大象传媒

Coincidence

Years after the war, Harry was working in a garage where they leased cars and drivers out - a kind of low level chauffeur service. A blind man came in wanting a car to take him to his wife's grave in Streatham and to pay the dues. Harry took the man to the cemetary and when they were talking to a man in the cemetary office regarding the dues, he told them that the blind man was lucky as his wife's grave had been safe although many others were blown up in the war. During the conversation, something cropped up that made Harry ask the man behind the desk if he were in the Coldstream Guards at La Madeleine. It turned out he was. Harry had been one of the people protecting them when they came back across the canal during the war. It turned out, he was just one of 10 men to make it back.

Wittengen

The end of the forced march was at Wittengen. The US forces gave the men 200 eggs as they had no provisions at that point. The men stayed in a local house. Oddly, the lady of the house was happy to have English ex-PoWs stay with her but hated the Americans. Harry and his friends gave the lady eggs in part-payment for staying with her and got her some milk and butter from the dairy and she made them all pancakes with blackcurrent jam. Harry remembers how great they tasted.

In Wittengen was a local baker who had refused to make any more bread as he did not want to help the Americans. This also meant that the locals did not get bread, this was especially needed at the local hospital. Harry and some of his friends spoke to the baker and asked him nicely to bake some bread. He refused. They said they would try and persuade him nicely and if they couldn't they would light the oven, get it to temperature and, if he had not made up the dough mix by then, they would put HIM in it!! He did not believe them so they did exactly as they said. When the oven was up to temperature they asked again and he refused to do anything so they picked him up and had his head in the oven door when he said he would make the bread! Funnily enough, he continued to make bread every day after that...

Harry remembers Jocky Caldwell was a butcher and they needed meat from the local butcher's shop. However, much of the meat was not good so Jocky used to make sure they got the best cuts. The butcher tried to overcharge them but Jocky would simply tell him how much they would pay for the meat and always pay no more.

Loading the Germans

The ballroom of the local hotel held German PoWs. The allies used to have to move them out but the Americans complained that they could get no more than 12 of them into the trucks as they would get in and space themselves out comfortably (unlike the way the allies were hearded into trucks when they were PoW).

Harry told the American soldiers to bring out 30 of the Germans. They said there was no point as they couldn't load them all in. Harry insisted and they did.

The first 12 got into the truck and spread themselves out as the Americans had said. Harry suggested they get ready to load some more in. He got into the truck and told the Americans that when the existing Germans in the truck moved forwards, to load some more in. The Americans said they would not move forward. Harry had other plans. He drove the truck forward a few feet very quickly and slammed the brakes on. The Germans in the back all shot forward and the Americans, laughing, quickly pushed some more in. Harry did that again until all 30 were loaded up tightly.

Here are the actual transcripts of some tapes that Harry has given me where he has recited his memories:

The Beginning

Six months away from home. I volunteered for the Territorial Army and commenced weekly training drills. Ex-Guardsman, namely Sergeant Grant. The whole platoon was pleased to work for him hard enough to win the small silver plated regimental badge. The Territorial Regiment that I had enlisted in was the 2nd/5th Batallion Queens Royal Regiment, 2nd Foot, affectionately known to other regiments as the Kirke鈥檚 Lambs on account of the cap badge being a ram carrying a staff.

In August 1939, we attended a training camp in Brighton, during which time Mr Chamberlain鈥檚 peace of paper which he waved declaring peace in our time was becoming more and more of a laughing stock and useless. On returning from this camp, I only just arrived at my home and greeted my wife when my calling up papers arrived and I had to report the next day to the local drill hall. So fate had decreed that my efforts to avoid being away against my will for 6 months was not to happen. I was in the deep end without even the training I would have had if I had indeed been conscripted.

I reported to the drill hall and I, along with others, was sent to guard the water reservoir at Odiham in Hampshire. After a period of two weeks we were moved to Farnborough Aerodrome doing general duties there and continued 2 hours on, 4 hours off for a further 2 week period. This does not seem to be a very pleasant way of gauging the discipline of Army life. However, after the 2 week period, during which I had learnt to make the most of Army food, it was at that time I was posted to a Regiment stationed at Aldershot, The Gordon Highlanders. This posting was due to the fact that I was a mechanic and this unit had just become mechanised and allegedly ready for action. They had Vickers 303 water-cooled relics from the previous war.

After a few days we were given leave of 48 hours. During this time a son was born to my wife and in fact just two days old when this leave was given. I had to tell my wife I was going overseas 鈥� she had been very ill at delivery. I had to leave in not particularly good spirits. I saw my son when I came home after 6 months in April 1940. I am sad to say I saw him no more until 6 years later when the war ended. I can assure anybody that this 6 years are the most crucial period of a child鈥檚 life and a long time to miss your child. I am sure that my relationship with my son was affected very much by those missing years.

Winter 1939-1940 was a particularly bad time to be in France, more snow than usual and billets that were a disgrace to humanity. Even when you were supposed to be out of action and resting, the time past slowly until May 1940 when the Germans started their Blitz Kreig and we moved into Belgium to a place called Louvain to replace the fleeing Belgiums. From there it was all rear guard action for Dunkirk.

