated in a hurry he hid in the roof of the bathhouse and escaped detection. Red Cross parcels kept him going and later, according to a prearranged plan, he sheltered in a nearby Polish house. Many of his companions were hidden by the Poles in spite of frequent German searches.
When the Germans had finally left the village, the prisoners, who had been a week or more in hiding, declared themselves to the newly arrived Russians. After much hospitality and kindness, the P.o.W.s made their way to Cracow, Lublin, Warsaw and other cities to which they were directed by the Russian armies, until they were all gathered together at Odessa. And there, daily, more trainloads arrive, to be shipped via the Middle East, to a Buckinghamshire reception camp and then home. B.C.S.
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8 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
Official [On next part of double page Reports from the Camps]
[Photograph of a group of men outside a large building] OFLAG VIIB. When this camp was visited in February general health was reported to be good.
Report on conditions during the forced march of British Prisoners of War from Stalag Luft III, Sagan and Stalag Luft VII, Bankau, to Stalag IIIA, Luckenwalde, due to the advance of the Russian armies.
STALAG LUFT VII, BANKAU
On 17 January the Camp Leader was told that the prisoners would have to be ready to evacuate on foot in an hour’s time.
On leaving, each prisoner was issued with 2 1/2 days’ marching rations. To start with no transport was provided for any sick who might fall out of the column, and the only medical equipment available was that which could be carried by the medical officer and three orderlies.
On reaching Karlsruhe, the prisoners were accommodated in an old brick factory, and two field kitchens were provided to cook for 1,550. When they left Karlsruhe, a small horse-drawn wagon was provided to transport the sick. Tribute was paid to the assistance, both moral and physical, to the accompanying British medical officer and the two padres.
At Schonfeld, some biscuits and a little coffee were issued. The column was marching again by 5 a.m. and reached Jenawitz, where they were issued with a modicum of fat meat and some pea soup.
On January 24 and 26 they rested. On January 29 they arrived at Peterwitz in an exhausted condition.
On February 1 they left Peterwitz and marched to Frausnitz, where they remained until February 5.
Before leaving they were issued with bread, margarine and meat. They marched to Goldberg, where they were put into cattle trucks – an average of 55 men to each truck. The train journey to Luckenwalde lasted three days; the men had no water on the train for two days.
As a result of this march and the deplorable conditions under which it was undertaken the morale of the men on arrival at Luckenwalde was extremely low. There were numerous cases of frost-bite, malnutrition, dysentery and other illness.
Prisoners of other nationalities also marched under much the same conditions and arrived at Luckenwalde in an exhausted condition.
STALAG LUFT III, SAGAN
On January 27, 1,000 prisoners from the East Compound were marched out of the camp. Each man collected one Red Cross parcel to carry with him.
The move was to be made on foot and no transport whatever was available for the march, which lasted eight days. No preliminary preparations were made by the detaining power, and the prisoners were forbidden to make any preparations in anticipation of the event. Small sledges manufactured by the prisoners out of Red Cross material were confiscated, and improvised ruck sacks and kit bags were forbidden.
No provision was made for the care of those who might fall sick on the march or for the carriage of their equipment, and throughout the whole journey the only transport available to the column consisted of two horse-drawn wagons which were reserved for the carriage of German equipment.
The march was made in stages of about 18 kilometres per day. On the way a number of men from Belaria and other Compounds joined the column, bringing the number to 1,415.
The daily rations throughout the march consisted of one half-loaf of bread per man and one issue of barley soup. The provision of water was entirely haphazard and on many days the only water available was such as could be begged or bought for cigarettes on the way.
The prisoners were kept for many hours in the open after a hard march in severe weather conditions until accommodation could be arranged, the only shelter provided on each occasion being roof cover.
The marching conditions of prisoners from other compounds of this camp were similar to the above.
STALAG IIIA, LUCKENNWALDE
This report deals solely with those prisoners of war who have been evacuated from other camps.
The layout of the camp is in no way changed. There are prisoners of many nationalities, each nationality being segregated. The British prisoners who recently arrived are also separated from those who were there before.
British officers from Stalag Luft III are in a compound known as “Oflag IIIA,” where there are 1,357 British and 461 American prisoners of war.
All the compounds are overcrowded. Triple-tier beds have been provided, but in many cases the wooden boards are lacking. About 100 men sleep on the floor.
In the Oflag these conditions are somewhat better, but even here some officers have to sleep on the floor.
All the barracks need repairs. Woodcutting parties bring wood daily to heat the barracks. There is a great shortage of eating utensils in all the quarters. Washing facilities are totally inadequate.
Medical officers are doing everything possible to help the sick, but they are very much hampered as there are practically no medicaments or drugs.
Most of the prisoners of war have only the clothing which they stand up in. There is no laundry and the prisoners are unable to wash their only sets of garments. Religious services are held regularly.
(Visited February, 1945.)
[Photograph of a large group of men outside] These men were still prisoners but hopefully awaiting liberation when this picture was taken at Stalag IVC.
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MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 9
Reports from the Camps
[Boxed] In every case where the conditions call for remedy, the Protecting Power makes representations to the detaining Power. Where there is any reason to doubt whether the Protecting Power has acted it is at once requested to do so. When it is reported that food or clothing is required, the necessary action is taken through the International Red Cross Committee. [/boxed]
[Photograph of actors on a stage above the orchestra in the pit below] THE SHOW AND THE ORCHESTRA. The professional touch characterises this scene at Stalag IVB.
At Other Camps –
HOSPITAL AT BILIN
This has always been a good hospital and at the time of the visit contained 42 British patients. Treatment is given by a German doctor and two Serbian assistants. Dental treatment is given by a French dentist. The British patients would appreciate the appointment of a British doctor to this lazaret.
(Visited January, 1945.)
HOSPITAL AT SANDBOSTEL
Five American and one British patient in this hospital have very high praise for two Serbian surgeons and the treatment they receive from the Germans. The hospital appears to be one of the best.
(Visited January, 1945.)
OFLAG VIIB, BEICHSTATT
There has been no change in the general layout of the camp since the last visit, except that two new huts are now nearly completed. At present there are 1,846 officer and other ranks, but more officers are expected, in which case facilities for bathing, washing, cooking, etc., will be inadequate. At present hot showers are available twice a month.
The scale of rations has recently been cut and is now the same as that of non-working German civilians and not that of German depot troops.
Four British medical officers are in charge of the camp hospital. The general health is reported to be still good. No improvement has been made in the lighting conditions, and the prisoners’ eyesight is suffering in consequence.
