大象传媒

Stefon Swerge's:-WW2:- a Pole.

Stefon came into our lives in an accidental kind of way. We had never met, but my mother had bumped into him, on a visit to one of her relations in Maltby, (She lived in a lock keepers cottage
on the Chesterfield Canal. Between Kiverton and Shireoaks. and we, at that time lived in a farmers Cottage in Lindrick Dale. Within sight and just a few mins. walk away from them.) and Stefon, a lonely sole, was not very happy with his life, and although mother new she would be having Christmas Dinner with us. She invited him to spend Christmas with us.

"Stefon lived in Poland with his parents, his father was a Postman, and he worked in an office, when
Poland was overrun by the German army, he told us the last he saw of his father and mother was them being carted off on the back of a lorry, and it was not long after that he too was picked up.
He finished up in Belson Concentration Camp, and was there until liberated by the Canadians, The guards had all disappeared, he told us, and no one was on the gates, every one thought it was a plot,
and if they made a move to the gate, would be shot. then a Tank rolled up and swung its gun around.

This is it, and he was sure a few of the inmates died of shock. Then the lid lifted, and a soldiers head poked causally up. it seamed to be quite a long time before both sides realised there was no danger.
Stefon said one or two more must have died with shear relief. There certainly were more past away
because of the generosity of the soldiers dishing out food to these near to death staved people, who had to be brought back with care, Soups and easily digested food, not loafs of bread and tins of spam. But none new of this then. Stefon. said a soldier offered him a cigarette, he had not had a puff for 5 years, he said he took a big drag, held it, Then blew it out, Heaven. He took another held it.
and passed out.
After a long time recovering he was taken into some army unit, I do not know which, but it aloud him to come and settle in England. He became a polish coal miner, and lived in a hostel in Maltby
and worked Landgold colliery."

Sure enough Stefon came across from my parents house on Christmas day 1949, and he really had a great time, he explained some of the reasons he was unhappy, and I said to my mother " You have a spare room, Mam, Why don't you let him live with you?" Ho Mishish, Would you Mishish. and she did. From then on he was known as the man who came to dinner. For he lived at Top locks with my father mother and Aunt Rosie, until Dad retired and moved to Anston, and after my father died, and after Aunt Rosie, then we were looking after him at our home in Maltby while mother was on holiday visiting my sister in South Africa, and he took ill, and passed away in Rotherham Hospital.

The parson called and asked for some information about Stefon as he did not know the man and so. At his funeral service the Parson opened his address with:- Stefon Swerge was known to the people who knew him AS THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER.

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