I was amongst the unfortunate persons who was sent out to slow down the German鈥檚 advance. This allowed more of our troops to evacuate Dunkirk.

There have been films and books relating to action in Dunkirk and I am sure any member of this now are only war readers. The real hardships and yet after general fortune, surrender. [Unfortunately, next large section extremely garbled on tape]

PoW Life

Despite all this bad fortune, a comradeship existed which I had never experienced before. Men sharing with their comrade, crusts of bread which were a life-saver. Never given to us by the Germans but by the Polish people, who if they were caught giving food to us were punished most harshly, even to being shot. These crusts were given to those out on different working parties so until their return to the camp in the evenings, their respective 鈥榤uckers鈥� were not aware that they had food and yet they always waited and shared it with their mates.

We were lucky compared to the Jews. They were made to strip off all their clothes outside of the gas chambers, in full view of anybody watching, women and children too, and gassed. We saw many gassed and burnt in the incinerators in full view of any Germans during that period. [Next section omitted for personal reasons] You could smell the burning flesh all around. We went to these places and were stripped and our clothes put into the gas chambers for de-lousing. You were then given a shower and after the shower, we came out into this open sided barn, just a roof over a concrete floor and we went to a door at the end where there were two German women and they shaved every hair off your body. The most humiliating time I have ever had in my life. But we were lucky, it was only our clothes that were in the gas chamber.

We saw Jews and Poles going into the gas chambers and then the bodies carried out and put into the incinerators and burned.

An Escape Attempt

We tried to escape 7 times. One time stands out in my mind more than any other.

We had acquired identity cards and civilian clothing to wear over our battle dress. With the few hundred Marks we had obtained also, we travelled from a small village called Lindsey on a small cage railway to Danzig and after several changes and near misses, we had got close to the Swiss frontier. By this time, I suppose, we had lost a lot of the caution that the situation deserved and got a little careless. We made the mistake of lighting an English cigarette whilst waiting on the platform of the railway station. I must say that the German officer who saw us returned shortly afterwards with 2 German Army personnel and 2 Gestapo and challenged us by simply saying 鈥淵ou are Englanders鈥�. He must have been very observant. We were very foolish. We now had to walk back to the German camp.

Chicken Soup

There was one time when we Englanders were working on a state farm and we had, on this occasion, stolen two chickens from the chicken run. One of the German workers had then plucked and destroyed all parts that were not edible and we had also obtained some carrots and potatoes and had these all boiling merrily in the large jam bucket which was also used for washing our clothes, this was all happening after we had been locked up for the night, when, to our dismay, we heard the outer compound being opened up and voices exclaiming loudly that they had lost two hens and were sure that the Englanders had stolen them. The guard came into our billet, which was a disused cow shed that had been converted, but not before a quick thinking Englander had taken a towel and his shirt and stuffed it into the stew! They conducted a search and found no feathers, etc, and even looked in the washing. They went away quite satisfied that it must have been some other workers that had stolen the chickens. After their departure the towel and shirt were held over the pot whilst the ingredients were scraped back in and the food was enjoyed by all Englanders present. I fail to understand how they were so dim so as not to smell the cook pot. Our opinions of German intelligence were greatly reduced that evening.

Picking Apples

There were numerous laughable as well as sad happenings. A pal and I had broken out of the camp with the sole purpose of going to the orchard to obtain fruit. I was first in the tree with a small bag and a long piece of string, picking apples and lowering the bag to my pal on the ground, who was emptying it and then I pulled it back up to refill. Suddenly voices were heard and my pal moved away to safety but I was stuck in the tree. As the voices came nearer, they were German soldiers and their girlfriends and they stopped to do their courting at the very next tree to the one I was stuck in. I have never had to remain so still and in such an uncomfortable position for so long as at that time, I was indeed quite envious of the soldiers!

Christmas 1940

I was at Fort 13, Polish Cavalry Barracks, Thorn, Poland. Dinner menu for Christmas Day:

Boiled frankfurter
Hot sugar beet leaves
Loaf of black bread

One loaf was rations for 8 men per day.

This amount was to be rations for the duration except if you were unfortunate enough to be working in the coal mines where I learnt, from men who were in the pits, that they were 5 men to a loaf.

Working Party

Managed to move on from this hell hole by managing to volunteer to go out on a working party around April 1941. Moved on to Gardinia, renamed by Germans to 鈥淕od鈥檚 Harbour鈥�. From this camp went daily to the beach to drag out rocks to make the promenade from the bottom half of the docks to the bottom of the short distance of cliffs. Some people dropped a few sandwiches to us as they went along to work. If they were caught doing this, the punishment was extremely harsh so I think everybody should realise what a wonderful effort these people made, especially when they were on short rations themselves.

During the time at that camp, we had the dubious pleasure of erecting the platform from which the German top-notches would speak and address the German migrants and holiday makers. Yes, I did say holiday makers as there was a definite class distinction.

Supervising us was a Sergeant PoW from the Royal Engineers who instructed us if we were clever enough and followed his instructions, on the day of the dignitaries mounting this platform to speak, we would all have a very pleasant surprise.

We at the time did not know that the main person to be present at the time was to be the Fuhrer, Adolf.

We did get a surprise 鈥� the platform collapsed and we were of course punished. Satisfaction for a job well done.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.