Mail has taken longer of late and many letters arriving by airmail were posted at dates varying between July and November. During January, the Germans gave orders that all prisoners of war should be deprived of their mattresses. Almost all tables, chairs and benches were removed, and all public rooms were closed, except the Catholic chapel. The excuse given for this was alleged bad conditions at a German prisoner of war camp in Egypt. Similar reprisals were put into force at Stalag 357. Strong protests have been made to the German authorities by His Majesty’s Government.
(Visited February, 1945.)
STALAG IVA, HOHNSTEIN
At the time of the visit there were 4,753 prisoners of war in the area of Stalag IVA. Most of these were distributed in 60 British Work Detachments. There has been no change in the general layout of the camp. At the time of the visit the stock of Red Cross parcels was very low. The medical officer stated that a fair supply of drugs was obtainable from the German authorities and that there was a supply of British drugs. He was allowed to visit work detachments in the immediate neighbourhood and stated that the co-operation of the German medical officers was the best he had experienced. It was unfortunate, however, that there was no British dentist in the whole Stalag. The clothing situation on the whole was fairly good, each prisoner of war having two complete outfits. There was one British chaplain at the camp and he was allowed to visit work detachments as often as he wished.
Work Detachments.– Five work detachments in the Hoyerswerda district were visited.
No. 502, Grube Brigitta.- There has been no change in this camp since the last visit. There were no military targets in the immediate vicinity and the camp was provided with covered slit trench air-raid shelters. The 140 British prisoners of war are employed on loading and unloading wagons or repairing rails for the Grube Brigitta. They work about ten hours a day and every second Sunday is free. The medical officer in charge gave a very good report on the infirmary where a new room is under construction.
No. 531, Grube Ostfeld.- This camp also has good covered air-raid shelters. 90 British prisoners of war are employed in workshops and on forestry. They work 7-10 hours daily and every third Sunday is free. Living quarters are not very attractive, but a new barrack is nearly finished and should bring about a change for the better. Twice a week a sick parade is held by a civilian doctor and serious cases are sent to the hospital at Konigswartha. The Y.M.C.A. chaplain pays visits from time to time.
No. 508, Grube Erika.- 293 British prisoners of war work on the mine railway. The nearest military targets are about three miles away from the camp and the men are able to seek protection in the slit air-raid trenches. Living accommodation is entirely satisfactory, as also are the heating and lighting facilities. The supply of drugs and medicaments was reported to be fairly good. A daily sick parade is held by two polish doctors and twice a week by a civilian doctor. Recreation facilities are well organised. This is reported to be a good camp.
No. 543, Grube Heye III.- There were no serious complaints from this camp, where 45 British prisoners of war are employed on railway and surface work in the mines. Good air-raid shelters are provided, although there are no military targets in the neighbourhood.
BAUTZEN DISTRICT
Five detachments were visited in this area.
At No. 1274.- 70 British prisoners of war are employed on timber work. The camp has recently been transferred to a new barrack and there have been considerable improvements. The prisoners of war are building air-raid shelters for themselves which are not yet finished.
At No. 1184, Kronprinz Kirschau,
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10 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
[Photograph of a team of eleven men] Football team at Stalag IVA. Most of the P.o.W.s in this camp were distributed among 60 work detachments when the camp was visited in January.
the camp strength has lately been increased to 97 British prisoners of war, who load and unload waggons. The prisoners of war have hot showers and washing facilities in the factory as there is no running water in the camp. There were no serious complaints. Mail from England is said to take about one month to arrive.
No. 1091 is situated in the small village of Neukirch. There are only 20 British prisoners of war, who work in a box factory. Saturday afternoons and Sundays are free.
At No. 1007, Loebau.- 204 British prisoners of war work in a sugar factory. During the sugar season only every third Sunday is free. The camp was slightly overcrowded, but at the end of the season at least 80 men would be transferred, when conditions again would be satisfactory.
There are no complaints from No. 953, Loebau.
Several camps were visited in the Dresden district. A new camp, No. 1325, has been opened at Radebeul. The prisoners of war live in two barracks in a small compound. They have covered air-raid shelters. There are no complaints.
Work Detachments Nos. 1308, 1311, 1320 contain American prisoners of war.
(Visited January, 1945.)
STALAG IVB, MUHLBERG
There were nearly 7,000 British prisoners of war and 3,000 Americans in the camp at the time of the visit. This has caused considerable overcrowding in the bungalows, where for some time two men shared one bunk and many prisoners of war slept on the floor, benches and tables. Bathing facilities are good, but their use is somewhat limited by the numbers in the camp.
Cooking for British and American prisoners of war is done in one kitchen, staffed by 52 British.
During the recent overcrowding, when several thousand American prisoners of war were in transit through the camp, there were several cases of contagious diseases, particularly diphtheria and malaria. Supplies of drugs and dressings have not been very good and the promised improvement by the Germans in this respect did not materialise. In the camp hospital there is also a shortage of drugs and dressings and surgical equipment. The dental station is in the care of British and American dental officers, and fillings and extractions are done satisfactorily. Stocks of materials are adequate and an average of two new dentures a week is permitted by the authorities. Clothing stocks have rapidly diminished owing to prisoners of war from the Western Front needing complete new outfits.
There are two Church of England, one Presbyterian and one Roman Catholic chaplains on duty and services are regularly held for all groups.
There is a new German commandant in charge of the camp, and satisfactory relations exist between the authorities and the British and American prisoners of war. Great difficulty, however, is experienced in obtaining any material improvements to the camp under present conditions.
(Visited February, 1945.)
STALAG IVC, WISTRITZ
At the time of the visit there were approximately 7,000 British prisoners of war and 80 Americans in the camp. Most of these were distributed in the 53 work detachments. The general conditions of all work detachments is fairly good. There is an American and a British camp leader. At the main camp the British staff is allowed to shelter in a cellar. Red Cross parcels are kept in a storeroom in the town. Two British prisoners of war work there all day long.
Work Detachment 22A, Brux.- This visit was made very soon after aerial attacks on targets in this vicinity on December 25th, when 9 British prisoners were killed and 18 wounded. Six barracks were completely destroyed and four others were damaged. Some of those which were destroyed were completely burned out, destroying a quantity of clothing and personal articles. In the event of air attacks, prisoners of war are allowed to leave the camp or go to a cellar about ten minutes’ walk away, where they can remain until the “all clear.” During the attack on December 25th those prisoners of war who were killed had remained in the camp. The barracks are being rebuilt and should be in use by the end of February. The 2,210 British prisoners of war at this camp work in nearby villages and in factories. For the majority working hours are from 7.30 until 5. Most of the men now have every other Sunday free.
