大象传媒

At Dusseldorf station, the prisoners were pushed into wagons, which were overcrowded, and the doors locked from the outside. I travelled with one British officer and several other N.C.O's in a wagon which served as quarters for some of the guards. It also contained a stove.

We were given three quarters of a loaf of black bread, and warned to make it last for a possible journey of three days! A small amount of sausage meat and margarine was also issued. The train journey was long and monotonous, and lasted approximately 72 hours. We travelled via Hamm and Hanover to Fallingbostel in Northern Germany. We would arrive at Stalag XI B at 6 p.m. on Monday 29th January 1945.

There were some incidents on the journey. Part of the reason for the lengthy journey was because, on many occasions, the train stopped in out of the way places. The locomotive was uncoupled, and sped away to undertake duties elsewhere.

At one of these unscheduled stops, on a branch line near a small station, the guards made a proposition to my friend from Newcastle and myself. As the train slowed down, the guards had spotted a coal fuel dump nearby. We were asked to take a large shallow wire basket across to the dump and fill it with coal to replenish the rapidly diminishing stocks in the wagon. The reward for this effort would be one slice of bread each - which was very tempting. So we descended from the wagon and crossed some railway lines to the coal dump, and proceeded to fill the container as best we could with our bare hands. We were so immersed in our task it was rather belatedly, that we recognised the whistling sound, which was getting louder and louder, as the locomotive returned to collect our train.

Stumbling across the railway lines, we got near the train as it started to move off. The guards shouted to us to hurry or we would be left behind. We did our best, but were increasingly hampered by our load of coal. A concerted effort managed to get the container level with the open door, where the guards hauled it in. Now, it was our turn to reach up to the outstretched hands and clamber aboard. Exhausted, we looked across at the guards and asked for the price of our efforts. But they only laughed - they did not intend to keep their bargain. We were annoyed, but could do nothing about it.

On Sunday 28th January 1945, the train stopped at a station and the guards went to collect rations for themselves. Somehow or other we had held on to water bottles, which we gave to the guards, who promised to bring us some coffee. When we received the bottles back, I opened mine and drank - it contained water! Later on the journey, the same procedure was gone through, but this time, while the guards were absent, I rifled their packs, and took out odd bits of sausage and bread, which my comrade and I consumed. Later I was given back my bottle and took a swig of the contents. It was COFFEE!

We watched with some apprehension as the guards checked through their packs. Occasionally, they threw suspicious glances at us, but we remained solemn faced. They must have been in doubt themselves, as to whether they had finished their rations, and perhaps because they had just collected a new supply, we did not suffer any bad consequences of our rather naughty actions.

On one of the longer unscheduled stops, when the locomotive had disappeared into the night, I could hear from the open doors of our conveyance, constant banging from one of the locked and overcrowded vans. It must be understood and appreciated that there were no washing facilities on the wagons, and much worse, no sanitary arrangements. The guards knew that, at Dusseldorf station, I had been called forward by a fairly high ranking German officer, and appointed some kind of liaison contact between the guards and the P.O.W's. That was why I had been allocated to travel in the, less crowded and warmer, wagon which housed the guards.

I decided to use this uncalled for, and limited, authority to plead with the guards to open the doors of the wagons and allow the prisoners to stretch their legs and relieve themselves. Much to my surprise the guards did this, as if I had given them a direct order.

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