大象传媒

Les Birch attended the People鈥檚 War Reminsicence session held at Cheriton Library on 12/08/03

The 8 of us attending were captivated by his accounts of a 5 year ordeal as a Prisoner of War. Les refused to stay in a P.O.W. camp in Germany and was made to march across Europe (staying in 10 different camps.) The forced labour that he undertook included work on the railway line into Auschwitz. Les brought memorabilia to Cheriton Library including artefacts that he carried with him across Europe and material that he collected on subsequent return visits after the war. Photographs, maps, leaflets, pamphlets, letters, diaries gave his stories an extra poignancy.
Somehow, Les kept a slim diary of his own, recording details of his long march. The first page was headed
鈥淔rom captivity to freedom鈥�

The extracts below are taken from the recording and added to the site with his permission. The interviewee fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

What I would like to say Sir is, I was thrashing for Mr. Heritage鈥� It was the time I joined the TA in 1939, in April and I didn't realize it was an expeditionary force鈥 was in a reserved occupation [farm work.] 鈥 started out with the engine and I got as far as Monks Horton鈥 drove the engine in through the gates, parked it up, sheeted up and I arrived home about half past nine, quarter to ten, and my dear old mum came down the path and she said;

鈥淪on, there鈥檚 a letter here OMS [On His Majesty鈥檚 Service]鈥�

and she was booing and crying and she said; 鈥淚 believe its your calling up papers.鈥�

I said; 鈥渘o it can't be, I'm in a reserved occupation,鈥� so I opened it there and then 鈥rue enough 'You will report tonight!'

[My mother] said to me;
鈥淲ell what are we going to do, you haven鈥檛 had much [to eat] all day.鈥�
I said; 鈥渘o mum鈥︹��
She said;
鈥淵ou'll have to get the fire going, time you had something to eat, and a noggin [drink].鈥�
Her and I went and got the old tin bath put it in the old scullery in the cottage, I gets in and has a bath. The old chap comes in and says
"What's up mate?"
I said; 鈥淚鈥檝e got to go Father, I've been called up.鈥�
鈥淣o you haven't鈥� he said, 鈥測ou're in a reserved occupation.鈥�
鈥淵es I have鈥� I said 鈥測ou read that notice.鈥�

From then on it started and my feet never hit the ground. I went to Ashford Drill Hall, I'd been up since half past five that morning鈥�

[Les shows us a remarkable diary written by his Sergeant Major]
The Sergeant Major who managed to get back like I did from the B.E.F. [British Expeditionary Force] gave me the book before he died and he was the very man who said;
鈥淏irch, you鈥檙e on guard tonight,鈥� and I had to do a twelve hour stint and I can tell you that was a bit stiff. Anyway it progressed on from there and away we went鈥�

[After Les had been captured]
鈥� the Germans walked us all along the cliffs marching us all the way along the top from Boulogne to Calais 鈥� and they said;

鈥測ou see that little place over there?鈥�
[Pointing to Folkestone]
In the early mornings when the sun was shining it nearly broke my heart, you could see those trenches, you could see the cliffs and they kept saying;

"We're going to sink that pimple!"

We said, "When you sink that pimple you won't be around, and they鈥檙e not are they?"

[Les shows us photographs] This was my girlfriend, she was sixteen at the time and I was seventeen and that photograph went right through the War years鈥�

[Les shows us a photograph of a small group of men]

Now that has been smuggled under my arm, it's been in my crotch (you don't mind do you ladies!) and that is original. And that鈥檚 a German Officer because, after I was captured, that鈥檚 the doctor that sat over me when I had dysentery...
That little photograph is very historical, it鈥檚 been through every Prisoner of War camp鈥�
This man here, that's me. That one, have you heard of the massacre of the men? One hundred and only two survived at Le Paradis. He was one of them, he was from Norfolk, one of the Norfolks.

[LE PARADIS
(Pas-de-Calais, May 26,1940)
A company of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, trapped in a cowshed, surrendered to the 2nd Infantry Regiment, SS 'Totenkopf' (Death's Head) Division under the command of 28 year old SS Obersturmfuhrer Fritz Knoechlein. Marched to a group of farm buildings, they were lined up in the meadow along side the barn wall. When the 99 prisoners were in position, two machine guns opened fire killing 97 of them. The bodies were then buried in a mass grave on the farm property. Two managed to escape, Privates Albert Pooley and William O'Callaghan emerged from the slaughter wounded but alive. When the SS troops moved on, the two wounded soldiers were discovered, after having hid in a pig-sty for three days and nights, by Madame Castel of Le Paradis who then cared for them till captured again by another Wehrmacht unit to spend the rest of the war as a POW...
Taken from

^{About links}
]

That鈥檚 the Doctor, that鈥檚 a Frenchmen, and that鈥檚 a Frenchmen. Now the story of this, why I succeeded and got this [photograph.] [The German doctor] did it for me. He was in England, he was in college in Oxford in 鈥ebruary, April time and he had notification. He had perfect English and he helped me to get over my dysentery. For weeks I was under him in hospital 鈥nyway, he said he would keep me there as long as he could until I think it was July, he had the final notice telling him if he did not come home he would lose his wife and two daughters which he showed me a beautiful picture of鈥� And sad but I've never met him since the War, but he befriended me, a very fine German. You can't say otherwise, or I would not be here talking to you. And that [photo] went right through the War years.