The medical staff consists of one medical officer and eight orderlies. The general state of health of this camp is good, though there are a number of men who should be removed to a camp where the work is lighter.
Work Detachment No. 51, Brux.- The strength of this camp is 1,773 British prisoners of war. The majority of them work in the Columbus mine. So far there have been no casualties from air attack, but prisoners of war are allowed to go outside the camp during an alert or to the shelters in the compound. There were no complaints about material conditions.
Work Camp Tschausch III, Brux.- 659 British prisoners of war live in five huts and work in the Tschausch mine. The health of the men at the camp has so far been very satisfactory. There were no serious complaints. During air raids prisoners of war are allowed to use the covered slit trenches in the compound, but many prefer to go down the mines.
Work Camp No. 258, Niemes.- 57 British prisoners of war work here in a wood factory. There were no serious complaints from this camp. Covered air-raid trenches are available near the camp compound.
Work Camp 53A, Deutsch Pankraz.- 50 British prisoners of war are digging trenches for the laying of gas pipes. There were no complaints., A daily sick parade is held by a civilian doctor.
Work Detachments Dux III.- 32 British prisoners of war work at a porcelain factory. Living quarters are not at all good though treatment of the prisoners of war appears to be quite satisfactory. The question of quarters was discussed with the Stalag authorities.
Work Detachment 395A, Tscherzowitz II.- 62 British prisoners of war are lodged in an old inn. There are no military targets near the camp. This was reported to be a good camp.
Work Detachment No. 32, Wurzmes.- This is a new camp containing 109 British prisoners of war captured on the Western Front. The men live in buildings attached to an old coalmine consisting of a stone building in a small compound. There are no military targets near the camp. Washing and bathing facilities are satisfactory. Heating and lighting is in order. Medical attention in the camp is given by a British doctor.
(Visited January, 1945.)
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MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 11
Relief by Road and Rail
IMMEDIATELY conditions in Germany began to deteriorate, and transport became difficult, the British Red Cross and St. John War Organisation asked the International Red Cross in Geneva to do everything possible, and to spend whatever was necessary, to solve the urgent problem of supplying relief to British prisoners of war.
The prisoners had in many cases been moved from organised camps and were being sent far away to unknown destinations. These conditions made it impossible to get Red Cross parcels to the men in the usual way, and over a period of weeks practically nothing got through to those on the move.
Then in early March the I.R.C.C. was able to send about 500 tons of food and medical supplies across Switzerland to the small eastern frontier station of Buchs, where 50 German railway waggons arrived to collect them. On March 10th the consignment reached Moosburg, 30 miles north-east of Munich; and here P.o.W.s unloaded the waggons.
Moosburg was for a time used as a distributing centre from which parcels could be sent by lorry on to camps in South Germany, Austria and part of Northern Czechoslovakia. It has now been overrun by the Allies; alternative distributing centres have been set up at Ravensburg and Markt Pongau.
Further trainloads of supplies left during the last few weeks.
Lorry Convoys Tour Reich
Early in March, Canadian and American lorries were moved from Toulon to Geneva, and on March 7th the first “flying column” of 25 left Switzerland, via Constance, with 120 tons of food and medical supplies. The drivers were Swiss nationals accompanied by German guards.
At the frontier the convoy split up. Six trucks carrying petrol, oil, and some medical supplies crossed Germany to the port of Lubeck. Of the remaining 19 lorries, 18 reached the Carlsbad and Marienbad area, and the supplies they carried were distributed among 18,000 British and American prisoners, some of them at Prague and Eger. Stalag VIIB received the contents of the last lorry, which broke down en route.
After delivering their loads the empty lorries proceeded to the distributing depots. It was planned to run a shuttle service between Moosburg, Ravensburg, and Markt Pongau and outlying camps.
177 Tons of Food
Four special convoys, each consisting of 12 lorries, accompanied by a car or motor cycle to act as “scout,” left Switzerland between March 12th – 18th. These vehicles were driven by Canadian prisoners of war and between them carried about 177 tons of food, medical supplies, soap and boot-repairing material. They headed for Southern and Central Germany with the object of contacting the prisoners on the move.
Further convoys left Geneva on April 6th, 7th, and 8th bound for Leipzig and Torgau, and others left on April 13th, 14th and 15th for Central Germany.
To obtain the earliest possible information of the whereabouts of P.o.W.s in transit an I.R.C.C. delegate travelled a day ahead of the first convoy, whilst scout vehicles explored secondary roads, along which it was apparently the practice of the Germans to move prisoners on foot.
The provision of lorries, petrol, lubricants and spare parts is co-ordinated by S.H.A.E.F., and further lorries, in addition to those already in operation, are available with the I.R.C.C. for use as and when an opportunity arises.
The I.R.C.C. has been able to get some food supplies to prisoners on the march in Northern Germany, and in the area around Berlin, as well as to others further south.
[Boxed] UNITED NATIONS’ WARNING
THE Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, on behalf of all the United Nations at war with Germany, hereby issue a solemn warning to all commandants and guards in charge of Allied prisoners of war, internees, or deported citizens of the United Nations in Germany and German-occupied territory and members of the Gestapo and all other persons of whatsoever service or rank in whose charge Allied prisoners of war, internees or deported citizens have been placed, whether in the battle zones, on the lines of communication or in rear areas.
Individually Responsible
They declare that they will hold all such persons, no less than the German High Command and the competent German military, naval and air authorities, individually responsible for the safety and welfare of all Allied prisoners of war, internees or deported citizens in their charge.
Any person guilty of maltreating or allowing any Allied prisoner of war, internee or deported citizen to be maltreated, whether in the battle zone, on the lines of communication, in a camp, hospital, prison or elsewhere, will be ruthlessly pursued and brought to punishment.
They give notice that they will regard this responsibility as binding in all circumstances and one which cannot be transferred to any other, authorities or individuals whatsoever.
W.S. Churchill.
H.S. Truman.
J.V. Stalin. [/boxed]
Liberation Comes to Stalag IXA
(Continued from page 3)
main in camp and under control. Camp foodstuffs were checked, guards appointed to prevent looting and uncontrolled movement. The camp offices became orderly rooms, and in a short time the p.o.w. cage settled down to wait until transport could be provided to take the men home.
German rations were considerably increased and augmented by the American “C” ration. The kitchen staff worked overtime. Men who had been on the borderline of starvation were filling up! We got fresh meat, too, through a Frenchman, Jean D., who came to the orderly room with a request to be allowed out of camp to collect five cows which were wandering around without an owner. (And this was in Germany where every egg was counted!) He got an official permit and an hour later the main gateways looked like a farmyard. Jean said, “Ze sheep zey do not want to leave ze cows.”
