大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Bernie Hawkins and has been added to the website on behalf of Mary Prince with her permission and she fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was born in 1916 and my brother Jimmy three years later. I was told that I must always look after him, and I did. I didn鈥檛 like this much at first because I had to take him everywhere with me, so I couldn鈥檛 play as freely with my friends 鈥� girls of my own age 鈥� as I would have liked, but later on me and Jimmy became very close.

When he left school, Jimmy got a job as a 鈥淵ellow Belly鈥�, couriers for the London banks so called because they wore yellow waistcoats. The company only employed lads who joined the territorials, so Jimmy was called up, aged 20, at the outbreak of the War. He served in Europe, but was captured at Dunkirk on his 21st birthday. From there he was marched on foot across Belgium and France to a prisoner of war camp. Some of his comrades died on the journey. He was taken to Stalag 8B. where, apart from an unsuccessful escape attempt, he spent the rest of the War.

One day at the camp, while picking up the infrequent mail, another PoW asked him if his mother鈥檚 name was Ann. When he said yes, the PoW said, 鈥淚 thought so, my mother is Lil 鈥� we鈥檙e cousins!鈥�

During his escape attempt, starving, Jimmy came across a farm barn, with a stable door, the top half of which was open. Inside was a Polish girl, painting her toenails. When she saw him, she made a 鈥渟hush鈥� expression, with her finger to her lips, and brought him some food. After leaving the farm, Jimmy saw an SS man on a motorcycle and made the mistake of turning his head at just the wrong moment and catching his eye. The SS man first took him to another farm where he was given food by a German couple who were very kind to him. He was taken back to the PoW camp and put in stocks for attempting to escape. At night, his friends would bring him scraps of food.

Jimmy remembered one particular guard at the camp who would taunt the prisoners, saying things like, 鈥淵ou won鈥檛 see your families again 鈥� we鈥檙e going to bomb them tonight鈥�. When he was released by American troops at the end of the war, he saw the same German guard, now a prisoner himself. The tables were turned. Jimmy shouted to him as he passed by, 鈥淣ow we are going to hang you in the Tower of London!鈥�

When he returned I first saw him again on the 27th of May 1945. He was so thin! I always remember the exact date because, believe it or not, I was in the delivery room, clinging to the bed, giving birth to my daughter! I don鈥檛 know how he got in! Of course I was pleased to see him, but I shouted at him to get out! I didn鈥檛 want him to see me like that.

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