The National Ex-Prisoner of War Association
Spring 2011 Newsletter
SPRING 2011 NEWSLETTER
ASSOCIATION NEWS by Les Allan, President.
99 Parlaunt Road, Langley, Berkshire SL3 8BE. Tel/Fax 01753-818308.
Greetings to all members. We had planned to produce a larger newsletter than usual to compensate for the demise of the annual journal, but for technical reasons this has now been delayed until the Summer issue. We had also planned to hold a reunion in Birmingham over 4th- 5th May, but have cancelled the idea due to lack of response from the membership. On a more positive note, we now have a dozen volunteers around the country, who are willing to drop in for a cup of tea with any of our members who might like a bit of company now and then. If any of our full members would like to receive a phone call now and then, or an occasional visit from one of our volunteers, please drop a line to Phil Chinnery our Chairman.
As usual we will be taking a small party to Fallingbostel at the end of April and a report on the visit will appear in the summer issue. If any of our full members would like to join us on our annual visit to the United States Air Force at RAF Lakenheath or our pilgrimage to Belgium in September, please give me a ring.
NEW MEMBERS. We would like to welcome the following new members to the association; Mr Jack McElwee, a former resident of Campo 70; Mr Ken Williams whose father Donald served in the RASC and fell in the bag in North Africa in 1942; Bill Higgs of the Glider Pilot Regiment who was taken prisoner at Arnhem.
DONATIONS. We would like to thank the following for their kind donations to the welfare fund; Mrs Carmen Wellings £50 in memory of Stanley Brighton, Sylvia Gammon £30, Charles Ackerman £14, Denis Avey £14, Sydney Barthorpe £26, Norman Barnett £14, Jack Batt £15, Angela Birch £28, Peter Cator £25, Mr J Charters £24, Mr R J Cuff £14, Barbara Duffy £14, Dr Moira Elliott £39, Mr J Essom £19, Mr A J Foster £29, David Garnett £14, Mr F J Gill £14, Mrs Anne Greer £50, Phil Knott £20, Mrs Anne McKenzie £39, Mrs L A Moore £20, Norman Norris £50, Mr M J M Orr £20, Samuel Powell £20, Mr E Sankey £20, Frank Stapleton £20, Charlie Waite £24, Mrs Georgine Whiting £39, George Wilson £11, Harry Tooze £14, Kevin Taylor £9, Colin Stevens £14, Derek Small £19, Mr C J Quartermaine £19, Mr M Forder and Deirdre Naylor who kindly donate £10 each per month, as well as any others we may have missed. All donations are welcome, whether large or small.
OBITUARIES . We regret to report the passing away of Douglas Evans on 7th July last year. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions with the Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment in 1940 before being captured at Albert. He was the camp interpreter at Stalag 21D Warthelager, Krotochin and Kosten. Ted Berry informs us that Mr W.H. ‘Dick’ Williams died on 8th December aged 92. He was a driver in the RASC and was captured in Crete in 1941. A former resident of Stalag 8B Lamsdorf he was born and bred in Sheffield. Vivienne Jones informs us that her father Arthur Charles Evans passed away on 18th March. Arthurs book is featured on the cover of the newsletter. We Will Remember Them.
YVES JAULMES. Member Jack Batt tells us that Yves Jaulmes passed away on 25th October. A British subject by birth Yves participated in the Tunisian campaign against the Afrika Korps at Faid Pass, between Kasserine and Sfax. He was captured and taken to Campo 98 in Sicily and Campo 66 in Italy. He was repatriated with other French POWs by the Germans in May 1943 in occupied France and tried to escape across the Pyrenees. Caught by the Vichy Police he was sent back to Paris where he met his future wife Evelyn. Together they participated in resistance activities, mainly assisting a downed American pilot to escape. Evelyn passed away in December 2002. We Will Remember Them.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY.
I was pleasantly surprised recently to receive a letter from one of our associate members, whose father, one of our long-standing members had passed away. He informed me that, although he was only a young associate member he had left instructions in his Will to leave the sum of £5,000 to the Association. Whilst I hope that he will live a long and happy life, it is acts of thoughtfulness such as this that will keep our association going long into the future.
LICE SAVED MY LIFE by George Kent, former resident of Stalag 20A.
