大象传媒

The following story appears courtesy of and with thanks to Gyula Bagi.

We were shipped out to Ringway for our jump training
after which we were returned to Bulford where we remained till June 5. 1944
On June 6,1944, 0200 hrs.,as part of the British 6th Airborne Division,
we were planed and bound for France. Our instructions were to support the takeover of a telephone exchange
our approach of the French shores was met with heavy anti-aircraft fire
This and poor weather conditions may have been a factor
for when we landed there was only 24 of us that managed to get together
As it turned out we were dropped in the wrong place.
We were dropped near Pont L'veque, France
The next four days we spent trying to hook up with the rest of the group
but our efforts were hindered by German patrols, and by the end of the
fourth day, June 9,we were diminished to only three of us left
By the night of June 9 the three of us had been taken prisoner.
With our hands tied behind our backs we were marched to a cave
where we were held over night
I have recently found out these were caves under a monastery
just outside of Pont L'veque
The next day we were taken to a school in town where we were kept
for three or four days. During this time nuns took care of us.
From here we were taken by truck to Chartron then on to Chalons
where we were loaded into a boxcar with other prisoners.
On route our train stopped for and survived many airraids
finely arriving at our destination of 4B POW camp,in Muhlburg, Germany.
In Sept.,1944 we were moved once again, this time to
a labour camp in Longburg to work in the sugar beet fields.
We barely had time to settle in as we proved to be worthless at the task.
so, we were moved to Hanburg where we were used as labourers on a surface mine
and here we stayed until early May,1945 when we started hearing the sounds of Russian artillery
at which point the guards decided to take us out of camp on a three day march
as we soon learned, straight to the American lines where the Germans surrendered.
I enlisted with the Canadian Postal Core
in Saskatoon, Saskathewan in March, 1941
We were shipped out via the ship Rio Del Pacifico In Sept.,1941
as part of the 5th Canadian Armored Division
We landed in Liverpool and were transported to Aldershot
to be stationed with the Cape Breton Highlanders
In 1943 I transferred to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
at Bulford in the Salisbury plains

Continued.....
'This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by 大象传媒 Radio Merseyside鈥檚 People鈥檚 War team on behalf of the author and has been added to the site with his / her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'

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