大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sam Thom of 大象传媒 Scotland, on behalf of John Borland and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

I was a private in the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, attached to the 51st Highland Division. We landed on the beach at St Valery, Normandy, on 10th July, 1940. There was great confusion and lots of gunfire from the clifftop (it turns out Rommels tank corp was stationed there). I met up with a corporal and we went to a nearby lighthouse for shelter. We were deciding what to do, but the corporal was killed by a shot within minutes. I had no food, water or ammunition, and had a wound in my foot. The next day, 11th July 1940, I was captured by the Germans and marched off with a revolver at my back. A piece of paper fluttered across my path and I reached down, picked it up and put it in my pocket. That night, before falling asleep, I looked at the paper and discovered it was a page of printed Bible verse. It became a window into my prison house. That night I slept as a prisoner of the Germans on top of the cliff. I never woke once although I was soaked to the skin when I did wake. The Germans lit a huge haystack and all us other prisoners stood around it to dry. There were about 300 men there in total, mostly Scots - though none of my friends were among them. That day my morale was low. Personally, I was ashamed - wondering what my parents would think.
I was was a POW for the next 5 years.
The printed Bible tract became my Bible for the next 5 years, and with it I managed to hold short services for some of the boys in the prison camps. I still have it today and would never part with it. I swore I would serve teh Lord if I got home safely. I did and always felt there was a guardian angel looking over me that day on the beach.

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