大象传媒

(Continuation of A Rifleman: Captured)

The Jerries marched us away then (the Major rode in the Dodge) but I went back to the truck and collected my box of letters and toothbrush and toothpaste. We came to a Ford 8cwt. stuck in the sand and pushed it out, Williams in the process pushed an envelope of secret papers into the sand.

We were loaded into the back of the Ford, and taken for almost a five mile drive. Eventually we came to a place where three of our 3 tonners were, and from which petrol was being transferred to Jerry trucks. We got out of the Ford, and just then about twenty Hurricanes went over, and all the Jerries banged away merrily, but without effect.

We were loaded into one of the 3 tonners, and about thirty other prisoners got in also, so there wasn't much room. After a short while we set off, with one guard on the back who for some reason refused to allow anyone to smoke. Someone found some biscuits and cheese at the back of the truck, for which we were jolly grateful, as we had had nothing to eat since breakfast, and it must now have been around 3 or 4pm. We passed quite a lot of Jerry vehicles and tracked stuff, and at one point just before dusk their guns went into action and fired about five rounds at some vehicles which we could see on the sky line.

Just as it was getting dark we pulled into a sort of laager with all the soft skinned stuff in the middle and the guns and armoured stuff on the outskirts. It appeared that we were staying there the night, and the guard gave us the remains of his stew (which didn't go far among forty of us) and also gave us four tins of pears and passed his water bottle filled with coffee or tea several times.

We spent a most uncomfortable night, especially as a most detestable pilot officer and our own Captain took up most of the floor space, with total disragard for anyone else. We had picked up the pilot officer when the Jerry guns had gone into action just before dark: apparently he'd been brought down the day before, and had been travelling with the Jerry column.

Morning came, and we all felt pretty stiff. The guard brought us about half-a-dozen loaves of black bread, already sliced and reputed to come wrapped in silver paper daily from Berlin. The bread was delicious, and we were also given four small tins of some sort of red jam: inferior to ours, but good nevertheless.

After breakfast our truck went round the laager pulling other Jerry trucks to start them - many of their trucks seemed in a pretty decrepit state. At length we moved off for about a mile, and I was rather surprised to see one of our A Coy. 15cwts. with the black triangle sign on the door. We stopped soon after this, after passing about four huge guns, about 6" calibre I should think, probably the same sort of thing as the 105mm. used at Sidi Omar.

On alighting I found we were with another crowd of prisoners, about 150 in total, amongst whom were most of our C.H.Q., whom I fully imagined had got away. I was pleased in a way to see Bob Perkins, Charlie Morton, Alan Duke, Tommy Luxford, and one or two others. The C.S.M.and the Company Sargent were also there, but of the Major there was no sign.

I took a blanket from the 3 tonner as it was very cold, and I had no overcoat or groundsheet. Bob had nothing either, so we shared the blanket. The other chaps had various stories to tell, but fortunately the only casualties had been on my truck, and as far as we knew everyone else was unhurt. Most of the other prisoners were 'B' echelon men, mainly from the 12th Lancers.

We stood about for a while, and eventually were given a tin of some sort of meat and white stuff called Noodles - one tin between two men. Bob and I shared a tin and agreed it was pretty horrible, but we ate it thankfully never-the-less.

After this we were marched acouple of miles to a collection of Jerry vehicles, and stopped about 200 yards short of them, and just lay down on the ground and waited. Odd people had scraps of food, and these we shared out as best we could. Several Jerries came out from the general mass of vehicles to inspect us, and several brought cameras and took snaps of us, probably for propoganda purposes.

It was still pretty cold (although the sun was up) se we (Bob and I) got down under the blanket as best we could. During the morning about 20 Stukas came very low overhead, and the Jerries fired their usual white recognition flares, and stood on top of the trucks and waved. Soon afterwards all the Jerry trucks but about two, anda couple of motor cyclists (our guard) moved away and we were left on our own.

However, we were issued with the same tinned stuff that we had had that morning, but we managed to light fires this time with scrub, and the meat seemed a bit more palatable warmed up. After a while we saw a big Jerry column go past - Mark IV tanks, some light tanks, plenty of mechanised infantry and anti-tank guns, artillery, field kitchens and echelon vehicles - about an armoured brigade in all I should imagine. They disappeared in the distance (travelling Eastward) and just before dusk about six Jerry equivalent of 3 tonners came up.

