大象传媒

This story has been added to the people's war site by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Newcastle on behalf of MR Sample. Mr Samlple fully understands the site's terms and conditions and the story has been added to the site with his permission.

I joined the Northumberland Fusiliers on 16th October 1940 at Fenham Barracks, Newcastle. I did six months training.

On my birthday, 5th July 1940, a young girl came into my life. She was 16 years old, and we stayed together from that day till I left on 23rd March 1941. Now we were called the Horseshoe Draft, and on 24th April 1941 we marched down from Fenham Barracks with the band to the Newcastle Central Station. Later we boarded a troop train going north to Scotland.

That being my experience of Scotland, we sailed onwards on 26th March 1941, towards the Irish Sea, where we met the convoy.

A few days later we passed the Renown with the RAF on board. We just steamed ahead, blowing our sirens at them and waving. I could hardly read or write but I had been trying to write a page and a half to Edie, my girlfriend, every day. We could have been married but it was not to be. I told her how much I loved her, with all my heart and soul.

We moved on, and much later, woke up to find that we were in harbour. We must have arrived during the night: we could see the Table Mountain through the port holes, so we realised we were in Cape Town, South Africa. We stayed a few days, and while on land we were met by a Naval Officer who told us that we had to report back to the ship. They gave this message to other soldiers. When everyone was on board, the Captain explained why we had to cut short our stay: Rommel had broken through and was making its way to Benhazi, so we had to get to the Suez Canal as soon as possible.

A day passed and we were coming to Mozambique. We could see the outline of the African Coast and were full steam ahead in the Indian Ocean. Everyone was wondering what was going on as we were getting very little information. The ships were going full steam, the main ships well in front: the ones that could not keep up were escorted by a destroyer or a cruiser. Eventually we arrived at Port Tufic. We were called up early for breakfast and had to be ready to get off the boat, but we had to wait for the lighters to take us to the dock area. We were taken by truck to the Suez Canal area.

On 24th June 1941 we left by train just outside of the Blue Kettle, Ismaila. On 5th July I was in hospital for my 21st birthday, then on 7th, was taken to a place called Amiraya. After a while we were taken by truck to spend some time in Alexandria. We went to a bar and had a few drinks, then me and a comrade, Dan, went shopping.

Next day the Horseshore Draft were told they would be leaving for a place, little did we know we were going back to Alexandria.

It was early morning when we arrived at Tobruk Harbour where there were a lot of ships sank, one that was badly damaged, the ladybird, could still fire its guns. I was told that she could also fire a wire which would be tangled in the propellers of aircraft and pull them down; most effective against Stukas as they dive towards the harbour. The ship was guided in by someone with a small hand lamp, to be then taken down to bunkers inside the hillside. We were just settling down when there was a terrible explosion from a German gun.

As it got lighter, we were detailed to go into different companies. There was a truck to take us into the Torbruk area, then to our sections. Mine was near Fort Pilastria.

Shelling on both sides and Stukas bombing at times, one day me and this fusilier had been detailed to go to the book-house.

Well, this day, we went to get our food ration, tea and coffee, so we arrived there and stopped for a while; and said to this lad 鈥淚 am going now鈥�. He stayed a little longer, and eventually he came away, and I just took my time. He hurried and caught me up; we were carrying canisters, when all of a sudden we could hear shells coming towards us.

Next thing, we hear this explosion, they had hit the cook-house area, so we dropped everything and ran back, and when we got there, this lad, the cook, he had a lovely curly hair鈥� it was straight, maybe by fright, he was dead. This other fusilier had his brother in his arms and dying. He had a lump of shrapnel in his stomach, he was attached to the Royal Signals, they were both from Ashington, and the Sergeant was hit in his backside with a lump of shrapnel, this is the siege of Torbruk.

In Torbruck corridor, near one of the places we had taken the day before, next morning the Germans started shelling with 88 guns, and kept shelling. Then we saw vehicles, tanks had been hit, and they just stopped about 200 yards away from us.

Two days before I was captured, the Corporal came towards us, and he said to one of them鈥� 鈥渁re you married?鈥�. He said yes, the next one said yes, he came to me and 鈥渕arried鈥�?. 鈥淣o corporal, engaged鈥�. He said you will have to go; the communications have been taken out because of shelling this morning; two armoured cars are coming from the west, and are going towards our other section, on the other side of the Axis road.

