大象传媒

The Brick and Tile Factory (continued)

August 4th: We welcomed a newcomer to the camp; Jack Runey, a medical orderly.

August 8th: Made myself a raisin pudding, and on 10th a Baked Jam Roll.

August 11th: Another unexpected visitor; a chimney-sweep to attend to the chimneys in our living quarters, complete with black top hat! Today we adopted a kitten and named it 鈥榮killy鈥�, but it was soon sent away. My supervisor gave me some onions, and the next day more cucumbers.

August 13th: I wrote a card to Laurie and we subsequently exchanged cards from time to time.

August 14th: Started on night shift again. Today and on subsequent days Wilhelm one of the supervisors gave me some tomatoes.

August 17th: There has been a plague of mosquitoes lately, not surprising with the marshes nearby.

August 19th: I caught Albert a Red Underwing moth.

August 20th: There was an air-raid alarm and we all had to go into the works shelter.

August 28th: made myself another raisin pudding.

August 29th: Harry our camp leader has bought two rabbits with cigarettes.

August 30th: Received a personal parcel from my friends at Hawick. I did not record the contents, but they would not have been cigarettes! Sometime in August we had a morning of table-tennis; I told mum I was in good form and beat everyone I played.

September 2nd: I made another apple pie.

September 4th: A letter to mum included 鈥淎 great week 鈥� I have received my first mail. January to August is quite a jump! More arrived on subsequent days.

September 12th: Played shove football with Albert.

September 16th: From today we have been reduced to one food parcel a fortnight, a symptom of deteriorating conditions in Germany.

September 17th: I picked some black-berries on the outskirts of the factory and later made a black-berry pudding. Also caught a Comma Butterfly for Albert. I adopted five young rabbits or hares which I found in the coal heap but a fortnight later I handed them over to the German Sergeant-Major. Where I kept them, what I fed them on, or what he did with them I have no idea now.

September 22nd: It was announced that an addition to our number was coming. I had been hoping it might have been Laurie, but it was Cpl. Greenhill who had come as interpreter for the camp.

September 23rd: Another parcel from my friends at Hawick.

September 25th: Received a parcel containing a pair of socks, and slippers from the Red Cross.

September 27th: A big upheaval. Today about 50 of the original 100 sent to the camp were transferred elsewhere. By the rules of seniority Cpl. Greenhill was now elected camp leader, but that was a bad move; Harry was a good man.

September 28th: In the factory as a whole, working hours were changed to 6am to 5,30pm (12.30pm on Saturdays), a reflection of Germany鈥檚 worsening economic situation. This did not affect me as the kilns had to burn continuously, those of us shovelling coal dust kept to the old shift pattern.
About this time I was introduced to the game of chess. My teacher had worked in Marine Insurance at Lloyds. I wrote to mum that my German was making considerable progress.

Sunday, October 1st: Our Sunday service is now being led by someone by the name of smith. Today numbers were about 20 out of 50, an improvement on about 30 out of 100.

October 3rd: We are now getting meat three times a week. The canteen also issued some blancmange. The hot pipes in our quarters have been turned on.

October 5th: Some personal parcels arrived for the camp. A limited number of parcels could be sent by relatives and friends, subject to strict conditions as to their contents. One of my colleagues gave me a tin of boot polish and some tooth paste. One of the Germans gave me two eggs again.

October 6th: Some of us were escorted into Dyhernfurth for routine x-ray examination. I received a card from Laurie dated September 9th.

October 11th: Both our Corporals (Harry and John) went on the monthly visit to Sagan and Harry spoke to Laurie again.

October 13th: The German sergeant-major knew I was a bird watcher and disclosed he had been a bird ringer before the war. Today he invited me to go on a bird-watching trip to some woods in the Oder valley. I remember seeing my first waxwing in a birch tree. Today I was paid 30 Marks for my labours and entered into an arrangement whereby most of my work pay could be transferred to my bank account in England via the International Red Cross. There was little to spend it on here. I have always marvelled that such banking operations could take place in wartime between two belligerents. Because of the credits and my army pay which continued to be paid to me all the time I was a prisoner, I had accumulated a substantial bank balance by the end of the war.

October 16th, 22nd and 30th: Made black-berry puddings eaten with blancmange. I heard from Laurie that he was to have a medical to see if he was fit for work, but as he had been playing football there could not be much wrong with him. In the event he managed to stay in the Stalag.

October 20th: A new stock of library books arrived. I was put in a working party to collect a supply of coke in Dyhernfurth for our living quarters.

October 25th: Noted large flocks of Rooks and Jackdaws passing over, presumably migrants. One flock contained 1000-2000 birds.

October 28th: I received a box of 200 cigarettes from the Duke of Wellington鈥檚 Benevolent Fund; the Duke of Wellington鈥檚 being my regiment 鈥� very useful for bartering.

November 2nd: We have been complaining of bed-bugs so the Germans arranged for us to move out temporarily so that our rooms could be gassed! Where they put us I cannot now remember.

