The National Ex-Prisoner of War Association

Winter 2011 Newsletter

 

 

 

 

STALAG 4A   CHRISTMAS  1943

 

   WINTER 2011 NEWSLETTER      

 

ASSOCIATION NEWS by Les Allan, President

 

99 Parlaunt Road, Langley, Berkshire SL3 8BE. Tel/Fax 01753-818308.

 

Greetings to all members. We have come to the end of another year, although a few more old kriegies have fallen by the wayside. Who would have thought, when we trudged through the snow in the winter of 1944, that we would still be around 67 years later! I am blessed with children, grand-children and great grand-children and spent most of my life with a wonderful woman. I have been very lucky. Perhaps, when you sit down to your turkey and sprouts this Christmas, you can spare a thought for those of our comrades who never survived to share our blessings.

          Spare a thought too, for the servicemen and women who are fighting in other foreign wars at the moment. Their loved ones are worrying about them too, just as ours did a lifetime ago. In the last ten years hundreds have given their lives for their country and thousands have been hurt or maimed and there is no end in sight yet. Todays veterans are now finding the same problems as we did – governments are quick to send us to war, but slow to heal our wounds when we return.

          Maybe the next time we go out to vote, we should look for candidates who will think more carefully before they send us to war and who will provide us with the right support and equipment to do the job. Maybe even go one step further and promise to look after the casualties and the people they leave behind.  Perhaps we should only elect ex-military people?

          Where would we be without the ex-service charities and organisations such as ours, who are still trying to foster the feeling of comradeship that got us through the tough times in the past.  Many have now shut up shop, but we will keep on going as long as possible. God Willing. And on that happy note I will end by wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And don’t forget to raise a glass to our absent friends and comrades.  Les.

 

FRONT COVER PICTURES.  Christmas in Stalag 4A Hohenstein. Sent in by member Phil Witt.  His father Edward George Witt, an RAMC stretcher bearer who was taken prisoner in Crete, is standing in the top photo by the pole, with his shirt sleeves rolled up and a fag in his mouth.

 

SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE DUE. As I am sure you all know, the membership subscription for 2012 is due on 1st January and in return you will receive four quarterly newsletters throughout the year. The cost for former prisoners of war is £6 and for associate members or former prisoners of war living overseas the cost is £11.  Please make your cheques out to NEXPOWA and send to Mr Mark Chinnery, Membership Officer at 2, Litney Cottages, Risborough Road, Kingsey, Bucks HP17 8LZ.  Please remember to send your membership card in with your cheque. It will be returned to you after it is initialed to acknowledge payment.

 

OBITUARIES.  Rachelle Goldberg has informed us that her father Associate member Sidney Goldberg passed away very suddenly on 27th July at 88 years. A German Jew who escaped to London in 1933 he joined the Royal Air Force and put his linguistic abilities to use with 381 Wireless Unit, tasked with intercepting Luftwaffe aircraft radio transmissions and gathering intelligence. He served in North Africa and his unit supported the D-Day landings and the paradrop on Arnhem. He was appointed a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur in 2004. We also regret to report the passing away of members Reg Cleaver and Dennis Hustler. We will remember them.

 

 

Geoff Bryden informs us that member John Borland passed away on 7th September at 92 years. John was taken prisoner at St Valery in 1940 whilst fighting with the 51st Highland Division. As John was taken away by the enemy he spotted a bit of paper blowing past. Called ‘Good News To All Men’ it contained excerpts from the Bible with the words ‘Don’t give up’ pencilled on it. John would later use that scrap of paper to conduct services in Stalag 20A where he was taken by the Germans.  Our thoughts are with his wife Nancy and daughter Margaret.

 

Many thanks also to those of you who have ordered association ties and wall plaques and added a few quid for the fund as well. If you would like a plaque the cost is £25 and the blue association tie is £9.50 including postage. It is doubtful that we will order further supplies in the future, so get yours now while you can. Please make cheques out to NEXPOWA and send to Phil Chinnery, 59 Pinkwell Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1PJ.

