大象传媒

This is a short story of my late fathers experience of World War II.

His name was Ronald Albert Homersham, Ron to everyone who knew him. He enlisted at Herne Bay into the Buffs Territorial Army and was posted to the 4/5th Battalion on 24 January 1939, aged just 16. He was called up for service on 28 August 1939 and embodied on 2 September 1939.

As Private 6287458, he was part of the British Expeditionary Force posted to France on 19 April 1940. He was reported as a Prisoner of War (German), just a month later on 19 May 1940.

I have a postcard/photograph which he sent to his mother from M Stammlager XXID, Deutschland. The picture shows him in a group of 22 prisoners with a background of snow. His prisoner number was 4304, which I presume made him one of the early POW's. I know from research that this Prisoner of War camp was in fact in Poznan in Poland.

He told me very little about his experiences in the camp but I know that he was made to work and had an injury from laying railway tracks. Obviously hunger and lack of decent food made a great impression from little things he would say to me. When I complained of not liking things when I was growing up he would say, 'you'd eat anything if you were hungry enough'. Also 1960's TV programmes like Hogans Heroes, depicting a cosy life in a POW camp for American soldiers obviously annoyed him. He would laugh at the portrayal of German guards as being foolish.

In addition to the group photograph, I have two pictures of football teams in the prison compound. On the back of one is noted 'Fort Grolman Football Team 1943'. I believe that Stammlager XXID was called Fort Grolman. (If anyone can confirm this I would be grateful). I found a site on the 'net' which shows a picture of what appears to be the entrance to the fort. The picture was taken by A Lecomte who appears to have done some research into these type of fortifications. Also on the back of the card, written in pencil' are the names of towns and cities:- Mainburg AB, Munchen, Augsberg NW, Ulm, Stuttgart, Karlsruche, Heidelburg, Mannheim, Neu Frenburg, Linburg, Montabaum and Koln.

I also have a picture of a football game in progress. A corner is being taken and the goal, complete with nets, is being defended. In the background is a large 'hut'. I seem to remember my father said that he was standing in the doorway of the hut when the picture was taken, however the image of the doorway is so small it's impossible to identify him.

Another group photograph has the notation 'Room 24 Fort Grolman January 1943' It is a photograph of eleven British soldiers in uniform. Their details are recorded as L/C J Colman, H Lancaster, F Annett, C Bessant, Cpl Godley, R Goodge, J (T?)Packwood, J (T?) Parker, S Mourling, Allan (NFD) and W Arris. The photograph was taken in the open air with trees in the background.

The last remaining photo I have is of a group of fifteen in one of the huts which I presume is where they 'lived'.

My father told me that he was on 'the walk from Poland to Germany' and that he ended up in Landshut which is now a district of Munich. A conflict of information has arisen as a book entitled 'Prisoners of War British Army 1939-1945, has my father recorded as ending the war at Camp VIIIB, which was at Teschen on the Polish -Czechoslovak border.

However I rely on my fathers memories as I have a book of Landshut with which he returned from the war. In the cover he has written R Homersham, British POW, liberated by the 3rd American Army at Landshut on 1 May 1945.

Also he recorded the names of three of his fellow prisoners:- R Dunkley of Crayford, Kent, R Ferminger, also of Crayford, Kent and M Simmons of Capel near Tonbridge. I recently discovered that Mr Simmons visited my father not long before he died. I spoke with him and he confirmed that they were repatriated from Landshut and were flown back to England, arriving in Ford in Sussex. Mr Simmons is now 85.

My father was repatriated to the UK on 16 May 1945 and was posted to the 12th Holding Battalion and later released into the Royal Army Reserve. He was discharged, under the Navy, Army and Air Force Reserve Act 1959, on 30th June 1959, just over a year after I was born.

As previously mentioned, he rarely spoke about his experiences as a POW. Looking back with hindsight he obviously experienced a lot of hardship, after all he was held as a prisoner from the age of just 17 until 21 years of age. I cannot imagine losing this period of my own life. He told me of finding and swapping a German luger, complete with leather holster etc. for a pound of dripping, so much was his hunger. As a child I couldn't imagine this, and only thought of the excitement of having such a 'souvenir'.

He also came home to find that he had lost a dear brother, Archibald John Homersham. Archie was private 6291156 of the 1st Battalion of The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment). He died on 15 September 1944 and is buried at the Coriano Ridge War Cemetry in Italy. The cemetry contains the resting places of nearly 2000 who lost their lives in the allied advance in the Adriatic sector. Taking the Ridge was the key to the capture of Rimini and eventually the River Po.

Another brother, Bert Homersham was in the RAF and served with a fighter squadron alll over. I have a lovely group photograph showing him sat on the wing of a Mustang.

Well, I have no other information on Stammlager XXID. I hope someone may find this interesting. If anyone out there has any information I would like to hear from them. If anyone would like copies of the photographs I could e-mail them.

Tony Homersham

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