- Contributed by听
- Essex Action Desk
- People in story:听
- Mr. James Pearce
- Location of story:听
- Poland
- Background to story:听
- Army
- Article ID:听
- A4362635
- Contributed on:听
- 05 July 2005
In 1940 I was taken prisoner, aged 19 in St. Valery in France, just outside Dunkirk. We were marched through France, then we were put on a flea-ridden filthy Barge. Later we were placed on a cattle wagon for a few days to Poland.
You couldn't open the doors, people were fainting, it was filthy.
In the camp there was a loaf of bread between five people & one cup of soup per day. We did snow shovelling, canel digging, laying electric cables, farm work and road work too. We were full of fleas and lice.
The last ten weeks were the worst. We marched 800 miles and didn't take our clothes off for ten weeks. We also had to sleep in the snow! The newspapers referred to it as the 'Death March' as so many people died and the Russian's were advancing.
We got released in Eldesein near Hanover by the Americans. Tears were running down our faces, we patted the Tanks, we were so relieved.
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