The National Ex-Prisoner of War Association
Autumn 2007 Newsletter
Residents of Stalag 383 greet their American liberators in April 45.
AUTUMN 2007
NEWSLETTER 
ASSOCIATION NEWS by Les Allan, President.
99 Parlaunt Road, Langley, Berkshire SL3 8BE. Tel/Fax 01753-818308.
Greetings to all members. As our editor puts the final touches to this newsletter the annual reunion is taking place at Hayling Island. If you have not been before I recommend that you sign up for next year as soon as possible.
We had planned to include an article on the unveiling of our Memorial at the National Arboretum on 21st July, but have decided to hold it over until the Christmas issue so we can reproduce the photographs in colour. You will not be disappointed. In the meantime we are including one picture of the Standards arriving, just to whet your appetite.
Due to problems with the Royal Mail again we only have a partial listing of donations and hope to include any we have missed in the next issue. We would like to thank the following for their kind donations to the welfare fund; Dr Robert Cowan £10, Mr Keith Killby £50, Kathy Salt £10, RAF Ex-POW Association £25, Richard Powell £15.
OBITUARIES. We regret to report the passing away of the following members; John Deverell of Auckland, New Zealand; Arthur Daw of Kings Lynn, Norfolk on 30th May; Eric Cattermole of Ipswich, Suffolk; Lemuel Bevan of Reading, Berkshire on 8th April; Wing Commander D H Bernard, MBE (RAF) in June. We will remember them.
NEW MEMBERS. We would like to welcome the following new associate members; Irene Osbourn, daughter of late member John Deverell; Roger Maynard in Australia; Pauline Bevan, daughter of late member Lemuel Bevan; Alexandra Lightfoot, whose father Fred served with the Green Howards.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
New Member Bob Cowan, the editor of the Scottish Curler magazine wrote in asking “I am trying to find out more information about Schloss Spangenberg (Oflag 9A/H). In a report in the Annual of the Royal Curling Club in 1945, a Lt Col Ian Barclay describes that many of the officers held prisoner therein were able to create a curling rink on the frozen castle moat and in the winters of 1943 and 1944 were able to play curling regularly. Apparently several pairs of curling stones were provided by the St Moritz curling club via the Red Cross. Can anyone add to my knowledge about the camp, the conditions therein and those who were interned there, especially Lt Col Ian Barclay?” Mr Bob Cowan, Skip Cottage, Wamphray, Moffat DG10 9NG.
Martine Knight, Marhaban, Clodgey Lane, Helston, Kernow TR13 8PJ writes in to ask “My late father-in-law was John James Knight - from Carshalton in Surrey - (Army number T/5733517) who was in the RASC as a driver. He landed in the Middle East on 18/11/1941 and saw service in Egypt & Libya before being listed as missing from 10 Coy, 7th Armoured division, at Tobruk, on 20/6/1942. He was captured on 21/6/1942 and his army records show that he was a PoW at Campo Concentramento 87 in Italy by 16/8/1942. He was transferred to Camp PG53 on 20/11/1941 and then onto Campo 48 on 18/9/1943. In December 1943 he arrived at Stalag 7a in Moosburg, Germany where his prisoner number was 125842. He was still there on 20/6/1944, but by 5/8/1944 he was at Stalag 11a near Magdebourg and by 17/10/1944 he was at Stalag 5b in Villengen. All this we found out after his death as he never wanted to talk about his war service. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who either remembers my father-in-law or who can throw any light on any of the camps/conditions etc or how the journeys between camps might have been made. Thanks very much.
Dear Sir, My late father Robert Baxter was a prisoner of war between 1940 and 1945. Dad was Robert Baxter, born 5 February 1921 in Galashiels, Scotland. He said he was a Sergeant/Armourer in the REME. He was captured in Belgium when the convoy in which he was travelling was attacked from the air and he was badly injured. He was left behind when the British troops retreated to Dunkirk. After being captured and receiving medical treatment, he was taken overland to Antwerp then by barge to Wesel on the River Rhine. He was then taken overland to a transit camp in Hemer then by train to East Prussia. He spoke of being in a camp in/near Dirschau(the German name of Tczew,Poland). He was a forced labourer and is supposed to have been incarcerated in a concentration camp for a time. In 1942 he was transferred to Stalag 383, Hohenfels, Bavaria along with other NCO's for refusing to work for his captors. He was liberated in late April 1945 by US forces and repatriated to the UK. He wrote a short story after the war about having being in Dirschau when Rommel visited. I don't know what rank Rommel was at that time but he was at the height of his popularity. I have been trying to find out the name of the camp in Dirschau for a number of years without success. Can you help please?
