大象传媒

International Red Cross ambulances entered the camp on the evening of VE Day in order to evacuate the sick among us.

For several days a Padre had been endeavouring to make arrangements to have the rest of us removed, by paying several visits to the Americans over the border. However, no proper contact could yet be made owing to the fact that they were so inebriated and still continuing to celebrate the end of hostilities.In the meantime we wandered around and about to celebrate our new found freedom. We were also having extra food rations, because instead of the meagre amount given us by the Germans, we were now receiving the Russian allowance also, which per se was much larger than the German.

I came across a Czech woman weeping, so naturally I asked her the reason why and her reply was "They have just shot my husband" I then asked her if he was German, she said that he was, so all I could do was to leave her alone to carry on weeping and sobbing in peace.

It was alledged that the Russians had Germans lined up and the one in front had to dig his own grave, a shot would be fired and he would then fall into it. I did not witness this however.

A cow appeared to come from nowhere, was driven into camp and the cry went out for volunteers to milk it. There being no volunteers coming forward, it was decided to string it up and use as meat instead.

I once posed the question would we ever, after the war, come ascrss an airman who had dropped bombs on the Herrman Goering Works? By sheer co-incidence this came to be in 1948. All will be revealed at the end of this story.

The rest of us were being taken by American transport from Camp IVc on the 20th May. Prior to leaving, the Americans gave us some of their K Rations, which we had not had since leaving the battlefield at Sidi N'Sir on 26th February, 1943. They were also heard to suggest that we fly over Germany via Nuremberg, which sounded like sweet music to our ears.

It was however very sad to see on departing, the two white crosses over the temporary graves of those killed by friendly fire on VE Day. I believe that those temporary graves were later moved to Prague.

We journed through Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary) to Pilsen (of Pilsener Lager fame). At a stop enroute there was a sloping wooded area and suddenly a shot rang out, causing everyone to scramble for shelter, thinking quite naturally, that we were in an ambush. However, it turned out to have been an American Sergeant taking a pot shot at a rabbit up in the woods. For his stupidity he was severely reprimanded.

As soon as we had arrived at Pilsen we were seated on the ground and an American official strolling up and down, hands behind his back, proceeded to deliver the bottom line. He stated "Are we glad to see you fellows, we reached you in the nick of time. In our magazine 'The Stars and Stripes' a month ago,it was revealed that Hitler had given orders for all Allied POWs to be exterminated" This confirmed my belief whilst in Camp IVc that he would not have let us get away with it.

Apparently the intervention of a high-ranking official of the International Red Cross in Switzerland had stepped in and saved us by the skin of our teeth. My mind immediately harked back to the evening before VE Day when we had been loaded upon those railway trucks at Johnsdorf, then immediately sent back to camp again!

It was necessary for us to remain in Pilsen for a few days, owing to there having been bad weather in the Straights of Dover area. It had been rumoured that a previous 'plane load of POWs had come down in the area.

En route to Pilsen airport we passed beer gardens along the roadside, with umbrellas bearing the Pilsener Lager motif. Seemed to be getting much more like home now.

Our Dakota aircraft flew very low across Germany and we could see its shadow trailing along the ground below us and at not a very great speed either.It was not long before the pilot told us that we were now crossing the infamous Siegfried Line. Pity we had not the time in which to hang out our washing. The line was not visible, indeed very well camouflaged. I did however, think of the many times I played the tune prior to war, yet never thinking of flying over same, near Mannheim.

Rheims was reached on 23rd May,1945 Here we spent the night, but not a drop of the famous champagne though. On the following day we boarded Lancasters, which compared with those Dakotas were rock-steady and I would like to have gone around the world on one of them. They did not stink of oil as did the Dakotas, which nauseated many of us.

Soon after take-off the pilot very kindly asked us if we would like him to have a telegram sent to our relatives at home, from the 'plane. Very soon he pointed out a silver thread on the horizon - yes, the good old Straights of Dover, but we were very disappointed not being able to see any bluebirds thereover. Very soon we hit good old home soil once again - somewhere in Buckinghamshire.

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