“After completing the march from near Torun to Celle in North Germany, in Dutch Clogs (surprisingly comfortable) with cloth-wrapped feet, 30 of us were detailed to stay in a hut at the nearby aerodrome. We were given the task of filling in bomb holes, made by Allied planes. This task was performed in the usual perfunctory manner, making sure, as far as possible that none of the newly launched jets would successfully negotiate the runway. Little did we know at the time that the adjacent hut was filled with ammunition, something which we learned later. Nightly raids added to the discomfort of the lice which abounded – so much so – that I was requested, as the oldest serving Kriegie, to ask the guard if we could get de-loused. Surprisingly, the Unter-Offizier agreed to my request, provided we agreed to march at night 25 kilometres to the nearest de-lousing centre. We readily agreed and off we went with two guards. On the way, a lorry tried to pass us, and on peering under the protective flap we espied Canadian Red Cross parcels. The lorry got no further as the lads helped themselves to two parcels each. The guards helped themselves also. At the de-lousing centre we were all in good spirits, smoking and eating and generally having a good time. Then came the march back and in the distance we saw the ‘chandeliers’ dropped by the Mosquitoes and the subsequent bombing of the airfield. Our hut was no more! The guards accepted that, for them, the war was over and told us to make our own way to the Allied lines which we did. After two days in virtually No Mans Land myself and Bill Hambley, who had been in the bag with me for almost five years, were picked up by a British tank and taken to Uelzen, where we boarded a Lancaster bomber for home.” [George is one of our more generous members and resides in sunny South Africa. Ed.]
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
CSM James Hamilton Savage MM (Queens Own Cameron Highlanders/51st Highland Division). His daughter Dorothy Pocknell and grandson Colin Pocknell, 12 Wellowbrook Close, Chandlers Ford, Hants SO53 4SX would love to hear any information on James, including the events surrounding his capture at St Valery; Captive Drones (he was the Chairman) at Stalag 383; Fort 13 at Thorn where he was sent for refusing to work for the Germans; Stalag XXB, Oflag 3C and Stalag XXA.
Mr Robert Chapman, 35 Kettlebrook Road, Solihull, West Midlands B90 4YL would like to hear from anyone who knew his uncle Joseph Chapman who was with the 1st Bn Scots Guards when he was wounded in Norway in April/May 1940. He went to Stalag XIB and then Stalag VIIIB.
Kathryn Salt at 21, Chesterfield Road, Tibshelf, Nr Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 5NJ would like to hear from anyone who knew Gunner Jack Salt who was captured at Sumatra in 1941/42. Badly treated on the Burma railway he was sent to India in September 1945 to convalesce and thence to South Africa where he died of TB in 1946. Also searching for his friend Ray Esgate from Nantwich, Norfolk who visited his family after the war.
Thomas Meads, Flat 18, Manor House, Manor Court, Buttercrambe Road, Stamford Bridge, York YO41 1AJ would like to hear from anyone who served with ‘B’ Company, 189 Field Ambulance from January 1940. Disbanded in Sarafani, Palestine late 1940, joined 62nd General Hospital. Taken prisoner in Tobruk 20th June 1942.
Carol Lai, Venture Farm Cat Rescue, Thuxton Road, Mattishall, Norfolk NR20 3LB is trying to find out more about John Arthur Evans. He died on 1st March 1945 at Pachim, Germany of TB. He was on the Death March from Stalag 20A Thorn, Poland. John served with Princess Louise’s Kensington Regiment – The Middlesex Regiment. He was Carols mothers eldest brother and the family lived in Bow, East London. Carol would like to know the location of his grave.
I am writing to you in the hope you will be able to provide information. Briefly, my uncle, Edwin Vaughan, was in the 85th Anti Tank Regt, Royal Artillery, captured at Singapore, his movements are listed below. He died a POW whilst being transported to Japan on the Hofuku Maru: Changi POW Camp, Transported to Ban Pong Chungkai No 2 Base Camp,
Transported back to River Valley Camp Singapore, Transported onboard Hofuku Maru via Manila. I am trying to record his experiences and suffering at each of the places and wonder if there any documents etc that what the conditions were like in these places. I would be most grateful for any help you could give, kind regards, Alan Vaughan.