I applied for his war medals but was told there was no record of him. It is possible he gave false details when he joined up? Can you suggest any ways in which I can trace his army/war records. Looking forward to hearing from you. Best Wishes, Robin Baxter – address?
Dear Phil, I would be pleased if you could put the following request in your “WHERE ARE THEY NOW” column of your newsletter. My father Frank Alfred Arthur Howell served in the Royal Artillery with the 64th Medium Regiment in North Africa. On the 6th July 1942 he was reported missing, then prisoner of war in Italian hands, date and camp unknown. It was presumed he died whilst a prisoner of war on the 31st October 1942 and has no named grave. I would like to hear from anyone who may have known my father or has details of when he was a prisoner of war. Yours sincerely, Frank J Howell, 5 Hillsdale Avenue, Coromandel Valley, South Australia SA5051.
Mary Hunt, 79 Danebury, Fieldway, New Addington, CR0 9EW would like some information on her father Corporal Edgar Humphrey, RASC who was serving with the RAMC when he was captured in France in 1940. He was a resident of Stalag 7A, 8B and 21A. If you were in any of those camps perhaps you could drop her a line.
Richard Powell, The Old Church School, Talaton, Devon, EX5 2RQ would like to hear from anyone who knew his father, Corporal Denis Powell from 1st Battalion, The Rifle Brigade. He was taken prisoner at Calais and spent some time in Stalag 20A at Thorn in Poland. As the war came to an end he was moved to Stalag 357 at Fallingbostel. If you fought at Calais or where in either camp Richard would be pleased to hear from you.
Roger Maynard, PO Box 704, Avalon, Sydney, NSW 2107, Australia would like to hear from any British POWs who were in the notorious Naoetsu POW camp in Japan. Most of the residents were Australians, but it is believed some Scots spent time there and endured a series of harrowing punishments. Naoetsu had one of the worst records of any POW camps in Japan – 60 men out of 300 died as a result of their treatment at the hands of the Japanese guards, eight of whom were subsequently executed.
Alexandra Lightfoot, 29 Linden Grove, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, TS5 5NF is seeking information on her father Frederick James Lightfoot of the 4th Battalion, Green Howards who was captured at Gazala in June 1942. He was in Campo 70 from 9th December 1942 and moved to Campo 62 on 1st May 1943. He subsequently escaped to Switzerland and was repatriated on 3rd November 1944. There were two other soldiers with him at that time. If you knew Fred or were in either of the two camps please drop a line to Alexandra, who has joined us as an associate member.
TOBRUK 6th JUNE 1942 – THE CAULDRON.
John Dunn has sent in an account that his father wrote of his capture at The Cauldron – Tobruk 6th June 1942. Lance Bombardier Douglas Percy Dunn of the South Notts Hussars recorded the events in a note book following his capture and incarceration in Campo 70 in Italy. This was the battle of The Cauldron at Knightsbridge near Tobruk where the South Notts Hussars were surrounded by German tanks looking down on them in an area shaped like a cauldron. Any movement was spotted but the South Notts fought until their ammunition ran out. The regiment was virtually annihilated.
“JUNE 6th. Taken prisoner after terrific battle. Was in German hands about 16.30. Wounded about 5 minutes before action ceased. Very lucky to get away with only a foot wound. 17.30 hours and we had been moved by tanks to a concealed area of prisoners about 1 mile from Brigade position. Had been there about 30 minutes when we were bombed and straffed by RAF. I was laid on my back and luckily escaped further injury. Other chaps not so fortunate. Thought it a very bad shout by the RAF as everybody was waving hats & clothing to prove our identity. 19.00 hours and I was being loaded onto a truck along with more wounded and was rather dejected to find that I did not know anyone on the truck. Travelled about 15 miles and came to a German Field ambulance station. Here we stopped for the night and slept in between two motor ambulances, between which had been slung a canvas canopy. I was lucky to have a blanket with me. I was dead tired and spent a much better night than I thought I would. I had been able to get a couple of field dressings on my foot when we were taken P.O.W. and I was thankful as there were no dressings here.
