大象传媒

The Beginning of the End 鈥� Part Four

The following is an account by the late Mr. John Lesley Sorsby of the 1st Parachute Regiment of the march undertaken by 2000 troops from Stalag 8C near Breslau on the border with Silesia to freedom. This march took place between 8th February 鈥� 10th March 1945. Their march ended at a P.O.W. camp at Bad Orb. They were liberated by the Americans on 2nd April 1945. Mr. Sorsby arrived home at Orgreave, Yorkshire in the early morning of 13th April 1945.

These memories have been submitted with the permission of Mrs. W. E. Sorsby.

鈥淭he first day of March came in with its usual windy heralds. In fact it was very cold but at least it was day. We were by this time well into Germany and really heading for our own lines; at least that is what we surmised. The area we were marching through wasn鈥檛 hostile at all - people were putting out pails of water for us to drink. We couldn鈥檛 stop we dipped in our tins as we walked along. I remember quite a lot of the villagers - mostly women of course had a really care-worn expression. No food ever exchanged hands, I suppose their rations were the same as ours at home. By just after three o鈥檆lock we had covered about 26 kilometres and were near a place something like Gertangen and of course of place of rest was again to be a barn. By now the 鈥楽killy鈥� wasn鈥檛 anything to shout about. Things were happening and we were getting like automatons or even zombies, which was bad as I see it now. I suppose all we wanted was a shaking up or better still some good news to lift us from our apathy. Easier said than done you might say and you would be quite right.

We settled down by about six o鈥檆lock at least the doors were shut even though the days were getting longer. We just lay down in the straw talking and of course moaning until sleep would take over. I always remember what I used to do just before I went to sleep. I would run four fingers over my forehead, a word for each finger as it touched my forehead. T.W.B.D. I鈥檝e also done it thousands of time since. You can find out what T.W.B.D. means to me in the Lord鈥檚 Prayer. I鈥檓 sure it did a lot of help to me.

The next day, the second of March was a bitter cold day with an idle wind. We had a mug of ersatz coffee, a little bit bigger piece of bread than usual, margarine and also a piece of cheese. Before we had chance to eat we were all ushered back into the barn and told we were to have a rest day. Wonders will never cease we thought. Laid about all day in the barn with nothing to do though. Some of the longer serving POW鈥檚 had cards, etc. and they whiled away the time before as many spectators as could see, plus the usual amount of advisers. We had a reasonable 鈥楽killy鈥� that evening, so all in all it wasn鈥檛 a bad day.

We set off again next morning and again it was bitterly cold day. We seemed to be having longer stops each hour than we had previously. We only covered 14 kilometres that day. Back to a barn again. We wondered if they really didn鈥檛 know what to do with us. Anyhow, the next day, the 4th of March we covered 32 kilometres in very cold conditions and came to a place called Crenflenbach. We were pleased to once again get into the barn. (It seems the 鈥榊arn of the Barn鈥�). They were always a welcome haven. I forget what happened the next day but we only marched about 7 or 8 kilometres and were called to a halt. I think the place was called Rocken, I鈥檓 not sure. The 6th of March was another rest day. We were spending more time in the barn than the owls were; anyway we weren鈥檛 using up much energy although at a guess I think I would have tipped the scales around six stones. We marched 28 kilometres the next day. Something like Neuhoff was the place we stopped at. The names of places on the old sheet I have are not very clear nowadays, I keep having to guess at some of them.

The weather on the morning of the 8th of March was really fine and it was fairly mild with it. Rumour was going round that we couldn鈥檛 get much further so with that and the better weather I think we were all bucked up a bit. We reached a place called Steinau after about 24 kilometres and lo and behold an old castle for our party. The most welcome news that day was that we would only be on the road a few more days and we would once again be in a POW camp behind barbed wire. All sorts of rumours were flying round as more bombers were heard and sometimes seen. I think some news had got through to the RAF as the bombs never dropped close to us; we used to imagine that the route we had taken was known to them, something else to thank God for.