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

 

I am an Italian researcher, looking for information and for contact with the families of several British POWs who, during the last conflict, tried to reach the Swiss borders from the Italian camps. Mainly after the Armistice on September the 8th, 1943, they escaped through the Aosta Valley, affording the highest mountains of the whole Europe. My challenge would be to discover and to tell their human and military stories, describing how they survived in such a far, enemy and foreign land, without understanding a word of both Italian and local "patois" dialect. I already tried to locate their families through the press and local associations or historians, but for what concerns England, it was all in vain. I am also looking for their reports or records, registered after the liberation, but nothing yet.  I have a short list of names. These POWs were British, Australian and New Zealanders. 6025940 Pte John Sidney Monk, 2/5th Bn Essex Regiment, 152248 Driver Edmond Trevelyan Lochett, RASC (DOB 10.8.1914), 6915262 Rifleman Charles John P Bradford, Rifle Brigade (DOB 8.3.1918), Sgt William David Lewis, Private Victor Torrig or Torring. If you can help contact Dr. Marco Soggetto, via Gobetti 1, 13900 Biella (BI), Italy. marco.soggetto@gmail.com

 

ESCAPE FROM OFLAG VB BIBERACH. By Stefan Rasser.

 

The most successful escape by British POWs in Germany during WW 2.

 

“On 13th September 1941, 26 British officers escaped from the OFLAG VB camp in Biberach, Southern Germany, and two weeks later four officers (15%) finally made it to Switzerland. The numerically much larger and maybe more spectacular Great Escape in March 1944, “only” had three home runs. In Biberach, organised by Lt. Col. Michael Duncan, the group of officers started to dig a tunnel from hut number 6 right underneath a slow combustion stove, which could always be moved back to its original position in case of unwanted “visitors”. From what we can tell today, the total distance to the exit was more than 50 meters. During the night of Friday -  Saturday 13th/14th September 1941 altogether 26 officers, one by one went through the tunnel into freedom. It was decided to move in pairs and in different directions to make it more difficult for the German authorities to catch up with them.

          “Many details are already known. Lt. Col. Michael Duncan published a book titled “Underground from Posen”, and the four successful officers were interviewed back home (reports filed in the National Archives in Kew). In Biberach four decades after the war, local Germans started to search into the escape and the Oflag in general. Among others however, one important detail was never discovered; where was the exit? The escapees obviously had more important things to do, than measuring the actual distance from the fence. In August 1981 during road works alongside the camp fence, a heavy truck dropped down a meter or so and suddenly a section of the tunnel was visible (see photos). Unfortunately, the road was built on top of it and no one investigated any further about the exit.

          “In April this year, we started a small project to look into this question and maybe finally organise a memorial stone on site. With a lot of help by the local police, both by an already retired officer and the present Public Relations Officer of the  Lager Lindele (OFLAG VB), today the Police Quarters. We checked with people having already looked into the history of the camp, studied old documents and maps, interviewed local people living in Biberach in the 1940’s remembering the escape and providing valuable information, but the ultimate question as to where the exit was, we still cannot answer. On the camp site of today’s Police Quarters, a large model of the old OFLAG camp can be looked at as well as photos from the 1940’s. It is open to the general public and gives a pretty good idea of the 1941 camp. We have a good idea where the exit should be and if we are lucky, we can find more of the tunnel by using special equipment searching for cavities in the ground down under the fields used by a farmer today. If not, we need additional help.

          “If anyone of the escapees is still alive and well, or if relatives of these officers (see attached list) can help with more details of the tunnel and the escape, please contact:

Stefan Rasser, Georg-Ignatius-Baur-Str. 8, 88400 Biberach, Germany. Tel: 49-7351-3400560. Email: stefan.rasser@t-online.de  Alternatively please contact Philip Chinnery the NEXPOWA Chairman at 59 Pinkwell Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1PJ. Email; NEXPOWA@fsmail.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rank *

Name

Military Unit *

Home address in 1942

 

 

 

 

Lieut.

M. G. Duncan

4th Bn Oxf &Bucks Lt. Infty

Deceased, in contact with his son.

Capt.

B. O'Sullivan

Royal Tank Regiment

The Crest Lodge, Haslemere, Surrey

Capt.

C.H. Keenlyside 

Royal West Kent

 

2nd Lieut.

J. W. Paul

Royal Tank Regiment

 

2nd Lieut.