So down I went first like a snake, and I went into shell holes, till I reached a bit of cover, and still kept low. As I was going over the Axis road, small arms fired. When I arrived around this corner going into this Wadi, there were bodies lying all over, some dead, some dying, arms, legs, bodies, it was an awful sight to see. So I just carried on 鈥榯ill I came to the section.

I could hardly speak, and I managed to tell this Second Lieutenant that 鈥渢here are two armoured cars coming in your direction鈥�. He said 鈥渋t is alright fusilier, we have knocked them out. They are making a cup of tea鈥� he said, 鈥渨ould you like one?鈥� I said 鈥渢hat would be nice鈥� but I did not say a word of what I had seen. I made my way back, and again did the same as I came down to this section. I received a letter this morning, and read it when I came back. It said 鈥測our fianc茅e is going around with a married man鈥�. I just put it in my pocket.

On the 30th November 1941 at approximately 3.30pm, we were taken by three German tanks on the Axis Road. That afternoon as we boarded a half truck belonging to the Germans 鈥� there were five of us. We were then handed over to the Italians at El Adern.

A few days later, 5th December, we received a card to say that we are safe. Then on the 8th we, along with the New Zealanders, South Africans and Cape-coloured, were put on this ship, the 鈥淛ason鈥�. The very next day we were torpedoed by an English submarine called the 鈥淧orpoise鈥� when we were about 4 陆 miles from land, about 3pm or 3.30pm. I was in the Number 1 hold and not many came out of there. I came up by rope later, but there was such a mighty bang, and that day was very stormy and the winds were very strong. On 10th December at 1.30am I came down the rope and fell into the sea. I went down once, then twice, and the third time I grabbed this rope and pulled myself onto the Greek shore. There were a lot of Italians waiting for us: it was a place called Piraeus. I was here for 9 days then went by truck to Patras where I was for 57 days. I was then taken to the docks and boarded a ship and went up the Corinth Canal. I stayed for 5 days with very little food. We moved to the mouth of the canal and stayed there for the night, then the next day moved on to Corfu. Still surviving on very little food, we went for a 5-day journey to Bari Italy, by which time we had no food or water. We landed at Bari, then were taken by truck to Brindisi, to a small camp where there were three wooden huts. On the third day meningitis broke out and 9 or 10 people died. We had to sleep outside in tents, then later were taken to a small camp outside of Bari where we stayed a short while. Back again to Brindisi, then eventually on 5th May 1942 we went to Camp 65 (a main camp) in Bari.

We received letters and cards to send home to say that we were safe. Breakfast was a small aluminium carton of cognac, either hot or warm; dinner was two small buns; at night time we got scilly (soup), small amount of carrots, house meat and spaghetti. This is what we got at the previous place as well, but not on the boat as on the boat our rations were cut. We received letters and cards from home as well as private parcels sent by our families or other means.

We left here and travelled by train to a camp in Rimini. The same day we arrived we received letters and cards to send home to tell about our move. We received Red Cross parcels again with the same kind of Italian food. Without these Red Cross parcels many of us would not have survived. We stayed here throughout June, then in July we were told that some of us would be going to a working party soon. A few days later our names were called out and I was one of them, so I had to leave all the lads I knew behind and would henceforth be on my own. At the end of the month 30 of us were taken by truck to Rimini station to get on a train. The train took us to a place called Bolzano in Northern Italy. When we arrived we were taken by truck to a fruit farm in a small village. We had travelled 12 miles from Bolzano. We stayed here during August. This was a lovely place to work: good food, plenty of fruit if you needed it. At the beginning of September, the 3rd, the Italians capitulated. A day later a German officer and guards came and took over. We were eventually taken back to Bolzano and taken to a marshalling yard. There were a lot of prisoners there waiting for a train to take us away. When it did arrive it was with cattle trucks. We received a round of salami which was to last us two days, with no water. They told us that we would receive this every two days, but not always.

Eventually we arrived at this camp after being on the cattle truck 7 nights and 6 days. After a few days we received one red cross parcel between two men, as here you get no breakfast, dinner time is three potatoes not very good, so hungry you just ate them.

