大象传媒

Message 1 - German POW in Scotland

Posted on: 27 January 2005 by Frank Mee Researcher 241911

Hello Folk Friendship,
Or so my rusty (very) German tells me, could be wrong.
I relate to your stories as I saw first hand POWs in the community. Italians came early in the war and then German POW's.
I was a young lad during the war years and when the first Italian POW's arrived a mile up the road we were all inquisitive. They used to march down into our village singing and then peel off to various jobs with local people. We found them to be normal ordinary people who were willing and very able to take the place of the men who had been called up.
They went to Canada and we got the Germans. We had our doubts about them at first but like the Italians they came marching down the road just the same and worked at the same jobs.
My Friend Dennis whose father was a coal merchant introduced me to the Germans working for them. Some would work on the railside chutes bagging and weighing coal and they took turns on the wagon to deliver. At Lunch time even in war we all stopped to eat and the Germans also ate with us helping to wash up after and we would all sit talking, again they were just like us and I never saw more than one guard on a bike with them in all the time they were here. We did not get the hard core Nazi's they went to special camps, ours were just glad to be out of the madness of war.
After the war in the army I went to the Middle East and was surprised to see German POW's in camps around the big depots.
We went to one camp as guards, not to keep them in but to keep the natives out. They had freedom to come and go and most worked with the Army. They also carried out Town patrol's in the big towns carrying pick axe handles which they knew how to use.
In convalescence camp at Kabrit I saw Germans who were to go home. The camp was used as a sort of let the lads learn to mix with people and have a few beers, you had a mixture of us recuperating and them letting their hair down and it was great fun. We did guard sitting in bathchairs with a couple of Germans sitting with us, our weapons were spotless as they cleaned and loaded them for us.
Some lived in the East and were allowed to choose where they went and some were running there time out so it was quite late in 49 when the last left to my knowledge.
We drank together sang together and acted as soldiers of all nations do, ie; call all polititions worse than muck, crack jokes and talk about girls. Normal young men in abnormal circumstances deadly enemy's on the sports field but best of friends over a pint the way it should be.
Regards Frank.