Our own details were sent to take over the bakeries, and all German military food-dumps were confiscated and brought into camp. At last the starved, hungry men seemed to brighten up physically – there was a great change.
A harassed American captain burst into the orderly room. Nearly 300 Hungarian women, ill-clad and exhausted, were marching up the road near the camp. Could we do anything to help?
When we found the women they were far from being hysterical or weepy, and marched courageously a further 8 miles to a small village where all were billeted in houses. Their guards had fled and they had had no food for two days. Can you imagine a British p.o.w. speaking German to a Pole, who could speak a little Hungarian? That was how we talked. These experiences formed only a part of all we saw in the days which followed.
Now we are free and safe, and it is almost too good to believe; but still we feel there is something missing. Our there in Germany are many of our comrades; maybe they are still marching. We hope and pray for their speedy release.
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12 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
How They Help Abroad
[Photograph of a large group of people watching five women on a race track] Red Cross and St. John girls in Rome act as “race horses” for a Derby held by British troops at Rest Camp 50.
A CONSTANT stream of generous gifts to the Duke of Gloucester’s Red Cross and St. John Fund for the work of maintaining vital services to prisoners of war is contributed by large organisations and individual subscribers in the Dominions, the Colonies and Allied and neutral countries throughout the world. It is only possible here to mention briefly some of the ways and means by which money has been raised abroad.
A mining town in Northern Rhodesia recently sent £250, a portion of which was the result of a concert given by the Nkana pupils of the Broken Hill Convent, one of whom has a father a prisoner of war in Germany. The sum of £11,012 from the total resulting from “Target Month” inaugurated by the Governor of Northern Rhodesia was set aside for the benefit of prisoners of war, while another £2,456 13s. 6d. came from the 1944 Rhodes Founders’ Special War Effort. From Ceylon has come a third donation of £100 given by the Columbo Rowing Club, members of which take a keen interest in the welfare of prisoners of war, and expressed the wish that this money should provide sports equipment.
Many donations have come from Persia, among them the sum of £1,000 from the wives of the British staff in the oilfields area; and a gift of £10 from New Zealand was inspired by the arrival from a friend in England of the guide to the Prisoners of War Exhibition which was held in London last May.
Portuguese friends in Loanda, Portuguese West Africa, sent a sum of nearly £600, which they asked might be devoted to a special gift for British prisoners of war, and £500 of it was used towards replacing the library at Stalag VIIIB, which had been destroyed by fire. The people of Kenya never fail to remember the needs of British and Dominion prisoners, and a large proportion of their gifts has been earmarked for parcels, one special appeal organised for those in the Far East resulting in £3,000 being remitted. In Nakuru a fête was organised by a small mixed community of Europeans, Africans and Asians, which realised £3,118 13s. 11d.
The performance of the operetta H.M.S. Pinafore and a sale of work for which the United Nations Junior Group in Cuba was responsible raised £250. From the Cyprus Soldiers’ Aid Society as a token of appreciation of the work of the Educational Books Section and the Indoor Recreations Section for Cypriot prisoners and internees £100 was received. £7, also from Cyprus, was given from the collection taken at the harvest festival service held for the patients and staff of a military hospital, while £100, to which the British, Indian and Arab communities had contributed, arrived from Addis Ababa.
A generous gesture in the form of £555 towards parcels for their less fortunate comrades in appreciation of the help rendered to them by the British Red Cross was made by prisoners of war who had escaped to Switzerland and were interned there.
The sympathy and understanding which prompts men serving overseas to send donations is demonstrated by the sum of £17 15s. for their fellows in captivity which was sent by a Free Church chaplain to “help your great work of bringing cheer and joy to those who are always in our thoughts,” and by men using a recreation hut in Iceland who have sent several donations from their collecting box.
An R.A.F. station in West Africa donated £260 3s., half the result of their “Charity Week,” of which one of the major attractions was a football match between representative R.A.F. and United Service teams.
The “swear box” of one Dominion regiment which had served its purpose as a fine receiver and had come to be regarded as a donation box, was taken overseas and was with the regiment during a bad incident in which some of the officers were left without clothing. Their predicament caused some swearing, which reminded them of the box, for which a search was made, and it was recovered, although the top had been cut off by a piece of shrapnel. The box was later presented to the Red Cross with a further donation.
An endeavour by No. 54 Sub-District (Bone), B.N.A.F., “to make Darkest Africa resemble Merrie England” with an old English fair on St. George’s Day was instrumental in raising £1,300. All the familiar attractions of the showground were there – swing-boats, coconut shies, hoopla, fortune-tellers, and even a maypole under the palm trees! “The British soldier, having bought a buttonhole from a flower girl (specially relieved from her duties at the nearest military hospital), was able to take his choice of travel on an old-fashioned railway, driven by a chimney-pot-hatted driver, in an old-fashioned carriage where a charming crinolined girl would ride with him, or – masterpiece of improvisation! – be lifted 50ft. from the ground on the end of a 20 ton crane and given a bird’s-eye view of the fair as the crane swung round.
A Light A.A. regiment which had a rest centre in Holland started a fund to entertain 70 children in the town on Holland’s Santa Claus Day. The response was so good that there was a surplus of £62 after the party was over, half of which was given for p.o.w.s.
The headquarters of the 165th Field Regiment, R.A., showed great enterprise in their special Red Cross Week, when they collected £617. The R.S.M. had to pay to inspect the men’s billets, the Signals Section suddenly charged a fee on all telephone calls, the Quartermaster added purchase tax to articles drawn from stores on a certain day, and the officers were charged a fee on entering the office.
Several men gave their rations, from which an Italian civilian made a cake for a competition, and another man produced and sold an illustrated magazine for the cause. One gunner sportingly volunteered to have his much-criticised moustache shave off by the higher bidder (all bids being forfeited), and this was done at a public gathering by the winner who had to hand over 35s.
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MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 13
[Cartoon] HE GOT ANOTHER LETTER SAYING “KEEP YOUR CHIN UP”
The Letters They Write Home
Show for People in England
Stalag 357. 4.10.44.
I WISH to bring to your notice the general outline of a scheme which, though not of an educational nature, I am sure will be of interest to you.
There have been several exhibitions in England appertaining to prisoner of war life but, to our knowledge, the Stalag Theatre has not as yet made its début. The entertainment side of prisoner of war life is extremely important and, indeed, essential to the well-being of any camp. Great progress has been made in this field, and it is felt that the history of the theatre will be of interest to people in England.