On thing struck all of us about the Jerry vehicles, the total absence of camouflage, and dispersal. We were loaded into these trucks, and started off Westwards. In the back of my truck were all R.B.'s, with Captain plus the pilot officer. We had as escort - apart from the guard on each truck - two motor cyclist machine gunners, and a small 'volksvagon' sort of thing with an officer driving.

More than once we stuck in the sand (it was dark by this time) and we all had to get out and push. The pilot officer kept on about escaping, and at last talked Captain **** into it. At one point two or three of the trucks stuck in the sand and the others, including mine, went on about 500 yards before they decided to stop and wait. The bogged trucks were just visible in the starlight, and the motor-cycles had stayed behind with them, but the small car was up with us.

Captain **** asked for volunteers to overpower the guard and make off with the trucks. No one would volunteer, especially as the other trucks refused to have anything to do with the scheme at all. I'm convinced there was a chance of pulling it off, but it would have meant someone catching a bullet almost certainly, and also there was no set plan, and we had only Captain **** as navigator, and we knew he was absolutely incompetent, and told him so.
Had Major Clayton been in command we would all have hada try: as it was, we refused, and Captain **** has been very hostile to us to this day.

In spite of the discomfort I fell asleep for an hour or two and woke up as we stopped on the side of the road, at a sort of Forward Supply Dump place about 15 or 20 miles East of El Agheila. It was just getting light, and the guard and drivers gave us a few oddments to eat such as a couple of biscuits or a bit of chocolate, or whatever they could spare, but we had no set meal: we did however manage to get some coffee.

After breakfast (so called) we set off again, down the road towards El Agheila. We were a bit concerned about being straffed by our own Air Force, but actually we never saw a British plane the whole time we were on the road. We reached Agheila pretty soon, and pulled into the fort, which had obviously been rebuilt since we had sent patrols there in March. The fort seemed to have a very mixed garrison, plus a few Jerries, and the usual Italian soldiers.

We hung about in the approach to the fort for a while, marvelling at the varities of uniform in the Italian army, and then turned round and drove out again, back on the road, still going Westward. We kept on and on, passing quite a few wrecked trucks and graves at the side of the road, which increased our nervousness about our Air Force, but although we saw plenty of M.E. 109s on patrol, in our present situation we didn't mind seeing them.

At length we pulled into the side of the road at a Medical Dressing Station, where most ofthe chaps who had desert sores had them dressed. We had a drink of lemonade her, but still nothing to eat. After about an hour, to our great surprise, the whole convoy turned round and went back up the road at great speed. We reached El Agheila again, and after much parleying in the yard between the Italians and the Jerries we drove out again, back to the F.S.D. where we had breakfasted.

Between Algheila and this place one of the trucks broke down, and the two officers, a sargent and a trooper of the 12th Lancers made their escape - having no rations, water or maps! We wer told we had to sleep outside the trucks that night, the first since we had been captured, and we didn't feel very pleased as it was bitterly cold, and Bob and I had only one blanket betwen th two of us. However, we scooped a hole in the sand a nd lay down, but were roused almost immediately by demands as to where the two officers were.

There was quite a to-do when it was discovered they had escaped, and a search party was sent out immediately, while we were piled into the trucks and driven down to Agheila,and handed over to the Italians. We were loaded into two of the diesel trucks, and were so cramped that some people had to stand up all night. I doubt if anyone slept, that night - I know I didn't.

In the morning we were given a biscuit and half a tin of bully each, and proceeded on our way Westwards. We found some seats and managed to fit them up, and taht made things much more comfortable. We passed through Nufilla (?) and saw some Stukas on the aerodrome, but the day was fairly uneventful except that our driver hit another truck in passing and shook up a couple of the chaps.

Just before dark we arrived at Certi, where we were given a rough search, and then herded into a small stone floored room with just enough room for everyone to lie down. We managed to get some water after a while, but still we had no food. I was awakened by someone saying 'I think we had better take our stuff with us' and when I asked why I gathered that we were being taken out one at a time and searched and questioned - Bob had already gone.

It must then have been about 12.30am on 1st January 1942.