We left the old castle at Steinau on Saturday morning, 10th of March. Nothing much happened during the rest day there. I don鈥檛 know how many were in our immediate party as I鈥檝e mentioned before, but for accommodation purposes we had to split up into smaller groups. The group I was in set off in high hopes as the rumour had it that it would be the last day on the road. By now we had got to the stage where we couldn鈥檛 have cared less where we should finish up. The day was pretty mild and about mid-day we were told that we had to head for a placed called Bad Orb, to be ensconced in a POW camp. Relative comforts were visualised as we trudged along; not that we had experienced many comforts in the Stalag we had left just over a month ago. The sun was shining and that helped us to cover the 18 kilometres reasonably well.

The place Bad Orb was on a hillside. The P.O.W. camp was through the village and on the side of the hill. We were ushered inside the wire fence and grouped into sections and put into huts. When we got inside it was chaos. Whoever had left the camp had done so in the same haste as we had left Stalag 8c at Sagan. We put our bundles on any bunk; three tiers and two men to each tier. All the straw mattresses had to be taken outside. No such luck as filling them with clean straw. Just give them a good airing and shaking up. At least it was better than last time when we had to shake them indoors. It did help us get rid of a few of the parasites. The floor was littered with all kinds of rubbish. There were no brushes available just a couple of old besoms that had seen better days. It was a really pleasant afternoon and we worked away with a will. A good feed at this junction would have put us on cloud nine but it wasn鈥檛 to be. We put the palliasses back on our bunks and then went back outside whilst the sun was still shining. The German Officers got together all our W.O.s and gave them instructions as to what was expected of them and us. The sun was dropping over the hill when the 鈥楽killy鈥� arrived. By the amount doled out to us we got the idea they were thinking we shouldn鈥檛 need as much now we weren鈥檛 on the road. The hut wasn鈥檛 very well illuminated perhaps as well as we couldn鈥檛 see what we were eating.

No such thing as getting undressed to get into the bunk. Boots for pillows, also for safe-keeping. Some had blankets if they were lucky but with two men in each tier it was better than a draughty barn. After much chatter and more than the usual 鈥榞oodnights鈥� we slept.

Next morning we were awake early and getting out of the flea pit as they were commonly called; stretching and rubbing down stiff and aching limbs. We made out way outside for roll call then lined up for a slice of bread and margarine and a piece of Linburg cheese. It kind of burned your tongue, but it was eaten and washed down with the usual ersatz coffee. It was said that the coffee was made of acorns, certainly it tasted like it. After the so-called breakfast, we had to form three ranks outside to be given our menial tasks. We grouped into parties of a dozen or so and set about the duties. Our first one was to dig a hole, roughly ten feet square and as deep as we could. Needless to day it took more than one day. It was to be used as a latrine. Planks were put across the hole at about one yard intervals. Cross timbers at either end to carry round six inch poles on which one had to sit. Imagine sitting on a pole, say no more! The job was completed when a four foot high fence was erected, it was supposed to give one a little privacy.

After a week or so clearing up the camp we were allowed to relax; the only things which were active were the parasites. The sun was quite warm during the day. We used to strip off and get to work killing the parasites from the seams of our underwear and then if one could get a piece of smouldering wood you would run it down the seams of your trousers. Bloodthirsty lot, I can tell you.

Our own bombers were very active during this period. When air raid sirens sounded the people from the village came to stand outside the perimeter fence of our camp. I suppose they knew the P.O.W. camps would be known to the Air Crews and they would be comparatively safe. Food began to improve by reason that our whereabouts had been discovered by the Red Cross. I should think every Ex-Prisoner of War is eternally grateful to this organisation. We never had a whole parcel each, in fact when we had to share one between 12 it really improved our morale. It must have been great to have a whole one! What great work was and still is being done by the Red Cross. The long term prisoners spoke very highly of them. During one share out, which was carried out by the W.O.s there was some trouble. One of the Sergeant Majors was seen to palm a bar of chocolate. He was found guilty and will I day say remember to this day what his punishment was in Stalag 9b. He was thrown in a big hole and prodded back with sticks every time he tried to get out. He was also promised a Court Martial on liberation.鈥�

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