With this in mind the entertainments committee of Stalag Luft 6 have put before the Air Ministry proposals for the staging of a show on our return. It is hoped that the Royal Air Force will sponsor it and that the proceeds will go to the Red Cross Society.
Sir Richard Howard Vyse has been informed of the plans, and although we are awaiting a reply from the Air Ministry, the organisation of the show is being carried out in readiness.
Full details are not available, but if you can imagine the P.o.W. Exhibition at Clarence House being staged with a prisoner of war entertainment background, you will be able to realise what is being attempted – in short, prisoner of war life in all its aspects to be brought to the stage. This is one “post-war plan” in which we are the senders instead of the receivers.
Missed Train at Leipzig
Stalag IVF. 14.1.45.
I’VE been out three times this week, twice to the hospital (once for a funeral, unfortunately) and yesterday.
I visited two small camps a long way from here. We got there all right, but the return journey came to grief rather badly, as our first train was late and we missed our connection to Leipzig. The next train only went to a place about 15 miles from our destination, as we were deposited there at one o’clock in the morning, and set out on a two-hour walk to the next station in the hope of getting another train.
We succeeded in this, after waiting from 3.15 until 4.45 a.m., and we finally got to the camp at 7 o’clock this morning! The stars were glorious, and the frost was very hard, but the ice-bound road made going bad. Such expeditions certainly remove the monotony of life! My companion is always a German interpreter.
- From an Army Padre.
Can Manage at a Pinch
Stalag XVIIIA. 7.1.45.
I HAVE received three N.O.K. parcels and eight cigarette parcels from you, so far. Am sorry to say that parcels and letters are rather slow these days. We are hoping that this situation will not last for long, and anyway we can manage at a pinch. Received the snaps, and think they are grand.
I am studying English just now; one of my chief ambitions is to write a book when I get home. I am “chief cook-and-bottle-washer” of a combine of five men – two Australians, one Tasmanian, my pal from Birmingham and myself.
Will give you a tip or two on cooking when I get home. We are getting lots of snow, and it is a white, lovely world – to look at it; the mountains are a marvellous sight.
By Train Through Germany
Stalag IVD. 16.2.45.
It is some time since we have had any Red Cross parcels, and there does not seem to be much hope of any more. Still, the war must end some day!
This past week we have travelled
[Boxed] SEND US YOUR STORIES
The Editor will be glad to consider for publication brief first-hand stories of humorous incidents or of incidents illustrating the ingenuity, courage or high morale of British prisoners of war in prison camps or during repatriation and homecoming.
Any interesting action photographs (not groups or individual portraits) will also be welcome and will in due course be returned.
Address: Editor, “The Prisoner of War,” St. James’s Palace, London, S.W.1. [/boxed]
about 280 kilos. in all to and from work. I think I do more travelling in one week than I did in all my life before the war – that is by train. Be a P.o.W. and see the world, or at any rate some of it; joke, I don’t think!
Special Work on Railway
Stalag IVD. 4.2.45.
Thanks for letter dated 8/12/44, the first one since Christmas. It must be good to see the old streets lit up again.
We have still got bags of work on the railway. There’s more to do every day. We’ve been getting up at 3 o’clock and catching the train at 4 a.m.; returning to camp at about 8 or 9 at night, so you see we haven’t much spare time. I am thankful to have to-day off (Sunday).
No personal parcels or fags have arrived for me since before Christmas. Two Red Cross parcels between three for a fortnight.
We’ve been out on a special job, and it is a good thing we can get a sleep on the train.
I hope you have received some of my mail; ours is coming in dribs and drabs.
“Roll On the Boat”
IVF. 26.12.44.
WELL, it’s nearly over now, and it hasn’t been too bad.
We had a concert last night; I did the stage – a big boat cutting through the waves, and underneath “Roll on the Boat.” The show was good – two hours of it. My effort was cartooning to music.
Ten Days Solid Knitting
Oflag 79. 1.1.45.
I MADE everyone in my room a Christmas present of sorts. These included pillow cases, serviettes, ash trays, etc.
I also made, or rather knitted, a woollen blanket out of unpicked socks and old pullovers, which I raffled in this company for the Red Cross. I made £407. The blanket took ten days’ solid knitting.
Disgustingly Indolent
Stalag 383. 21.1.45.
PROSPECTS are brighter than they have been for some time just now, not only because of the news, but because two trucks of Red Cross Invalid parcels have arrived. We have been issued with one between three.
There is little news to tell you – but for skating in the morning and hibernating till the German lesson in the evening, my life at the moment is disgustingly indolent.
[Page break]
14 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
Groups from the Camps[Photographs of groups of men] STALAG IVA, STALAG 383, MARLAG UND MILAG NORD, STALAG IVF, STALAG XIA, STALAG XVIIA, STALAG 398, OFLAG VA
[Page break]
MAY, 1945 The Prisoner of War 15
REPATRIATES’ NEWS
Free Telegrams
REPATRIATED British prisoners of war from Germany immediately on reaching this country, whatever the hour of the day or night, will be able to send a free telegram to their home address in the United Kingdom announcing their safe arrival. This facility is being granted by the General Post Office.
Repatriates’ Rations
It has been officially announced that British P.o.W.s and Dominion and Allied P.o.W.s on recuperative leave in this country will receive double civilian rations for a period of six weeks. Men who have a medical certificate will receive an allowance of 14 pints of milk and three eggs a week.
Ex-P.o.W.s’ Votes
Ex-prisoners who wish to use their vote at the forthcoming General Election (or at a by-election) can get their names included in a Service Register by signing an electoral declaration not later than four days before nomination day.
Musicians and Artists
Repatriated P.o.W.s who are professional musicians or artists may be interested to know that the Indoor Recreations Section of the British Red Cross and St. John War Organisation has certain limited stocks for free issue. The goods available include:-
Instruments. – Ukeleles, guitars, violins and flutinas. A few clarinets, fluted and piano accordions may be available in the near future.
Sheet Music.- Scores for practically all types of instruments. Choral music, vocal scores of operettas, miniature scores, popular sheet music and instruction books.
Artists’ Materials.- Small boxes each containing drawing paper, box of water-colour paints, coloured crayons, brushes, rubber, ruler, pencil and pen.
Applications for any of these goods will be accepted only from repatriated P.o.W.s who are either professional artists or musicians, or who have been studying art or music whilst in camp. Applicants must give their full name and present address, as well as their P.o.W. number and prison camp address, and apply in writing to: The Indoor Recreation Section, Prisoners of War Department, St. James’s Palace, London, S.W.1.