Bernard Collier is seeking information on POWs who were in Campo 78 Sulmona and those who were killed whilst enroute to Germany by the Allied bombing raid on L’Aquila on 8th December 1943. If you can assist please contact Phil Chinnery at 59 Pinkwell Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1PJ. NEXPOWA@fsmail.net
THE BROTHERHOOD OF VETERANS OF THE GREEK CAMPAIGNS 1940-1945
The 70th Anniversary of the Greek Mainland Campaign 1940/41 will take place on 24th May at Kalamata, Southern Greece. For many years the Brotherhood of Veterans has held pilgrimages at the memorial site, supported by many of the 1200-1500 men taken prisoner during the campaigns. For this, the 70th Service of Remembrance, they hope to obtain the appearance of the Red Arrows and a Royal Navy vessel. If you would like to attend or would like further information please contact Mr Frank Gill, 38 Halifax Crescent, Thornton, Liverpool L23 1TH. Tel 0151-924-2712.
CAMPO 70 MONTURANO. Located on the east coast near a village called Fermo. Jack McElwee is third from right in the front row in the picture above. The photo below shows Ascot Day at PG70 in 1943. Do you recognise anybody?
RETURN TO POLAND by Mary Teale.
Mary Teale’s father is Mr D Hustler who was captured on 27th May 1940 and eventually went from Arbeits Kommand E21 at Petershofen by cattle truck, through Auschwitz to unload other cattle trucks which had been collected on the way, to Jaworzno (Neu Dachs) Arbeits Kommando E596. This had been created in June 1943 and comprised a group of mines, Frederick August Grube, Dachs Grube and Leopold Grube. Mary told us; “We have revisited the area and Dad has been made very welcome. There is much interest in that time by the local historian and also the two schools in the immediate area, especially one which housed some of the Allied POWs. They have all given us a lot of information about the area and its history. At each school we have had the privilege to visit, are memorials within the buildings to the Allied POWs who were there during the war years. Truly remarkable. I have a copy of The Auschwitz Chronicle, by Danuta Czech, and in the Foreword section it states that some of the information documented in the Chronicle came from papers which had been stuffed down a mine in Jaworzno in 1945 when the camp was abandoned for the march to the west. I emailed Auschwitz and they confirmed that they had these documents and we arranged to go and see them. The archive at Auschwitz gave us a room, all the original documents which had been found and the use of a young lady and a photocopier, with free rein to copy whatever we wanted. Really unbelievable. They were very interested to talk to Dad about his time there, as he worked with concentration camp prisoners, both women and men, and as such had been a witness. We found documents relating to British POWs, with their names and numbers, and the punishments which had been dealt out to them. Somewhere there is a list with Dad’s name on it and hopefully I will find it. I have been told to go to Oppeln, and also into the Czech Republic, where I am in contact with Ostrava, where the mine at Petershofen was. Now a museum, they also have documents from that time which can be accessed.”
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Arthur Evans was born in 1916 in the Wirral,
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NEWS FROM ARGENTINA.
Peter Mulvany the Chairman of the Irish Seamens Relatives Association contacted us in January. He was preparing to depart for Argentina with former POW Harry Callan to meet a lady by the name of Frances Evans Bengtsson. Frances is the daughter of the late Frank Evans who was shot by the Germans while a civilian prisoner on the German ship MV Portland on March 14th 1941 while entering the River Gironde on her way to disembark the POWs at Bordeaux. Harry Callan, an Irishman was standing beside Frank Evans when he was shot. Frances was the first British baby born in the civilian internment camp (Ilag) at Liebenau.
The trip to Argentina was to support the book launch of ‘Quiet Endurance’ written by Frances Evans Bengtsson MBE the daughter of Frank Evans and a former diplomat in the British Embassy Buenos Aires. The research on this side of the Atlantic was undertaken by Peter on the condition that Frances engaged her writing skills and wrote her book and this she did superbly. The book launch completed the project and having 87 year old ex Merchant Navy POW Harry Callan on-hand to present the tributes on behalf of the National Ex-Prisoner of War Association was a real privilege to witness. The mother of Frances was Joan (Henrietta) Evans and both were later repatriated to Argentina through Egypt. We would like to welcome both Harry and Frances as members of the Association.
On Friday 28th January 2011 at 10.00hrs Harry and Frances laid a wreath on behalf of the National Ex-Prisoner of War Association, in remembrance of those lost in the Anglican Cemetery of La Cumbre Cordoba. Prayers were led by lay preacher Maurice Rumboll and Peter Mulvany, Chairperson of the Irish Seamen's Relatives Association (1939-46) and organizer of the event responded in kind.