Woke up next morning feeling hungry and managed to get half a British biscuit and a mug of water from one of the British medical orderlies. That was all he could afford. Nothing from Gerry. I had got about 50 Woodbines with me. We had just had a canteen issue on the 5th. But these did not last long as some of the lads had none at all. At 11.00 we were all moved about 100 yards away to await transport to Tmiri (?). Here it was not so good. A blazing hot day and no shelter. Still no food and very little water. 15.00. At last I got onto a truck with about 12 more. It was one of our own captured vehicles. A Chev. 30cwt and it was giving trouble. Followed the convoy for 1 mile and it broke down. Our hopes sank when we were towed back to the dressing station, but while the truck was being attended to, we were given a slice of bread, some jam and water. It went down well, but we were still hungry. At 17.00 hrs, we were moved off again at breakneck speed in a convoy of five trucks. Not very comfortable for wounded men. Cries of pain from all over the truck. We passed through a mine field and the truck behind us got blown up. This gave us a bit of a shaking, but we got through O.K. Shortly after this we caught up the main convoy, and continued along passing an area that was being heavily shelled by our own artillery and as night fell we stopped and dispersed. Here we were given some cold coffee & half a slice of bread and jam.
Spent a very miserable and cold night on the truck, as I had lost my blanket. We were supposed to move at dawn but did not move until midday. During the morning we got under the truck out of the heat of the sun. At about 10.00 hrs. Hurricane bombers dropped bombs on the area and set an ammunition truck afire 200 yards from us; bullets and other ammo was flying in all directions and it was not very pleasant to hear those bombs coming down either. We moved off at about 12.00 hours and after being chased half the afternoon by our artillery, we settled down to a rough ride again. We arrived at Tmimi (?) at dusk and dispersed for the night. We got 1 biscuit and some water here. It was as good as nothing. We were now very, very hungry. Spent another bad night.
Next morning on the 9th we moved off very early in a convoy of hundreds of vehicles. Gerry has no idea of dispersal. All the trucks were crowded together. Not more than 1 foot between each vehicle. Expected at any moment to see the R.A.F. come and have a good time. Had one R.A.F. scare but it came to nothing. Continued on a very dusty and bumpy journey and 16.30 hours found us about 50 miles from Denna on the main Denna road with the truck once more broken down, this time for good. Half an hours wait and we changed onto another truck, which took us, at express speed into Denna, and left us at about 18.30 in a P.O.W. compound just outside the town. Here we found plenty of water to drink and after we had been here about half an hour, we were given a loaf of bread & a tin of Iti. “Bully”. Gosh! What a feed that was. I never thought that beef in a small tin could taste so much like chicken. The loaf weighed about 1lb. and it all went down the “hatch”.
At last we had got hold of a decent meal but you can bet your sweet life it did not last long. Then came an ‘Iti’ Sergeant, who was only after what he could get for himself. I had no kit with me, except for that which was in my pockets. This consisted of a private wallet containing money, four photos and various correspondence including 2 post cards. One from Jean and one from Mother, both cards acknowledged the receipt of presents I had bought in Cairo and sent home in December ’41. I had also, a Jack Knife, Pay books, Souvenir Match-box case made in Tobruck, and various other bits and bobs. All these things were taken from me, despite my protests. The loss of my wallet and photos grieved me the most, but I could do nothing about getting them returned to me. I managed to retain the wrist watch I bought in Cairo on my last leave there. The only reason I was able to keep this I think was because at the time I was wearing it on my right hand wrist and he never thought of looking for anything on my right arm.”
Douglas later escaped from Campo 70 only to be recaptured by a female German officer who had a pistol in each hand! He was then transported to Stalag 4F for the duration, but escaped again at the end of the war with a small party of fellow prisoners, finally reaching the American lines. Sadly he passed away in 1968. Note from John - I recall Dad telling me that the order came for them to pull out and they attached the 25pdr to an ammunition limber which was in turn attached to a tractor. He and two other men sat on the limber. The tractor was hit by a shell and Dad was hit by a matchstick shaped splinter which went through his right foot and into his left. He thought his foot had been blown off. The two other men, who were actually further away from the explosion, were killed. He scrambled into a slit trench and shortly afterwards a German with a Schmeisser machine gun came and looked down on him but did nothing…
Residents of Room 13, Fort 15, Stalag 20A Thorn in August 1942. Tich Vincent is in the middle row, second from right. Do you recognize any of the others?