Books for Study
The Educational Books Section will continue to advise and supply books to repatriated P.o.W.s who wish to complete a course already begun under the auspices of the Section. Only books now in stock will be available, as no new purchases can be made for this purpose.
South African Red Cross
The London Committee of the South African Red Cross which has functioned in England for the past five years acts as liaison between their headquarters in South Africa and the British and Dominion Red Cross in the United Kingdom.
Three-quarters of the Committee’s work is connected with thousands of Springboks who were captured by the Italians in North Africa; and later, when Italy collapsed, were transferred by the enemy to P.o.W. camps inside Germany.
Hundreds of these men have now been freed by the Allied armies advancing from the west, and they are arriving almost daily in England on their way back to South Africa.
If any relatives or friends in this country want to get in touch with South African ex-prisoners, they should write or telephone to:-
The South African Red Cross,
Grand Buildings (Second Floor)
Trafalgar Square,
Whitehall 5328. London, W.C.
Or:-
The South African Red Cross Bureau,
71, The Drive,
Hove,
Hove 7505. Sussex.
They Won Tug-of-War
British ex-prisoners returning from Odessa competed in a tug-of-war contest on board the ship which was bringing them back to the United Kingdom. Their opponents were men of the Army, Navy and R.A.F., homeward bound on leave from the Middle East.
In spite of all hardships endured during captivity, the ex-prisoners won.
Their prizes were vouchers to be spent in the barber’s shop, but the winners asked that they might receive cash instead if they wanted to present it to Red Cross and St. John in appreciation of the help the Organisation had given them whilst they were prisoners.
Back to Civvy Street
Voluntary camps for repatriated prisoners of war, discharged or released from the Service, are being set up all over the country by the Army. They are to be known as Civil Resettlement Units, will be run like leave camps and will help to put men in touch once again with civil life from which they have so long been estranged.
Finding a Wife
A British P.o.W. asked Red Cross headquarters in Brussels to find his wife, a Dutchwoman known to be nursing with a British Army Civil Affairs detachment in Holland. Within a few hours she was located and sent to Brussels, where husband and wife met at Red Cross headquarters.
All Escaped P.o.W.s Home
All escaped P.o.W.s who have reached a neutral country have been repatriated except a few in Switzerland who are either unfit to travel or have volunteered for temporary war work.
Thanks to General Ike
“Our gratitude for all that has been done by our American Allies for our prisoners released is being conveyed to General Eisenhower.” Mr. Churchill in the House of Commons.
Examination Successes
W/O. ALAN SAXTON, who obtained first place in the Intermediate Examination of the Auctioneers’ and Estate Agents’ Institute last year, has repeated his success in the Final, passing with First Class Honours and being placed first in order of merit of all candidates both at home and in prisoner of war camps.
At the examination of the Law Society recently held in an officers’ camp, all three candidates for the Final Examination were successful, Capt. J.M. Wallace being awarded Distinction, and another candidate, Capt. J.A. Hogg, passed the Special Intermediate Examination with First Class Honours.
Lt. H.D.D. Duffield has passed the Final Examination of the Building Societies’ Institute, and has been awarded the “Sir Enoch Hill” prize of £8 8s. for the best candidate.
Capt. F.V. Corfield has completed the Bar Final Examination and has been awarded a prize of £50 by the Middle Temple on the result of his examination.
In the examination of the Co-operative Union, Cpl. A.S. Chambers obtained Distinction and Cpl. H. Wheeler, Bdr. S. Trelease, Cpl. F.M. Scoates and Sgt. J.E. Keefe obtained First Class in the paper on Window Display.
During the last month over 300 examination results have been announced, the proportion of total successes being 78 per cent.
Pass Lists Still Available
Copies of pass lists for July to December, 1943, and January to June, 1944, are available on application to the Educational Books Section, The New Bodleian, Oxford. 3d. in stamps should be sent for each pass list.
[Page break]
16 The Prisoner of War MAY, 1945
Camp Transfers and Liberation
Following is the latest official information:-
April 24
Oflag VA was evacuated by train on March 31st, and the destination was stated to be Oflag VIIIB, Eichstatt, but the prisoners did not arrive there and it appears they were taken to another camp.
Stalag XIIF has been moved to Wehrkreis VII in Bavaria.
Stalag XVIIA was evacuated on April 1st, and the destination was stated to be Braunau on the Austro-German frontier.
Oflag IVC has been overrun and the prisoners liberated, except for certain selected officers who had been transferred before the arrival of the Allied Forces.
Oflag 79 was reached by the Allied Forces on April 12th. Close upon 2,000 officers and 400 other ranks, most of them from the British Commonwealth, were released.
April 26
Stalag 344 was evacuated by the Germans when the Red Army approached Lamsdorf in January and the prisoners were forced to march westward. About 850 of the prisoners managed to escape to the Russian lines and have now been repatriated from Odessa, but the great majority were transferred to various camps in Central Germany. It is known that men from this camp were moved to Stalags IXA, Zeigenhain; IXB, Bad Orb; XIC, Mulhausen; XIIIC, Hammelburg, and XIID, Nuremburg, from which camps a number of them were recently recovered.
April 30
Stalag VB, Villengen – 69 recovered.
Stalag VIIB, Memmingen – 772 recovered.
Stalag 383, Hohnfels – 1,970 recovered.
Work detachments of Stalag IVD have been liberated at Erderborn, Orberroblinger, Etzdorf and Teutschental. At these four places there have been recovered respectively 16, 32, 315 and 182 British prisoners of war.
May 1
Marlag und Milag Nord, Westertimke, was liberated on May 1st, but a reliable report has been received that the bulk of service personnel previously held there was moved on April 10th toward Lubeck.
Stalag 357. The majority of prisoners were evacuated before it was liberated by British forces.
Camps in Wehrkreis IV, and Stalag IIIA. With the exception of Oflag IVC, which was liberated, it is not known whether the men in these camps have been liberated or whether they were moved farther south before the link-up between the Russian and American Armies.
Oflag VIIB. Except for those in hospital this camp was evacuated on April 15th for a destination near Munich.
Stalag XVIIA was evacuated westwards and was expected to arrive at Braunau, near the Austro-German border, about April 19th.
Stalag XVIIIIA [sic]. Prisoners were marched toward Markt Pongau and Landeck.
It has been reported that large batches of prisoners of war have been for some time marching south and south-west towards Bavaria. Some of these must be from camps originally in Eastern Germany and Poland which were evacuated previously, and some also from Wehrkreis IV. Some of these men have already arrived in camps in Bavaria, and where this is known their next of kin have been informed.