On Saturday 29th January in the Arts Centre La Cumbre, during the launch of the Spanish version of the book 'Quiet Endurance/ Giros del Destino' Harry Callan presented to Frances her Honorary Membership of the association along with two commemorative POW medals. On Thursday 3rd of February in the British War Cemetery La Chacarita Buenos Aires, Harry Callan placed a poppy cross on behalf of the Association. Wreaths were also placed on behalf of the MNA Wirral Branch and the RNPSA HQ Lowestoft.
Copies of the book in English or Spanish can be obtained from Peter Mulvany B.C.L.(Hons), H.Dip Arts Admin, 51 Conquer Hill Rd, Clontarf, Dublin 3. Ireland. Tel: 01 8053908 - International: 00 353 1 8053908. Mobile: 087 2769707 - International: 00 353 87 2769707. E-mail: mulvanypeterie@yahoo.co.uk Price to be advised. The price includes a fixed donation to the Help for Heroes fund. To purchase on-line please go to www.quietendurance.com Soft cover, 197 pages with photographs.
Above right; At the Anglican cemetery La Cumbre in Argentina. Left to right Harry Callan, Frances Evans Bengtsson MBE, Peter Mulvany.
Frances recalled; “Towards the end of 2009 I looked out a small metal plaque I had kept safely in a jewellery box. It was my mother's prisoner identification which she was made to wear at all times in the last German prison camp she was taken to in 1941, after going through at least ten jails both in occupied France and Germany. The prison camp was Liebenau in Ravensburg, Germany where she gave birth to the “first British baby born in a Nazi prisoner of war camp” – namely me. I decided it was time to let the plaque see the light of day again and to have it framed together with photographs of my parents and a roughly sketched itinerary with the sequence of events that started in Buenos Aires when they boarded the ill-fated “Afric Star” in January 1941, her sinking by the German raider “Kormoran”, being taken prisoners and transferred to two other German vessels, first to the “Nordmark” and later to the “Portland” on which ship my father was killed as they arrived in Bordeaux. At the time, my parents had no idea I was on the way.”
POW DIARY by Lieutenant Kenneth Grayston White formerly of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment Royal Artillery. Including 70 photos of the POW march to Germany and 20 Airborne related pictures of Oosterbeek in 1952. The book is written in two halves, one half in English and the other half in Dutch.
On 18th
September 1944, Ken White, at the time 27 years old, flew from Manston
to Holland, joining the Market Garden Operation. To him the exact
destination was unknown, but once airborne he asked the glider pilot.
Landing on Wolfheze Heath the cargo, a jeep, gun and trailer plus
ammunition was unloaded and the battle was joined. On the 23rd
Ken was wounded by mortar bomb fragments and spent ten days in various
hospitals until he was shipped off to Stalag XIB at Fallingbostel. He
then went on to Oflag IXA/Z at Rotenburg. Ken kept a diary throughout
his time as a Kriegie and it is reproduced in the book. On 29th
March 1945 the residents of the Oflag began to march West, away from the
advancing Russians. The book contains many photos of the men taken
during the march by Lee Hill, a New Zealander who obtained a Leica
camera and a supply of film from one of the guards. On the 12th
of April their guards disappeared and the following morning US tanks
appeared to liberate them. In 1952 Ken returned to Arnhem and made many
friends during pilgrimages in the years that followed. Sadly Ken passed
away on 10th October 2009.
To order copies of POW DIARY send £30 to cover the book and postage to Marion Gerritsen-Teunissen, Margrietstraat 20, 6862 GP Oosterbeek, Holland.
RETURN TO CAMPO 62.
Associate member Alexandra Lightfoot wrote in with a description of her trip to the site of Campo 62 at Bergamo in Italy. “Recently I visited the site of the POW camp at Bergamo, Italy and traced part of my father’s escape route into Switzerland. I had contacted organisations in Italy, but failed to get any response to my requests for information about the Camp (perhaps because of my inability to speak Italian) but decided to visit the area in the hope of discovering more about the camp while I was there.