Membership Renewal. It is also that time of year when we remind members that their annual subscription due was due on 1st January. The cost is £5 for former prisoners of war and £10 for family and friends and for former POWs living overseas. We have managed to keep the subscription to this amount for eight years now. Please make cheques out to NEXPOWA and send to Les Allan, 99 Parlaunt Road, Langley, Berkshire SL3 8BE. For enquiries please ring or fax Les on 01753-818308. Members will receive four quarterly newsletters each year. If anyone would like any back issues of the newsletter please contact Phil Chinnery who still has stocks of most of them.
HISTORIANS NEWS by Phil Chinnery.
Contact details 59 Pinkwell Lane, Hayes, Middlesex UB3 1PJ. Email NEXPOWA@fsmail.net
RED CROSS REPORTS. We have copies of Red Cross visit reports on most of the Italian and German POW camps. If you are interested in a particular camp please contact Phil at the address above.
I am always pleased to receive photos for the newsletter, particularly if we can put names to the happy smiling faces. Taken at Bromberg (Stalag 20A) on 26th April 1942. Top row left to right Buckingham, Unknown, Dumo, Unknown, Moody, Jelicho, Binks, Unknown, Samuels, Newman, Hildrich. Third row Unknown, Masters, Fitzgerald, Wonacott, Brown, Chugg, Unknown, Cousins, Unknown, Unknown, Nesbitt. Second row Dungay, Cart, Tan, Ashdown, Heron, Vincent, Twyman, Benner, Unknown, Pantline. Front row Coats, Percival, Hunt, Wilson, Unknown, Hessman, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown.
BOOK REVIEW – AN ENORMOUS CRIME. By Bill Hendon and Elizabeth A Stewart.
An Enormous Crime is nothing less than shocking. Based on thousands of pages of public and previously classified documents, it makes an utterly convincing case that when the American government withdrew its forces from Vietnam, it knowingly abandoned hundreds of POWs to their fate. The product of twenty-five years of research by former Congressman Bill Hendon and attorney Elizabeth A Stewart. An Enormous Crime brilliantly exposes the reasons why these American soldiers and airmen were held back by the North Vietnamese at Operation Homecoming in 1973 and what these men have endured since. Despite hundreds of postwar sightings and intelligence reports telling of Americans being held captive throughout Vietnam and Laos, Washington did nothing. And despite numerous secret military signals and codes sent from the desperate POWs themselves, the Pentagon did not act. Even in 1988, a U.S. spy satellite passing over Sam Neua Province, Laos, spotted the twelve-foot-tall letters “USA” and immediately beneath them a huge, highly classified Vietnam War-era USAF/USN Escape & Evasion code in a rice paddy in a narrow mountain valley. The letters “USA” appeared to have been dug out of the ground, while the code appeared to have been fashioned by rice straw. Tragically, the brave men who constructed these codes have not yet come home. Nor have any of the other American POWs who the postwar intelligence shows have laid down similar codes, secret messages, and secret authenticators in rice paddies and fields and garden plots and along trails in both Laos and Vietnam.
Enormous Crime is based on open-source documents and reports, and thousands of declassified intelligence reports and satellite imagery, as well as author interviews and personal experience. From the Bay of Pigs, where John and Robert Kennedy struck a deal with Fidel Castro that led to freedom for the Bay of Pigs prisoners, to the Paris Peace Accords, in which the authors argue Kissinger and Nixon sold American soldiers down the river for political gain, to a continued reluctance to revisit the possibility of reclaiming any men who might still survive, we have a story untold for decades. And with An Enormous Crime we have for the first time a comprehensive history of America’s leaders in their worst hour; of life-and-death decision making based on politics, not intelligence; and of men lost to their families and the country they serve, betrayed by their own leaders. Published by St Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA and available in the UK from Amazon at £15.95 including postage. 587 pages with illustrations.