Because when we got through, the French 鈥� weren't very kind to us, then we got to the Belgians who were, then we got to Holland, they were brilliant, they did everything鈥� When we knew we were getting near the Rhine I said to some guys鈥�
鈥渓ook there鈥檚 a cow out there being milked by a young lady.鈥�
I said 鈥淚 can milk a cow and I'm going [to milk it].鈥�
And they said "You'll get shot."
I said "I will take that chance, I am so hungry"

It was terrible we had nothing to eat, only they gave us bags of old potatoes with dirt and everything, just enough to keep you alive. So when we got along where we could see there was a bit of river, I couldn't swim but I went down there, and swam of an evening time. The young lady was milking the cow, so I crept along and sat the other side, and that鈥檚 the best milk I've ever had, I'll never forget that, the best milk I've ever had in my life!

and she said "You must go!鈥�

I said 鈥渘o, I鈥檓 English.鈥�
She said, 鈥渨e sit here, we wait.鈥�

鈥�.anyway the end of the story was, she said "I'll take you back to the house.鈥� Well she took me back to the little old farmstead 鈥� but she said; 鈥測ou can't come in,鈥� and I said 鈥渨ell where do I stay?鈥� She could speak perfect English. [Her] mother came out, she said
"no, you must go."
I said "No, surely you can give me food."
I was bleeding from the back, I was in a terrible state, my clothes were all torn, my feet were sore, my shoes were worn out鈥�
She said; 鈥測ou鈥檒l have to sleep with the pigs.鈥� And I had a week in the pig house. Then I gradually crept indoors, they tried to help me. I was all upset, the medicine didn't do me any good, I was there somewhere in the region of nearly six weeks and they really tried to do everything for me. Then all of a sudden she said,
"You've got to go, you've got to go, you've go to go, that鈥檚 a German [approaching the house,] you've got to go."
I said "where am I going?"
She said "I don't know." It was 10 o'clock in the morning we had just had just had a little something, nice fresh bread and all that, so I said, well I must go then. I don't want to get you shot."
She had lost her husband and two sons, they had all been shot. She said "you must go, I've only got my daughter."
So out I went. In come these Germans. [One] smashed the door in, waving his revolver, shouting;
"You've got an Englishman in here," he was shouting in English.
I went out the back door and there was a chicken pen and they had a few shrubs, and I thought 鈥淕od Almighty he is going to shoot me!鈥� I looked over my shoulder and he shouted
"Englander! You stop or 鈥淚'll blow your brains out."
I didn't take no notice, I went down on my all fours pulled up the wire netting, underneath it, down through, up the stream, joined the column of march, (there was still thousands of men about... on the road)鈥� and got away.

It鈥檚 true I done that, that wasn't the first time, the second time I did it in Poland, well I did three [escapes] actually but I got rather hurt down in [Czechoslovakia]

[Les shows us a letter from the mother of a fellow POW that he received in a camp via the Red Cross]

Rob Illingworth, reading to the group:

鈥淚t was very nice of you and your companion to write so nicely of Nelson, but as time passes I will be comforted in the knowledge that he died amongst such nice companions who I鈥檓 sure did all they could to help him鈥hould any parcel addressed to Nelson arrive, I would like it if you and Alex would manage to get it shared between you. When peace comes again, I will be very pleased to receive a visit from you. My heartfelt thanks to all the boys for their sympathy, someday I might be able to visit Nelson鈥檚 resting place. I wish you all the best of luck and a speedy return to your own homes. I am sincerely yours.
M Duncan.鈥�

And you won鈥檛 believe it, do you know what I did. When we was asked,
"where would you like your pass made out to?"
I said Aberdeen.
鈥淏ut you come from Kent?鈥�

鈥淒oesn鈥檛 matter I have a special reason, I lost my comrade.鈥�

And I had that pass and I had one week at home and鈥� three of us鈥� went up to Dundee and then we went up to Aberdeen to see his mother鈥� That was a very sad meeting, very sad, we couldn鈥檛 talk for ten minutes.

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