Sunday, November 5th: An innovation; we were taken for an escorted walk in the afternoon; a memory I have completely lost.

November 12th: The German sergeant-major gave me some bird picture cigarette cards, which I still have.

Sunday, November 19th: Another stroll in the afternoon. I made myself a chocolate pudding. I wrote to mum that some-one had put up mistletoe in our room. Rather early I commented.

November 22nd: Up to now we had been living in two rooms. The Germans decided that as our numbers had been halved, one of the rooms would be closed.

November 25th: Received the insurance course and the French grammar I had ordered last May! We are to get no more food parcels, presumably because of German transport difficulties.

November 27th: During my day-off I made covers for my books.

December 5th: Set about repairing books in the library with some glue our camp leader, John Greenhill, managed to obtain.

December 10th: I wrote to mum that a tooth had been worrying me. A piece had broken off and the sharpened end made talking and eating uncomfortable, but there was no tooth-ache. I shall have to get an appointment with the dentist in the local town; other fellows who have been to him say he is a good man. I cannot remember now what happened about this but probably the appointment fell through because of the state of the war.

December 11th: Received a new pair of boots via the Red Cross, what a blessing in view of subsequent history.

December 13th: What a wonderful day! The German sergeant-major told me he had to go to Sagan on a conference and invited me to accompany him in order to visit my brother. We travelled up on a civilian train with civilian passengers in the compartment. Normally when prisoners travelled by train they and their guards had a reserved compartment. The German passengers were very intrigued to find I was a British P.O.W. On this journey I saw sight indelibly etched in my mind; I can see them now; two Jewish men waiting on a platform with an S.S. guard in charge. The look of despair on their faces has remained with me to this day.

Being a sergeant-major he had no difficulty in getting me past the guards at the entrance of the camp, and I spent the evening chatting with Laurie and catching up on all the news. He had been slightly wounded soon after D-Day and taken prisoner. Because of his wound he was sent to a hospital in Paris, from which he and another paratrooper attempted to escape. They were soon caught and sent to Stalag VIIIc. I slept the night in Sagan and was brought back by the sergeant-major at 11.30am next morning.

I arrived back to find there had been a rebellion. Cpl Greenhill, a weak leader, had been rejected and Harry elected again. Two days later John was recalled to Sagan, but he did me a favour; he took a letter back for Laurie in which I was able to say more than in the official post-cards.

December 23rd: I wrote to mum: 鈥渕ighty preparations. In the centre of our table we have a decorated Christmas tree presented by the Germans, and all around people are mixing puddings. Mine has already been 鈥榯inned鈥� and I should be able to cook it, while on night shift, over one of the kilns. With some of the mixture left over I am going to bake a cake with the following ingredients: grated biscuit, stale bread, pinch of salt, sugar, egg powder cocoa, raisins, sliced up prunes, apple, margarine and syrup.鈥� A new German sergeant-major took over today. As a treat for Christmas we were granted Red Cross parcels : one between four. There was also a bulk issue of food.

December 24th: A carol service in the evening.

December 25th: 鈥楾ubby鈥� (he was very short and stout, one of my supervisors, sent in some cakes for me.
Lunch: Beef, soup, sauerkraut, potatoes, followed by pineapple, rice
and blancmange. A local baker sent in some rolls for us, and in the afternoon we went on another of our walks.

Main Christmas dinner: soup and a roll.
Rabbit (purchased with cigarettes), roast potatoes, carrots and peas
Christmas pudding with blancmange sauce.
In the evening there was a concert and a sing-song, one of the most remarkable sing-songs I have ever attended. The German guards put away their rifles and came and joined us, and we each sang our national songs in turn, accompanied by a piano-accordion. Then as a climax we all sang the carol 鈥楽ilent Night鈥� together each in our own language; it was a very moving experience to think that we could do this in the midst of a bitter war. This carol has been very special to me ever since. The sing-song was followed by a short service.

December 26th: Another concert in the evening. I was now coaching one of my colleagues, Rex, in German. We were given a three day break and went back to work on the 28th.

In the second half of December there was a lot of snow and it got very cold. I noted blocks of ice floating down the River Oder. At least I had a warm job.

1945 January 1st: Most of the workers had a day off, but I had to do my shift as usual. 鈥楾ubby鈥� my supervisor gave me a pfefferkucken (ginger bread or spiced cake). Most of my colleagues stayed up and sang in the new year, but I was sound asleep.

January 4th: Made some Apricot jam.

January 6th: 鈥楾ubby鈥� gave me some sausage.

January 9th: Today I was given a day off for having worked on New Year鈥檚 Day.

January 19th: Rutterford who was going back to the Stalag at Sagan took a letter to Laurie for me.

January 20th: The German sergeant-major gave instructions that we were to pack as much as we could carry, as we were leaving the next day. The Russian armies were of course advancing rapidly westward at this time.

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