Note from Phil Chinnery; during my own research twenty years ago for my own books on the Vietnam war, I became convinced that Richard Nixon and his cronies were well aware that the North Vietnamese and their allies in Laos were still holding prisoners of war, pending the payment of reparations for war damage, agreed in writing by Nixon prior to his impeachment following the Watergate scandal. The money was never paid so the men were never released and every US President since Nixon has been aware of this. During my research I met the late Colonel Ted Guy, a US Air Force pilot who was shot down over Laos and taken prisoner. He was one of nine pilots captured in Laos who were passed on to the North Vietnamese and held prisoner in Hanoi. He was lucky and came home in 1972. Six hundred other aircrew shot down over Laos never resurfaced and if you believe the authors of this book, and I do, it is just possible that some are still alive and waiting for someone to bring them home.
Calling all Stretcher-Bearers, Medics & Doctors
NEXPOWA member and author John Nichol, who wrote “The Last Escape” and “Home Run” is writing a new book a book about medical personnel. He is looking for stories from all branches including stretcher-bearers captured in France and doctors or medics who were captured and subsequently plied their trade in the POW camps. Have you already written a book or private memoir about your experiences? Do you have a story to tell about your time as a medic? If so, please contact:
John Nichol, Kings Lea, St Johns lane, Great Amwell, Ware, SG12 9SR or email bloodbrotherswar@aol.com
Photo above shows ‘The Leicestershire Club’ taken in the summer of 1943 at Stalag 383. Do you recognize any of the men? If you do please let us know.
SAS IN ITALY. Gary Robbins is trying to find out more information about his father in law Sapper Frank Thomas Cook of 2nd SAS. He was taken prisoner in Italy on 21st October 1943 whilst on Operation Jonquil. He was awarded the Military Medal following his antics at Campo 53, 70 and 82. He was wounded and captured when employed on a special operation in the River Minochio area. About three weeks later he escaped from Campo 70 Monturano when RAF aircraft attacked the camp, but was recaptured by Fascists and sent to Campo 53 Macerata. Here an Australian who was working in the stores provided Cook with wire cutters; thus he was able to regain his freedom. This time he made France his objective, but learning that the Allies were advancing from Cassino, turned South, only to be arrested on 17th April 1944 near Communanza and sent via Aquila camp to Campo 82 Laterina. Although he participated in three tunnel schemes, all were betrayed before they could be used. When on 10th June 1944 the Germans evacuated the prisoners of war to Germany, Cook and ten others hid in the disinfecting oven, emerging when the camp had been vacated. Walking to meet Allied troops, he finally reported to an officer at Monte San Savino early in July 1944. If you were with the SAS in Italy or if you knew Frank, please write to Phil Chinnery, address above. Gary is also looking for a Private Fitzgerald who was captured at the same time as his father in law.
BOOK REVIEW – DARKNESS BEFORE THE DAWN. A diary of a Changi POW 1941-45 by Sgt J N Farrow. This book is a remarkable record of the authors three and a half years as a Japanese prisoner of war. Sergeant Jack Farrow of the Norfolk Regiment survived Changi prison while managing to keep a record of his time there. Sadly Jack died in 1992. During his lifetime he never gave any thought to having his remarkable diaries published. It was a personal tribute to those men he left behind in Changi Cemetery; a way of exorcising their ghosts from his memory. However, after his death the document came to the attention of the local museum, who suggested his wife and family approach a publisher. This book is the result. Jacks son Ian has edited and assembled his fathers papers into a fascinating account of patience and endurance. Against some of the entry dates are notes of the other wartime events that were occurring at the same time. While monsoon rains wash out some of the prisoners tents at Changi, you find that on the other side of the world the Normandy landings are taking place, producing an eerie sense of contrast and adding a strange poignancy to Farrows account of POW life. Due for publication in November by Stamford House Publishing, Remus House, Peterborough PE2 9JX. ISBN 978-1-904985-55-6. 460 pages, Softcover, £9.95. To order ring 01733-313524.
One of our associate members Kathryn M Salt is trying to find anyone who knew her uncle Gunner Jack Salt of Newton, Derbyshire. He was taken prisoner either in Sumatra or Singapore and sent to work on the Burma railway. He was often beaten because he was tall, but survived the railway and was sent to South Africa to recover from TB. However he died in Jo’berg in September 1946. If you knew him please write to Kathy at 82 Chesterfield Road, Tibshelf, Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 5NL.
Copyright National Ex-Prisoner of War Association 2007.
Printed by Vario Press,
Marish Wharf, Slough, Berkshire.