It is, of course, also possible that there may be considerable numbers of prisoners still in German hands in the district of Northern Germany between the British and Russian Armies, as it is known that some of the men from camps in Poland were marching in this direction earlier in the Spring.
Next of kin are assured that directly any information about their particular prisoner is known in this country, they will be notified by the Service Department concerned. Repatriated prisoners are able to send a telegram to their families immediately upon arrival in this country.
Camps Containing British Commonwealth Prisoners of War Still Held by the Germans on May 1st, 1945.
Oflags
IVB Konigstein-Elbe
XC Lubeck
Stalags
IIE Schwerin
IVA Hohnstein
IVC Wistritz bei Terlitz
XIA Altengrabow
317 Markt Pongau
398 Pupping
XVIIIA Wolfsberg
Luft I Barth-Vogelsang
Luft IV Wobbeln bei Ludswigslust
New Camp Markt Pongau
New Camp Braunau or Neukirchen
Hospitals
Ukermunde
Luftwaffen Lazaret 4/XI Wismar
Bilin
Schleswig
Haid Linz
Wolfsberg
Spittal/Drau
Salsburg
Informary Konotau
Ilags
Liebenau, nr. Tetnang Rauenburg
Wursach
Laufen
Spittal
Detention Camp
Stralsund-alt-Faehre.
NEXT OF KIN PARCELS
Suspension and Return
CONDITIONS in Germany no longer allow of the transport and delivery of next of kin parcels. So it has been decided, in agreement with the War Office and the General Post Office, that next of kin parcels which have been collected by the Post Office from the Next of Kin Parcels Centres at Finsbury Circus and Glasgow shall be handed back to these Centres for return to the senders. The parcels will not be reopened by the Red Cross, but will be returned exactly as received from the General Post Office. This work is bound to take a considerable time, and the parcels cannot be dealt with in the order in which they were originally despatched. The Red Cross will write to the sender of each parcel when it is ready to be returned.
No enquiries should be sent to the Parcels Centre before this letter is received, as no information will be available abut parcels not already dealt with.
Later on, parcels which have left this country, but which have not reached Germany will, so far as possible, be returned in the same way to the Red Cross, and then forwarded to the senders.
HELP FROM WALES
Saundersfoot and neighbouring villages in Pembrokeshire recently raised £616 10s. 8d. for the Red Cross through a bazaar and other entertainments.
COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE
Please note the following change:
DORSETSHIRE: Miss E.M. Williams, Wimborne Red Cross Office, 22, East Street, Wimborne, Dorset.
PLEASE NOTE
As there may be news of interest to repatriated men in The Prisoner of War, copies of the journal will be sent to next of kin for three months after the return of their ex-prisoners to this country.
[Boxed] FREE TO NEXT OF KIN
THIS journal is sent free of charge to those registered with the Prisoners of War Dept. as next of kin. In view of the paper shortage no copies are for sale, and it is hoped that next of kin will share their copy with relatives and others interested. [/boxed]
[Boxed] NUMBER, PLEASE!
PLEASE be sure to mention your Red Cross reference number whenever you write to us. Otherwise delay and trouble are caused in finding previous correspondence. [/boxed]
Printed in Great Britain for the Publishers THE RED CROSS AND ST. JOHN WAR ORGANISATION, 14, Grosvenor Crescent, London, S.W., by THE CORNWALL PRESS LTD., Paris Garden, Stamford Street, London, S.E.1.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Prisoner of War May 1945
Description
An account of the resource
The official journal of the Prisoners of War Department of the Red Cross and St John War Organisation. This edition covers the Editors comments, Repatriation Arrangements, Liberation comes to Stalag IXA, Behind the Scenes about theatrical endeavours, Barbed Wire Universities about formal studies in camps, First Taste of Freedom photographs of ex-POWs passing through Istanbul, Welcome at Brussels, ex-POWs returning via Odessa, Official reports from the camps, Relied by Road and Rail, a warning to the camp commandants about mistreating POWs, How they help abroad about funds sent to the Red Cross from around the world, Letters from POWs to family at home, photographs from the camps, Repatriates news, Exam results, Camp transfers and Liberation and Next of Kin parcels.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1945-05
Format
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16 printed sheets
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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MCurnockRM1815605-171114-021
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force. Bomber Command
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Angola
Belgium
Belgium--Brussels
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Czech Republic--Prague
Ethiopia
Ethiopia--Addis Ababa
Egypt
Egypt--Port Said
France
France--Toulon
Germany
Germany--Bautzen Region
Germany--Berlin
Germany--Dresden
Germany--Goldberg (Schwerin)
Germany--Hannover
Germany--Hohnstein (Grafschaft)
Germany--Karlsruhe
Germany--Leipzig
Germany--Luckenwalde
Germany--Ravensburg
Germany--Sandbostel
Germany--Schönfeld
Iran
Kenya
Poland
Poland--Żagań
Northern Rhodesia
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka--Colombo
Switzerland
Switzerland--Geneva
Turkey
Turkey--Istanbul
Ukraine
North Africa
Poland--Tychowo
Lithuania--Šilutė
Czech Republic
Czech Republic--Karlovy Vary
Germany--Moosburg an der Isar
Ukraine--Odesa
Germany--Mühlberg (Bad Liebenwerda)
Czech Republic--Cheb
Lithuania
Angola--Luanda (Luanda)
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Great Britain. Red Cross and St John war organisation. Prisoners of war department
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Anne-Marie Watson
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1945-05
aircrew
arts and crafts
entertainment
escaping
ground personnel
Holocaust
Navy, Army and Air Force Institute
prisoner of war
Red Cross
Stalag 3A
Stalag Luft 1
Stalag Luft 3
Stalag Luft 4
Stalag Luft 6
Stalag Luft 7
the long march
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force
-
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Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
Crimea: the final victory
From Paul Winterton
News Chronicle Special Correspondent
SEVASTOPOL, Friday.
THIS is the story of how 40,000 men of the German 17th Army, entrusted by Hitler with the defence of the Crimea, were smashed and obliterated on the narrow headland called the Khersones peninsula after the fall of Sevastopol.
It is a story of evacuation hopes frustrated by the Russians, of German disillusionment and surrender.
North of the headland there is a little bay, with neither quay nor jetty. The Germans, having destroyed practically all that was left of Sevastopol, hoped to be evacuated from this bay.
Died in thousands
Until the last moment they scanned the horizon for ships that never appeared, and in an inferno of fire they died in thousands.
On the tip of the headland they made their last stand behind a line only just over half a mile long. They had little artillery left, but thousands of men and one small aerodrome, no longer capable of providing protection.
