大象传媒

CHAPTER TWELVE
FREEDOM

This was our first really hot meal in 5 years. I and many others had been suffering with stomach disorders for some time and taking in this rich food was our undoing. I myself just collapse. I was already in a disgusting state but the Canadian Red Cross picked me up and took me to a temporary field hospital. From there it was a variety of hospitals until finally I was flown to England where I spent two weeks in a hospital near Liverpool. Eventually I was allowed home to Hunstanton on indefinite leave. To say it was strange being once again amongst your own kind is an understatement. Eating white bread though was a luxury, rationing I didn't understand it even though I had until April 24th 1949 to get used to it. But what a luxury it was to sit down and read an English newspaper. The war was still going on in the Far East and my heart went out to them.
After two months I went to a re-settlement unit where the changes in the British way of life were explained to me. There were all sorts of people there to help if you had problems at home. Stupidly I bluffed my way through the medical fearing that my stomach problems would prevent me from continuing good employment, I feel that was my greatest mistake since I have been troubled with my complaint ever since. I felt very fortunate, after hearing of others misfortunes as POW's after the war where prisoners finding their guards had deserted their posts they made their own efforts to reach allied lines only to be fired on by their own kind killing many before discovering their mistake.
Those poor devils who remained in Polish camps awaiting the Russians were even less fortunate where as far as the Russians were concerned every living sole was treated as being German and killed everyone irrespectively.

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