Within a short time on our way again by cattle trucks, this time 6 nights and 7 days to Sagan Poland, this beginning October 1943. Again, this is the end of 3 times missing, as we receive letters and cards to send home to say we are safe and well, then by the end of the month we are detached to go on a working party.

30 people are picked to go, then later taken by truck to this sugar beet factory, we are doing 12 hour 'shifts', 18 hours from Friday 6pm till 12pm Saturday, you get soup around midnight, and midday only, again 3 potatoes but you are so hungry you eat the lot, some are not fit for the pig swirl. Twice I was hit over the head by a Polish guard within 6 weeks,

Then on the 5th January 1944 we were taken to this new factory in Malsk, a paper factory near Breslau. The first week for me in this part of the factory, which a huge concrete wheel, was to put papers and cardboard that people had brought from the other side of the factory, I was here a week, then put onto another job carrying bales of paper from wagons, and loose paper from trucks. We had to use wicker baskets, and they were heavy, the bales of paper were 80-100lbs, one man, then 110lbs two men and sometimes 120lbs, two men did this from say the 3rd week of January 1944 to July. Switched to another job, a wood log section, had to do so many yards long and many feet high in one shift, say 6.15am till 12.noon then from 12.30 till 5.30 - 5.45 it all depended as had to get our tea time meal before going back to the billet each day. In the morning coffee or tea, coffee made from acorns, and it was not too bad, but the tea was awful.

In September 1944 I had an accident when the wooden tressel which had a steel spike at either end fell on top of me and trapped me, when I was picking up the knife, and I had to shout, so eventually Taffy Walsh and three others helped to take the table off me, and carry me to this first aid place. When we got there, we only found crepe paper, and a wheel chair, so one of the lads took off part of his shirt to act as tourniquet, and put a piece of wood so he could release every now and again, they took me to the canteen, to see the German Sergeant, so I can be taken to see a German Doctor, and later when we arrived at this Doctors surgery, he looked at my right leg and put two butterfly clips in, then to the billet which was just along the road. The lads went back to the factory with the guard, then a few days later they got me up early next morning at 4.45am to get ready, as the Sergeant detailed a guard and two men, to take me down to the factory and I had to put hands on their shoulders and hop on my left leg, it took us ages to get there about 3.5 miles, passed Malsh-on-Eder and when I get there collapsed and they had to walk me back to the billet. This happened again a few days later. I was wheeled back again, then I had a word with the Sergeant, to see the doctor to take the butterfly clips out, but had to wait a few more days before seeing him. I had to go to Hospital Sagan for a few more days. I went by truck to Malsh-on-Odent, to go by train, and this guard put handcuffs on my wrists just before he came to the platform. We went into the guard鈥檚 van. We were quite a while on the train, eventually arrived. We had to wait till I got seen to. An orderly who was once a Corporal told me I should have been here before then. I told him that it took us a long time to get there, and he said I would see the Doctor who is a Frenchman. The Doctor came with the Corporal because he could speak French: he said to him, 鈥渢his man has been shot鈥�. However I had told him that I had had an accident at this Paper Factory. The Doctor went away and after a short while came back and cleaned my wound, then gave me a needle which he told me was penicillin.

On 8th January we started with 125 Red Cross Parcels on a large sledge. We started the Death March, and did 20 miles in the first few hours. We halted for a couple of hours and a German Corporal told us that the Russians are across the Oder, about three miles away. We had to do another 20 miles to get out of danger of the Russians, so we came to a farm.

The weather had been terrible 鈥� snowing all the time, our clothes were very wet. We were so tired we just got into the loft and fell asleep, till we were called up again early in the morning to get to our next farm.

We came to Luben, and my friend Robbie Burns was very ill with dysentery. Before we had started the march he had not been very well 鈥攈e said he wanted to go to hospital, but I said no, as the Gestapo and SS Troops shoot stragglers. I told him it would be best if he stayed with us, as George and I could look after him and take turns on the sledge.

At this farm there was a chap who had come into our billet on 12th July 1944, who said that he was with Hughie Green Band in 1938 but they sacked him because he could be called up for the forces, as at that time they were starting conscription. He was a lovely guitar player.

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