大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Pam Riding of Kirklees Libraries on behalf of Mr. Smithson and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

THE HUNGER MARCH FROM BANKAU TO LUCKENWALDE BY FOOT AND TRAIN
FRIDAY THE 19TH JANUARY TO THURSDAY THE 8TH FEBRUARY

19th January 1944 After the excitement of the last few days we at last moved from Bankau at 04-30hrs on Friday the 19th of January. The wind was very strong and the roads icy. We found it difficult to walk on the ice and I was very glad of my kit bag being free of my arms. I had in it as far as I remember, spare socks, shirt, underclothes, towel, soap [small piece], razor [a few blades we had sharpened on the inside of a mug], a little bread, [I never liked eating everything until some more food had been given us]. I think I had a "D" bar of chocolate. I also carried a New Testament and a shortened version of Pepys' Diary, my own diary, my mess tin, a mug, a table knife and a spoon. I may remember other things as 1 go along.

I was wearing, at the time, two pairs of long johns, two long sleeved vests, one British Army shirt, one pair of thin American Army issue socks and one pair of British Army issue woollen socks, boots, battledress trousers and jacket, RAF side hat which was opened out and buttoned under my chin over an Army comforter with a scarf round my neck. Over my cap and head I had cut up and re-sewn a pair of summer issue underpants, the remains of which 1 had sewn into mittens to wear over my gloves. I had tried to change my American Army issue overcoat for a British Army or RAF one but there were no takers. The British coat was much warmer than the American one, may be not so smart looking but warmer.

Approximately 1300 POWs had started out from the camp trying to march in threes but after forty yards we were slipping and sliding all over the place. We had to walk as best we could. Many chaps had tried to carry too much and the side of the road soon became the recipient of cast off goods. The column consisted mainly of RAF aircrew and maybe 50 glider pilots. We walked through Kreuzburg and again my diary records again how difficult it was to walk on the snow and ice. After Kreuzburg we continued to a small town called Konstadt and though there to a little village where we entered a barn for the night. We were very tired, as none of us were fit and all short of adequate food. The last ten kilometres I helped to push a dogcart; it helped to keep us on our feet and was a change from walking. The name of the village was Winterfeld. We had walked 28 kilometres. I was able to keep a record of the march because the names of the villages and towns were still in place as well as direction signs and distances in kilometres

20th January. Roused and on the way, no food, there no time hanging about but the guards have a job to get everyone on the move. We are tired and no one wants to go out into the cold. At last we are off and I find that once we are walking I become warmer although it is not enjoyable. We can not march in step. We just trudge along, each one, in some way turns into himself and there is very little chat.

We set off at 06-00hrs and walked 12 kilometres to a brickyard near Karlsrhue and spent the rest of the day inside one of the kilns. For the first time since goodness knows when, we were warm. The works were not in use but kilns take a long time to cool completely. There were a lot of wooden racks left about and it did not take long to get fires going. It reminded me of how we used to sit round campfires and tell stories when I was in the scouts. [The troop was run by Ralph Whitely Assistant Scout master and the Scout master Mr Crosland. It was attached to St. Stephens Church Lindley.] We rested and slept until 03-00hrs. Sunday morning

21st January. At 03-15hrs we were on the road again and trudged on and on an awful march under terrible conditions. Snow, ice and cold, men falling out on the way. We hoped, but were not sure, that a truck was following up to look after anyone too ill to walk. After 41 kilometres we were put into a barn near an unknown village and given a few biscuits, almost like dog biscuits. They may have been, as the dog handlers usually had a mouthful of dog food when they opened a tin of food for their dogs. We understood that we were likely to be there for a few days; we needed a rest. When we arrived we had turned out some cows and billeted down in their place. It was really warm. The idea of being there for a few days was terrific but as usual, armies do not work like that. In the middle of the night we were aroused and after a lot of bother, an odd shot being fired [in the air] we got moving. The time was 03-00hrs. The reason given for the move was that "Joe" was following up fast.

