- Contributed by听
- Colin Bedwell
- People in story:听
- George Daniel
- Location of story:听
- Normandy/Poland
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A1950103
- Contributed on:听
- 02 November 2003
George is my uncle, born in 1919, who was called up as a rifleman and was on the ill fated Normandy landing. They were landed on the beach, and during the evacuation helped many injured soldiers to get shipped out on the small boats over from England. Night came and his group were stranded on the beach waiting for the next lot of boats. They went through the night on the beach seeing lights at sea, anticipating more boats.
They never come. It became apparent that the lights they had pinned their hopes on, were buoys. They moved off the beach and slept under some trees. They were awoken by the prodding of German bayonets. Taken prisoner, and with many others, were marched off to Poland. He spent the war in Stalag XXA a camp south of Danzig (Gdansk). He was attached to a Polish farmer and worked the land, and was treated as decently by the farmer as conditions permitted.
When the Russians were advancing, the prison camp disbanded and the prisoners force marched to Germany. En route many died. The column of prisoners, while on a road crossing open country, was machined gunned by fighter aircraft - enemy or not he doesn't know. When it was over, he found himself alone in a ditch, and struck off across country by himself. He came to a village where he was sheltered in a below ground store with many others - some Singalese. He went on to another village that was occupied by US forces. He was arrested at gunpoint and held until the US soldiers accepted his story that he had been a prisoner of war- they appeared to think he was a German. Having accepted his story, they gave him clothes and flew him back to the UK where he was officially demobbed at Winchester.
George has only spoken about the war in the past few years, and unfortunately now suffers from dementia which prevents him presenting a clear and precise record of events. He was earlier very disturbed not to have been shown some official recognition of his place in the war - he felt forgotten, and even told me that he was beginning to think that he was fantasising and that it had indeed never happened. Hopefully I have been able to help him remember and accept it.
Colin Bedwell
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