My father, Frederick James Lightfoot, served with the 4th Battalion Green Howards and was in the North Africa campaign with 150 Brigade where he was captured in Gazala on 1st June 1942. From the information I have obtained from the Green Howards, International Red Cross and Post Armistice Escape Reports held in the National Archives I have found the following details about his time as a POW. He was held in a number of camps in Africa – Benghazi, Homs, Tarhuna and Suani ben Adem – before being transferred to Italy. First to the transit camp PG66 at Capua (20.11.42 – 8.12.42), then to PG70 Porto S Giorgio (9.12.42 – 1.4.43), and finally to PG62 Bergamo (2.4.43 – 10.9.43) where he was sent to a work camp, as a farm labourer.
After the Italian capitulation it was reported that German soldiers were moving into the area so my father and three other soldiers went to the farm where they had been working and the farmer, Silvesto Parapini, agreed to help them. He gave them food, civilian clothing and let them sleep in his fields until 25th September. They were then offered safe passage to Switzerland. They were given bicycles to get to Milan, and provided with the address of a shopkeeper named Hausler, who provided a guide. The guide bought railway tickets to Luino, a town on the east shore of Lake Maggiore, and he escorted them there. They then travelled by bus to a small village high up in the hills north of Luino called Agra. The bus was stopped by a German patrol, but they did not examine identity cards. The men were given food and beds and early in the morning of 26th September 1943 were taken by the guide to the Swiss border, and from there they made their way to the frontier post at Astano.
My father remained in Switzerland until October 1944 and, as far as I know, at least two other comrades were with him in Burglen, in Switzerland. I do not know the names of any of the men he was with, and I would love to hear from anyone who might have further information.
POW Camp PG62 near Bergamo is also referred to as Grumello del Piano, or Grumilina, and is located in the commune of Lallio, about 3 miles south west of Bergamo. A Red Cross report of 1943 describes the camp as being built on a large plain, surrounded by mountains.
On arrival at Bergamo I was disappointed that the tourist information office did not seem to be aware of the camp at all. Fortunately I had taken a photograph of the memorial that was erected in 2008 and the driver of the No 5 bus recognised it and was able to tell us when to get off the bus. After a short walk past the cemetery I quickly spotted the plaque in the middle of the little park and behind it a factory with a tall, brick-built chimney stack towering above it. We walked around the perimeter and could see that the site was in use as a paper mill and, although new offices and warehouses had been added, the old three storey concrete building was still clearly visible. This had originally been a button works and then, later, an armaments factory before it was put to use to house prisoners of war. I thought of my dad living in there “in bunk beds, within concrete walls under weak electric light” as described in the Red Cross report. It must have been a relief to get out and work on the farm.
Having visited the site of the camp, I next tried to trace part of the escape route into Switzerland. This involved a fairly tortuous train journey, even without the fear of capture by enemy soldiers. I took an early morning train from Bergamo to Milan, changed to a train for Gallarate, and from there was supposed to have six minutes to change to a bus for Luino. Unfortunately the train was seven minutes late and there was not another bus or train to Luino for approximately four hours. A very helpful lady in the ticket office in Gallarate station advised that I could use the train ticket to travel to Varese and from there catch a bus to Luino. The train to Varese was also late arriving and we just caught the bus after a 200m sprint.
Luino occupies a beautiful location on the shores of the lake with the place was vibrant with a huge market in full swing. I could only look up at the hills where the escapees were taken by bus to Agra and then over the border into Switzerland. There was insufficient time for me to complete this part of the journey but it had been exciting enough getting this far.
Many of the railway stations in this part of northern Italy have a rather unkempt or old fashioned appearance and it was easy to imagine how Luino station must have looked back in 1943. All that was missing was the sound of steam trains and the fear of being caught.”
THE TAIWAN CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY.
THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE TAIWAN POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY ARE:
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15th Anniversary Remembrance Week Event
Our special 15th anniversary event will take place from November 9 – 16, 2011.
As usual, we will have visits to the former POW camp sites complete with memorial services, local sightseeing tours, our special FEPOW banquet and of course the Remembrance Day service at the Taiwan POW Memorial on the site of the former Kinkaseki POW Camp in Jinguashi.
This year, in addition to our regular Remembrance Week events, we will hold the special dedication ceremony for the additional memorials being erected at the Taiwan POW Memorial Park. The event will take place in conjunction with the annual Remembrance Day service and be held prior to it.
We invite and encourage former POWs, their family members and all friends and supporters to be with us on this very special occasion. More information will be forthcoming later in the year.
For more information on this and our other activities please contact us at: society@powtaiwan.org