P. M. C. Onions

4th Bn Oxf & Bucks Lt. Infty

 

2nd Lieut.

S.J. Molloy

4th Bn Oxf & Bucks Lt. Infty

 

Lieut.

Q. Capendale

Royal Tank Regiment

 

2nd Lieut.

M. Kemp

Royal Welsh Fusiliers

 

Lieut.

M. McNab

Royal Scots

 

Lieut.

D.C. Atkinson

4th/7th Dragoon Guards

 

Capt.

H. Woollatt

Lancs Fusiliers

Lowe Hill House, Stratford St. Mary

2nd Lieut.

J. King

Royal Norfolk

 

Capt.

T. Westley

Royal Artillery

 

Major

W. Mercer

Royal Artillery

 

2nd Lieut.

Steel-Mortimer

Royal Artillery

 

2nd Lieut.

Merton

Tynside Scottish

 

2nd Lieut.

R. Creed

Royal Artillery

 

2nd Lieut.

R. Baxter

Royal Artillery

 

2nd Lieut.

J.Fitch

Royal Artillery

 

2nd Lieut.

A.Rowan-Hamilton

Black Watch

Bonkyl, Duns, Berwickshire

2nd Lieut.

F. Fletcher

RB.

 

2nd Lieut.

F. Barnaby-Atkins

Black Watch

 

2nd Lieut.

R.J. Barr

Royal Artillery

 

Capt.

B. Evers

Royal Artillery

 

2nd Lieut.

D. Stebbings

Oxf & Bucks Lt. Infy

 

Capt.

J. Tweedie

Cameron Highlanders

 

 

 

 

 

* based on information dated 13 Sept. 1941

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 1981. Below - Police Officer Michael Kraft emerges from the tunnel. Right - Police Officer Horst Steffel posing above the ditch and a part of the tunnel.

 

OFLAG VB BIBERACH

 

 

CHANGI ART WEBSITE. Keith Bettany tells us that “I thought you would be interested to know that our family have scanned my Dads artwork, done as a prisoner of war in Changi during WW2. There are over 300 images and we have just  had developed a dedicated site to display Dads work. It is at www.changipowart.com Included on the site are images from the book ‘Never say it can’t be done’, images we had never seen before and found at Changi POW Museum and a link to your web site. His work was done under extremely oppressive circumstances, but with some humour. I remember him telling me he did this to keep his sanity as a prisoner of war. We would especially like to hear from any ex-POWs who could throw some light on some of the images.”

 

 

 

Another Bloody Mountain: Prisoner of War and Escape in Italy 1943 is a sons account of his fathers period as a POW in Italy, and subsequent escape in September 1943. The story traces the route of a 30 day walk through the Apennine Mountains to reach the British front line. Firmly located in the context of contemporaneous historical events, the book is generously illustrated with 61 colour photographs of both the prison camp and the beautiful scenery of the mountains in the Marche and Abruzzo regions of Italy. Copies can be ordered online at www.ironcitypublications.com price £11.79 including postage and packing. ISBN 978-0-9559212-1-6.

          “An excellent and unique book” Keith Killby, escapee in Italy and founder of the Monte San Martino Trust.

 

 

I have just seen your request for information about Fort Mechili. I refer you to a book written by my father In The Prison Of His Days, detailing his wartime experiences - captured at Mechili, Tripoli German run POW camp, then to Italy Campo 59 then a camp near Milan, escaped with aid of Italian resistance to Switzerland. Regards, John Davison. davison-j3@sky.com

 

 

 


Photo above sent in by James Briggs, 1st Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and a former resident of Stalag 4G Oschatz. Also a resident of Campo 70 after a trip by sea from North Africa on the ‘Jason’. Rear left to right Dobson, Watkins, Briggs. Front left to right Atkinson, Douglas Blackwell, Hampton.

 

 

Photo below of three Association
members, Charlie Waite, Mike Whiteman and Roland Lee at the Bafta HQ, Piccadilly on 30th August. Along with 30 others they feature in the excellent Yesterday Channel TV series 'The Long March to Freedom'. The three episodes; Capture, Captivity and Freedom were shown in November.  Congratulations to ASA Productions for a great job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Photo above shows members Tony Hawkins and Charlie Waite posing with Colonel John Quintas  (USAF) commander of the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, our host for the POW/MIA remembrance week visit in September. 