22nd January. Monday morning about 11-00 hours and we were in another barn close to a village called Schonefeld and not far from a larger town called Brieg that was shelled soon after we had left. We had only walked 15 kilometres and would have managed if we had had some proper food. We often mingled with German refugees as we walked and I still found it a sad sight. I thought at the time how desperate they looked and wondered how they would fare in the winter that was now upon us. Most walked alongside carts, some drawn by horses but most by hand. We passed one family as they tried to push a motorcar filled with their belongings. It was a pathetic sight as there was no way that they could save what were obviously their most important treasures. We had everything to carry but in most cases it was only what we needed to exist under the then present conditions. We still hoped that the war would soon be over and that we would return to our homes, in most cases, intact. I have just reread that last sentence and it has almost made me laugh as I remember my thoughts at varying times on the march when I was really very low. But, the war was not over! We were so tired that when we had a break often minutes in the hour which we had finally persuaded the Germans to agree to). Before lying in the snow we always told the men around us that they must not let us go to sleep as we might be left behind when the break was over. That would be fatal as there was no way that we could survive on our own.

23rd January. Left Schonefeld at nine and had a long walk of 25 kilometres to Wansen, a fairly large town. We had not had any bread ration since the start of the march and now our morale was getting low. There is a kind of soup kitchen with us but we have had only a few cups of very poor soup so far. This was certainly one of the low points of the march as the entries in the diary are very short.

24th January. The entry for this Wednesday reads. "Stayed to-day at Wansen. The M. O. is doing a great job but we are in poor shape."

25th January. From Wansen we had another long march [Probably not long if you are fit.] of 30 kilometres to Heidersdorf. We were dead tired but we got our first piece of bread, i.e. one third of a loaf. There was one interesting happening on the way here. We were walking along one side of a shallow valley when we saw another column of POW on a road on the other side of the valley. We could talk to one another by shouting and soon knew that they were from Lamsdorf, a much larger camp than ours in Upper Silesia, but some distance from Bankau. Shouting was our only connection.

26th January. Food was ever on our minds. The entry for this Friday says that we had two half cupfuls of soup and that we roasted some potatoes and they helped the inner man. Our morale tended to go up and down according to our own situation.

At that time we had no knowledge of the war and we could only think of what was going to happen to ourselves. The guards were not much better off as far as knowing how the war was developing. They were not much fitter than we were. Many of them were getting on [relative to ourselves] and any younger were not in the Al category.

27th January. Set off from Heidersdorfat 11-30 hours after hanging about for most of the morning. Had a very tiring march of 18 kilometres getting to Pfaffendorf about 17-30hours just on dusk. Orders were given that we were to continue the march at 0-30 hours tomorrow. Our thoughts were unprintable. I notice that food, tiredness, snow and cold are the major topics in the diary. I did remark that the countryside had altered and that there were more hills in the area. I also remarked that because of the hills and the snow, walking was being made more difficult than ever. Fortunately we did have a little longer rest having two hours longer than we had been told. I think that some of the Germans were also in a bad way and they needed a rest as well.

28th January. Where the knowledge came from I have no idea but the grape vine informed us that the prophet Nostrodamus had made a mistake and the war had not ended today; until then I had never heard of him. Apparently he foretold there would be a major war and that it would end today. This was Sunday and we set off at 05-30 hours doing 24 kilometres to Stamsdorf, passing through Schweidnitz on the way. Schweidnitz was the largest town we had seen, although, as it snowed all the way, we did not see much. The cold was said to be minus 20 degrees. The billets were in the various buildings around a farmyard and we were very cold.

29th January. Very cold all day. Expected to move all day and to set off at 17-30 hours and then have transport. Could we hope? We did set off at 18-00 hours but this march became a nightmare. We got caught in a blizzard. One of the guards died and we had no knowledge of how the prisoners had fared. Whilst we were trudging up a slope a German Officer's small staff car tried to pass the column but was unable to move up the incline. The Officer got out and in sign language and forceful German told us to push. We pretended not to understand and carried on walking. Out came the revolver [automatic]. We pushed. He did not threaten casually. At last we came to a village barn more dead than alive. The village was named Peterwitz.