All through the fearful night of May 11-12 the Russians poured unceasing fire into this tiny triangle.
One-man rafts
The enemy was almost without cover. Lt.-Gen. Boehme, commander of the German Firth Army Corps, was crouching in the cellar below the lighthouse with privates who refused to obey officers any more.
In the last hours the Germans maddened by the murderous fire had knocked together tiny one-man rafts of planks.
Some had actually paddled off with Rumania, 180 miles away, as their goal, and had been drowned or destroyed on their hopeless journey.
I saw the bodies of the last of the German Seventeenth Army. I have seen the extent of the German disaster and can record that no Russian victory since Stalingrad has more decisively disposed of any German force.
Twenty-five thousand of the enemy, mostly Germans, surrendered.
And there is a postscript. Riding back at night from Sevastopol to Simferopol I passed columns of German prisoners shambling slowly northwards into captivity.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Crimea: the final victory
Description
An account of the resource
Article headlines: Crimea the final victory, died in thousands, one-man rafts. Account of defeat of 40,000 man German 17th Army defending the Crimea.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
News Chronicle
IBCC Digital Archive
Format
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One newspaper cutting
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
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SValentineJRM1251404v10113
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Wehrmacht
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Crimea
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
-
https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/files/original/1339/22061/SValentineJRM1251404v10079.2.jpg
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Five headlines concerning Russia and Italy
Description
An account of the resource
Cutting 1 headlines: Russians capture Stalino, Germans thrown out of Donetz basin, enemy reduced to three railway lines westward. Cutting 2 headlines: Hitler rages at Italy, treachery of surrender, Germany to fight alone. Cutting 3 headlines: Germans seize Rome, Vatican City under protection, Rommel's troops fighting in northern Italy, U.S. beachheads established near Naples. Cutting 4 headlines: Mussolini in German hands, liberated by parachutists, allied armies maintaining progress in Italy. Cutting 5 headlines: surrender of a navy, impressive scene off Malta, five miles of ships.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-09-09
1943-09-11
1943-09-13
Format
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Five newspaper cuttings mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
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SValentineJRM1251404v10079
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Wehrmacht
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Donet︠s︡ʹk
Italy
Italy--Rome
Vatican City
Malta
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-09
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
IBCC Digital Archive
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Hitler, Adolf (1889-1945)
Mussolini, Benito (1883-1945)
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
THE TIMES SATURDAY MARCH 13 1943
VYASMA OCCUPIED BY RED ARMY
PURSUIT TOWARDS SMOLENSK CONTINUING
HEAVY CASUALTIES INFLICTED
GERMANS CLAIM TO BE IN KHARKOV
The Russians have entered Vyasma, where they report that 9,000 of the enemy were killed and much war material was captured. Berlin, while admitting the fall of Vyasma, claimed last night that German forces were in the centre of Kharkov.
Soviet forces are already pressing on from Vyasma and are pursuing the enemy towards Durovo, a railway junction half-way between Vysama and Smolensk.
MR. EDEN IN WASHINGTON
MEETING TO-DAY WITH PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
WIDE DISCUSSIONS WITH U.S. LEADERS
Mr. Eden, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has arrived in Washington, it was announced this morning, to discuss with United States statesmen all aspects of the war situation, including future meetings between the Governments of the United Nations.
Our Washington Correspondent states that first and foremost in the discussions will be the problem of food supplies and relief for the European peoples as they are liberated from German oppression.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Vyasma occupied by red army and Mr Eden in Washington
Description
An account of the resource
Article 1. Headlines: Vyasma occupied by red army, pursuit towards Smolensk continuing, heavy casualties inflicted, Germans claimn to be in Kharkov. Article 2. headlines: Mr Eden in Washington, meeting to-day with President Roosevelt, wide discussions with U.S. leaders.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
The Times
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1943-03-13
Format
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Two newspaper cuttings mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
A language of the resource
eng
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SValentineJRM1251404v10062
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Wehrmacht
Civilian
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Ukraine
Ukraine--Kharkiv
Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation)--Vi︠a︡zʹma (Smolenskai︠a︡ oblastʹ)
Russia (Federation)--Smolensk
United States
Washington (D.C.)
Temporal Coverage
Temporal characteristics of the resource.
1943-03
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
A related resource that is required by the described resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence.
Workflow A completed
-
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Valentine, John. Ursula Valentine's newspaper cutting scrapbook
Description
An account of the resource
131 items contained in a scrapbook. Mainly newspaper cuttings of events from May 1942 to 1945.
Transcribed document
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading.
Transcription
Text transcribed from audio recording or document
[inserted] February 19th [/inserted]
COMMONS DIVISION AFTER BEVERIDGE DEBATE
GOVERNMENT MAJORITY 216
MR. MORRISON’S REPLY TO LABOUR AMENDMENT
The Labour Party, in spite of appeals by Ministers at a stormy party meeting, yesterday pressed its amendment on the Beveridge report to a division in the House of Commons, which gave the Government a majority of 216 votes.
THE TIMES THURSDAY MARCH 4 1943
RUSSIANS OCCUPY RZHEV
A LARGE HAUL OF TANKS AND GUNS
CONTIRUED ADVANCE FROM KHARKOV
RAILWAY CENTRE CAPTURED WEST OF KURSK
The Russians announced in a special report last night the capture of Rzhev. Two thousand of the garrison were killed, it was added, and 112 tanks and 78 guns were taken. The Germans earlier in the day admitted that their troops had evacuated the town.
The railway junction of Lgov, 50 miles west of Kursk, has been taken by the Russians, who are also continuing their westward advance from Kharkov. On the Kuban front they have occupied several more places.
Dublin Core
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Title
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Commons division after Beveridge debate and Russians occupy Rzhev
Description
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Article 1. Headlines: commons division after Beveridge debate, government majority of 216, Mr Morrison's reply to Labour amendment. Article 2. Headlines: Russians occupy Rzhev, a large haul of tanks and guns, continued advance from Khakov, railway centre captured west of Kursk.
Publisher
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The Times
IBCC Digital Archive
Date
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1943-02-19
Format
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Two newspaper cuttings mounted on a scrapbook page
Language
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eng
Type
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Text
Identifier
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SValentineJRM1251404v10061
Coverage
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Civilian
Wehrmacht
Spatial Coverage
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Great Britain
England--London
Russia (Federation)
Russia (Federation)--Rzhev
Russia (Federation)--Kursk
Ukraine
Ukraine--Kharkiv
Temporal Coverage
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1943-02
Rights
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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
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David Bloomfield
Steve Baldwin
Requires
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