 

 

 

 

Photo above, Tony and Charlie join the men and women of the 48th FW in the mess. Word had spread fast that the Colonel was paying for the beer.

 

RECREATING THE GREAT ESCAPE.

For many it’s a cult Christmas movie, starring Steve McQueen, but for six lucky RAF Officers Hollywood became a stark reality as they traveled to the former ‘Great Escape’ Camp, Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Poland, to re-enact activities which were carried out by Prisoners of War in their attempts to escape from the Camp during WWII. The visit took place over two weeks and was filmed by Wildfire TV. The resulting documentary, ‘Digging the Great Escape’ was broadcast on Channel 4 on 28th November.

On the night of 24th March 1944, 76 allied airmen escaped from the North Compound of Stalag Luft 3, a supposedly “escape-proof” Prisoner of War camp. The prisoners, almost all of whom were RAF officers, escaped down a tunnel they had dug themselves under the noses of their German guards. Harry, as they called the tunnel, was seven metres deep, more than 100 metres long, and had taken a year to complete.

To get an insight into the ingenuity and sheer effort involved in the escape, the team of six serving RAF officers put their own skills and training to the test by attempting to recreate some of the key tools, mechanisms and structures created by the escapees; and by taking an active part in the excavation of a section of tunnel using replicas of the original tools and shoring. Flight Lieutenant Ben Russell now Squadron Leader, an Aerospace Battle Manager based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire who has recently returned from overseas operations, said,  “Having grown up with the “Christmas Movie” that The Great Escape has become, I have always been fond of the story. This became personally important when I chose to become a serving member of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces, and furthermore when I experienced Escape and Evasion training. Serving in Afghanistan and over Libya certainly focuses the mind on PoW experiences. I particularly enjoyed seeing the artifacts recovered from the site and having the opportunity to solve some of the problems that these men faced. This brought a sense of reality to the events more than

the “Hollywood” spin that the movie uses and gave me a real insight into their struggles.”

 

Former resident Frank Stone tries out the trolley.

                      

The Air Pump.

In replica Hut 104 the team assembled to attempt to reconstruct equipment made and used by the PoWs, these included a tunnel ventilation pump, a tunneller’s tool kit, a civilian uniform and briefcase, a passport and travel documents, a section of rail track and wagon using records, pictures and original artifacts’ for reference. Flight Lieutenant Jim Smith, an Intelligence Officer based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire said;

“Learning from the veterans was the unique element of this Force Development exercise; I was particularly fascinated to find out how they kept everything secret from the German guards. Actually re-creating the tasks ourselves proved how difficult that added level of security must have made their work. I was chosen to perform the role of ‘The Forger’, which seemed entirely appropriate given my methodical skills as an analyst, but also perhaps because the Forger portrayed in the Hollywood film worked in photo-reconnaissance! Intelligence is detailed work that must be accurate and timely, just like my work in Hut 104. Forging was equally painstaking and sometimes frustrating - by not creating perfect representations of original documents first time, I would waste hours of work. For example, after working all day crafting a rubber stamp it proved too unrealistic when tested, but more annoyingly I had not inverted the Swastika. To get the fine detail and accuracy, I had to improvise new tools, put those frustrations aside and begin again.”

The team were very fortunate to be advised by original Prisoners of War; Frank Stone who was billeted in Hut 104 and Canadian Stanley ‘Gordie’ King who operated the air pump and was placed 140th out of the selected 200 prisoners to go through the tunnel during the Great Escape, both were on hand to provide guidance to the team as they recreated the Great Escape. For Flight Lieutenant Mikey Robertson, a GR4 Navigator at RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, who previously played a part in a school play which dramatised the Great Escape, it was honour to meet the veterans, he said;

“To listen to the veteran’s stories of the missions they flew into Germany, with clouds of flack filling the skies, tracer from AAA lighting up the sky in every direction and the ever present threat from enemy fighter aircraft was awe inspiring. The reason for this was not just because they are incredibly thrilling and frightening experiences, but because the veterans told us how they didn’t let fear affect them in conducting their mission. Not when they were fighting for their lives in the skies over Germany, or when they were under tons of earth in a small, dark tunnel trying to escape the PoW camp. They were simply determined to achieve the task at hand, whether that was bombing a target or escaping, and they put all of their energy, knowledge and ingenuity into achieving it. That is something we in the RAF today should also aspire to do in every challenge that we encounter.”

