大象传媒

MY FATHER WAS L/CORPORAL ROBERT SMART, 2ND BATTALION KINGS ROYAL RIFLE CORPS, ARMY SERVICE NO 56843897.

ON THE 22ND MAY 1940, HE WROTE TO MY MOTHER FROM SOUTHAMPTON, SAYING THAT HIS UNIT WAS EMBARKING FOR BELGIUM/NORTHERN FRANCE AT 6.00PM THAT DAY. THIS WAS THE LAST MY MOTHER HEARD FROM HIM FOR SOME WEEKS, AS HE WAS LATER REPORT 'MISSING IN ACTION' DURING THE DEFENCE OF CALAIS.

HOWEVER, ON THE 26TH JUNE 1940, MY MOTHER RECEIVED INFORMATION FROM THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES THAT MY FATHER HAD BEEN WOUNDED DURING THE FIGHTING IN CALAIS AND HAD BEEN TAKEN PRISONER (POW NO. 13700). HE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TAKEN TO STALAG VIIIB LAMSDORF, WHERE HE REMAINED UNTIL THE END OF THE WAR. DURING THIS TIME HE WORKED ON A WORKING PARTY E42, BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS ENTAILED AND WHAT TYPE OF WORK IT WAS. WHEN HE WAS REPATRIATED AT THE END OF THE WAR HE LIVED WITH MY MOTHER IN LEEDS, WEST YORKSHIRE, WHERE I WAS BORN IN 1946. HE NEVER SPOKE OF HIS EXPERIENCE AS A POW, BUT I LEARNT FROM RELATIVES THAT CONDITIONS IN THE CAMP WERE VERY HARSH AND THE TRAUMA STAYED WITH HIM UNTIL HE DIED IN 1996, AGED 88 YEARS.

I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE KNOWN MY FATHER DURING THE TIME OF HIS ARMY SERVICE, ESPECIALLY DURING THE PERIOD SPENT AS A POW. ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED BE IT FROM ANY FAMILY MEMBERS WHOSE RELATIVES MAY HAVE BEEN IN STALAG VIIIB AT THAT TIME.

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