30th January. Tuesday and we rested all day. There was no further news about transport. Stayed there all night as well. There had been a rumour that we were going to Sagan, the camp from which almost 50 POW had been killed after escaping.

31st January. First thing in the morning we learned that we were not going to Sagan as it had already been evacuated. The latest rumour now, is that we are to set off at 07-00 hours in the morning and walk 18 kilometres to some awaiting transport. My diary notes "Oh yeah!"

1st Feburary. Yes, we did set off at 08-30 hours and had a short walk of 14 kilometres and arrived at another barn. I could write a treatise about German barns. This one was about 6 kilometres from Goldberg. Here we were very crowded and had only one consolation and that was that being very crowded made us a little warmer.

2nd February. We had had so many false rumours that we were becoming despondent. I was feeling very low and had very little optimism left. I did say in the diary that "Joe" was only 60 kilometres from Berlin and that the war should not last much longer.

3rd February. Remained there all Saturday without any more rumours and no more about moving. I was still feeling very low owing to lack of food. I did learn that the name of the village was Prausnitz. Most of us just lay on the floor of the barn and talked about anything. Often too tired to do even that.

4th February. Managed some kind of wash under a tap in the yard of the barn and heard From the Padre that we were to have a service that morning as it was a Sunday. Two services were held, one for the RCs and another for the Anglicans and Nonconformists. Vic Cooper helped with the Anglican one and very uplifting it turned out to be. We sang "Jesu Lover of My Soul" to Hollingside and read the TwentyThird Psalm. The Padre gave a short address. Short but good! It was not possible to stand out in the cold for any length of time. The singing was surprising as very few were musical but at least we were enthusiastic. More rumours again. Germany is in a bad way and another surprise "We are going to leave to-morrow by train" The diary "Can we hope?"

5th February. Yes! We were roused at 04-30 hours and were able to move out at 06-30 hours after the usual waiting and shouting. Not from us, there was no hanging back. It was just breaking daylight and to me quite a shock as most of the snow had gone. The thaw had been very rapid over the past two days. We had had some bread and the starvation routine had eased. The walk was only 7 kilometres and we were soon at the railway station for a town called Goldberg. There the cattle trucks were waiting, just the same but this time we welcomed them and jumped in almost with pleasure. We were crowded but nothing like my previous encounters. I did not even count the number in our truck. It was uncomfortable but at least we could hope that we going in the right direction.

At 13-15 hours we moved off. The snow having gone, it was good to look out and see the fields, which were now green; most had been seeded and the crops had grown under the snow. Leignitz, was our first stop, where we waited some time. Away again at 15-50 hours and travelled through wooded country for three or four hours. The next stop was outside Sagan, this turned out to be for the night. The diary says it was uncomfortable. The wooded area did look gloomy and I can understand POW wanting to escape.

6th February. 05-30 hours and we were away arriving at Cottbus about 12-00 hours. The journey was frustrating as we had many long stops but at least we moved and were reasonably warm. Drew into a siding at about 17-30 hours and stayed the night. More binding and groaning. We should be used to it by now. The bread is getting low and some of the men are without any. I was lucky and had managed to keep a days ration in front of me. There will be no issue whilst on the train.

7th February Still in the siding and rumour has it that an accident is the reason or the hold up. At last we moved at 17-30 hours travelling through the night with many stops and passing through Falkenburg.

8th February. Stopped again and more rumours. First, this is where we are supposed to have been travelling to. Second, true but we are to move on as the camp is full. Third, truth at last, we are released out of the trucks and marched up to our new camp about three miles From the station. The town is called Luckenwalde and is about 60 kilometres S.S.E. of Berlin. Rumours still persist that we are here for only a few days but that is as maybe. As Asquith once said "We must wait and see." We have somewhere to rest with possible food. The conditions are not good being similar to Limburg but not so crowded. Most of the glider pilots were in the same hut but there were also many RAF. I have now teamed up with a Sgt. Observer called Norman Waller an ex-Police Sergeant of the Metropolitan Police. The numbers were around 300/350.

THAT IS THE END OF THE HUNGER MARCH AND WE ARE HERE
UNTIL LIBERATION AND THE END OF MY LIFE AS A POW.

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