Unfortunately out of the 76 men who escaped during the ‘Great Escape’ only 3 made it home. The others were all captured, many of them hundreds of miles from the camp. They’d travelled by train, boat and on foot. They’d triggered a search of gigantic proportions – tens of thousands of German soldiers and police were deployed to hunt the escapees. Of the 73 captured only 23 were re-imprisoned. The remaining 50 were all shot on direct orders from Hitler himself.

Group Captain Dave Waddington, himself an ex-PoW and now Station Commander of RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire was approached to co-ordinate the RAF’s involvement: he selected the willing participants from the many volunteers and oversaw their activities at Stalag Luft 3. He said,

“It was a tremendous opportunity for all of us to spend time with the veterans at the place where they made history. They were truly inspirational and this comes across in the determination of the team to successfully complete the challenges they were set. It was also very moving to see this respect reciprocated and the obvious pride of the veterans in their young successors of today’s RAF.”

The RAF personnel involved were selected to take part in this significant activity because of their links to the Great Escape or their interest in these historic events, for Flight Lieutenant Ryan Harris, an instructor at the Search and Rescue Training Unit based at RAF Valley, Anglesey the experience was very personal as he followed in his Grandfather’s footsteps,

“I had always vowed that I would get out to Sagan in Poland to see the site of Stalag Luft 3 where my grandfather, Warrant Officer Ronald Skan was held as a Prisoner of War after he was shot down over the North Sea returning from a bombing raid in 1941. Being part of the RAF Team during this exercise made the whole experience so much better. I was able to chat to researchers and veterans about life in the camp. By carrying out the same experiments that the PoWs did, you realise the ingenuity of the guys. You get to understand their determination and their sense of loyalty to the Service when it would have been so easy to just sit back and admit defeat. All in all, an incredible experience. Taking 6 RAF guys from 6 different air bases and throwing them together to see if they have still got what it takes. I think we can say hand-on-heart that yes we are still made of the right stuff!”

The Entrance to the tunnel.   

                     

Fitting the bed boards to shore up the tunnel.

Flight Lieutenant John Le Cornu, a Tucano Flying Instructor based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire also had a Grandfather who was a pilot in WWII, for him the experience was about learning things from the past to take with him in his role as a modern day pilot, he said,

“I was brought up on Jersey until the age of 16. The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by the Germans and so the History of WWII has always been important to me. My Grandfather was also a Qualified Flying Instructor during WWII and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross whilst conducting a bombing raid over Normandy. He flew every aircraft the RAF had at the time including Hurricane, Spitfire, Lancaster and Halifax. I believe that the modern general public should be reassured that today's aircrew training would mean that ordinary RAF pilots could conduct the same heroic events. All should be reminded however, that these were ordinary people who did not want fame but later became heroes for doing what they believed in.”

Project Officer for this exercise and keen historian, Flight Lieutenant Tim Barlow, a Merlin Helicopter Force Training Officer from RAF Benson, Oxfordshire previously led Project 104 which saw the replica hut 104, from which the entrance to Great Escape tunnel ‘Harry' was concealed, rebuilt to scale at Stalag Luft 3 Museum in 2009. It now acts as a memorial to all those who were PoW's at Stalag Luft 3 and as an education centre for visitors.

Flight Lieutenant Barlow explained why this experience was the highlight of his RAF career:

“This was truly a once in a life time event and something that will remain with me for ever. My involvement has always been extremely rewarding but the experience I had this summer was particularly special due to the presence of the veterans, my main motivation for doing this work. The veterans are true heroes, humble and honest about their activities which they saw as duty and nothing more. They made this event unique. Not only were we carrying out tasks to reconstruct ‘Escape activities’ but at the site of the escape and under the guidance of the veterans themselves.”

 

Story reproduced courtesy of Media and Communications, HQ Command, Crown Copyright. Pictures courtesy of Channel 4 Television. Thanks also to Mike Drewett, Senior Information Officer, RAF Public Relations.

 

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