I was the next one out, and was taken acrross the courtyard to an office, where an Italian officer and two minions were waiting. Immediately they emptied my pockets, and I was asked what Regiment I belonged to, whether I'd been in France, my name, rank and number, and was told I'd been in Egypt almost exactly a year - which was obvious from my Pay Book. My letters, photogtraphs and other belongings were all inspected and given back to me, the only thing they retained was my Jack knife - the Italian seems to have a knife complex - perhaps it's the national weapon.

After leaving the office I was directed to a sort of stable place with a stone floor, open on both sides, where Bob and one or two others who had already been searched were waiting. The serching process was so slow we saw it would probably take all night to finish everyone, so we decided to try and sleep. We put the overcoat on the ground and lay down with the blanket over us, and I was so tired I went to sleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, just after daybreak, the last of the prisoners was just being searched, so we got up and waited to see what was going to happen. After about a couple of hours we were lined up and given tow biscuits and one tin of bully. I think most of us ate a biscuit and the bully right away we were so hungry. We waited for about another hour, andthen were taken to a couple of diesel trucks, one of which was open and pulled a trailer. Bob and I were unfortunate enough to be loaded onto the open truck, it was very cold and windy. We followed the coast road all that day, and it was the coldest ride I've ever had - we just huddled together as best we could and shivered.

Eventually, just before it got dark we arrived ar Misurata and here we were put in queer little houses, each holding about a dozen blokes. We were given half a fair sized loaf, half a tin of bully, and a lemon. We didn't slep very well - it was very cold, and there was an air raid alarm, but I heard no bombs dropped. In the morning we set of again on the diesel trrucks, still on the Tripoli road. It was still pretty cold, but not half as bad as the day before.

About 30 miles short of Tripoli we forked left, off the main coast road, and travelled up a narrow, winding mountainous road. The country all round was very bleak, and the road wound round among quite high hills, very rocky in places, with reddish brown earth in other places pretty well cultivated here and ther with what I took to be olive trees. We passed a few farmhouses, of the usual Italian type, and after a while arrived at a collection of white buildings, which we learned was a village called Tarhuna.

Our trucks turned off the road, and we were in our first prison camp. At first sight it looked quite decent - , not bad buildings, only about one strand of barbed wire round the place. We got down from the trucks, and went through the wire barrier, and I was picked to help issue blankets. The bloke - a broken down looking Italian soldier who spoke very good American and who acted as interpreter, apologised for only giving us four blankets, and we though that wasn't so bad. However, the blankets were tiny things, about five feet long and very thin.

The dormitory, or barrack room was about 150 yards long, paved with tiles (red) and had coat racks right down the middle. We were issued a sort of rush mat to lie on, and that was all the furniture there was. We all bagged places against the wall, to sleep, and hung about reading the names written on the white walls in pencil of all the other unfortunates who had spent time there.

The rest of the afternoon we spent having all our hair cut off - I thought he'd taken my scalp off when I saw all my hair on the ground - and filling in confirming our parent's names, where we were captured, and suchlike details. About five o'clock we weere given a biscuit and a tin of bully, and then shut in our room for the night. There were no lights, so as soon as it wasdark we went to bed. I made the usual sort of bed that I made in the desert with my four blankets, but I had to get up about four times during the night as it came to pieces, the blankets were so small and thin, and was the floor hard!

We did very little the next day, except clean the place out, and fill in Red Cross cards, but we had our first taste of the Tarhuna so-called food. Ar about eight o'clock we had about a quarter of a pint of luke-warm coffee, after standing about in the cold waiting to be counted for about an hour. This was a regular feature of coffee and soup time, at night, and the old commandant seemed to be absolutely incapable of counting any more than ten, and we were usually counted (about 200 of us) about four times, and there was a lot of arguement betwen him and the N.C.O.s before he was satisfied.

At half-past-eleven we were given two rolls (brown, and very tasty) and a ladle of macaroni and beans, or just macaroni, or just beans - it varied. About 5 o'clock we had a ladle of so-called soup - just hot water with a little grease floating on the top, and a piece of meat - or rather a scrap of meat sometimes absolutely uneatable - but it had to be bad to be taht for us.

We did nothing at Tarhuna but sit around in the sun when it was out, or walk around to keep warm when it wasn't.

(To be continued)

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