dedication at the front of the book tells half of the story; "To my father,
Lemuel Bevan, and to 'C' Company, 1st Battalion, Kings Own Royal Regiment
(Lancaster). In memory of ALL who lost their lives in the Dodecanese campaign in
1943." The Dodecanese Islands include the household tourist names of Samos,
Leros, Kos and Rhodes and lie between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea. Crete
lies to the southwest of the islands. Leros is only nine miles long and five
miles wide. The capture of the islands had been one of Churchills favourite
projects since the start of the war. He regarded them as an approach to
south-east Europe, a base from which German communications and Rumanian
oilfields could be bombed and from which greater help could be given to Greek
and Yugoslavian partisans. Once the Allies had control of the Aegean they could
send supplies to Russia through the Dardanelles and thus avoid the dangerous
Arctic and Persian Gulf routes. Unfortunately the Americans thought differently
and would not support the plan. Churchill still went ahead with the scheme, but
used only a Brigade of troops instead of the required Division. The plan was
doomed to fail. With control of the air firmly in the hands of the Luftwaffe,
the Germans recaptured the islands. Pauline Bevan revisits Leros with her father
and tells the story of his experiences. Hardcover, 189 pages with maps and large
photo content. Copies are available at the special price of £15 from Pauline at
61, Park View Drive North, Charvil, Reading, Berkshire RG10 9QY.
SOJOURN IN SILESIA by Arthur
Evans, CBE.
This book is an account of the five years Arthur was
incarcerated in Stalag 8B. It is not one of those epic, gung-ho tales involving
tunnels, wooden horses and Great Escapes. It is a moving, yet vivid, account of
a quieter sort of heroism – perhaps one that most British former POWs will
relate to – of the day to day struggle to survive despite nearly starving to
death in sub-freezing conditions amid the cruel indifference of the German
guards. Arthur tells how he and his colleagues, with one sad exception, escaped
death in a pit explosion which killed almost 200 miners and of his connection
with the late Wing Commander Douglas Baders plan to escape by ‘plane from
Gleiwitz aerodrome. A long awaited book on a camp through which many thousands
of British prisoners passed. 89 pages softcover. ISBN 0-9516785-3-1. Copies can
be obtained direct from Arthur at Kyrenia, Bank Road, Aldington, Kent TN25 7DE.
Price £10 including postage
ROSSANO (An adventure of the Italian Resistance) by Major Gordon Lett,
DSO, FRGS.
The author was taken prisoner in July 1942 at the fall of Tobruk.
After fourteen months in the notorious prison camps at Bari and Chieti, he
escaped at the Armistice of September 1943 from the camp at Veano and took to
the mountains above the Cisa Pass, where he founded and led an entirely
non-political band of partisans, the Battaglione Internazionale. He became a
liaison officer of No 1 Special Force, SOE and twice crossed the lines. He was
the first Allied officer to enter La Spezia in April 1945, together with the
partisans. He was awarded the DSO for his services behind the lines and received
the Medaglia Argento al valor militaire from the Italian government.
After the war he was married in
1946 to his beloved wife Sheila, and they had two children. He returned many
times to the valley of Rossano, and his love for the region and its people
remained strong to the end of his life. He died at Guildford, Surrey in October
1989. His son and children often return to Rossano, and there is still today a
strong bond between many of those mentioned in the book and the Lett family.
Published in 2001 on behalf of the Monte San Martino Trust. Cost £10. Softcover
with 280 pages incl photos and maps. Order from the Monte San Martino Trust,
Cumhill Farm, Pilton, Somerset BA4 4BG.
THE JOY OF FREEDOM by
Eric Fearnside. With a foreword Clive Dunn OBE of Dads Army Fame.
Subtitled
‘A graphic account of life in a prisoner of war camp during the Second World
War, including some unique photographs, and a selection of humorous short
stories.’ Taken prisoner on Crete in June 1941 Eric was sent to Stalag 18A
Wolfsberg in Austria. Much of the book describes activities within the camp,
especially the theatre and its many productions, including ‘Hawaiian Paradise’
written by Eric himself. A performance of the most elaborate show ever put on at
the camp, took place on the football ground and took six months to prepare. The
extravaganza, named ‘Roman Holiday’ was followed by the handing out of
postcards and the invitation to send them to the regimental paymasters
instructing them to pay some of their accumulated credits to the British Red
Cross. The staggering amount raised was £32,000 pounds. Softcover, 142 pages
incl maps and photos. ISBN 0-9528664-0-4. First published 1996. Copies can be
obtained from Ian Brown at 22 Firs Avenue, Bebington, Merseyside CH63 3EU. Price
£5.95.
MILAG: Captives
of the Kriegsmarine by Gabe Thomas.
An excellent book which tells the
story of the 4,500 British Merchant Navy prisoners of war, survivors of more
than 200 ships who were illegally taken prisoner in direct contravention of the
Hague Convention. Held captive on Commerce Raiders and blockade running
supply-ships in airless holds, they suffered even more casualties when their
prison-ships were attacked by both the British and German Navy. Eventually moved
to Milag, a separate Merchant Navy camp in Germany, they were kept on a near
starvation diet from 1942 to 1945. Dressed in the rags of the clothing they were
wearing when they abandoned ship they were glad to be issued with blood-stained
Army uniforms. In the camps with the seamen were P.G.Wodehouse, Commandos from
Dieppe and St Nazaire, International Brigade Volunteers from the Winter War in
Finland and men from most Allied nations including Italians from 1943 onwards.
Hardcover, 310 pages incl photographs. ISBN number 0-9525498-08. Available from
Gabe Thomas, Tir Uchaf Cottage, Derwen Road, Alltwen, Pontardawe SA8 3AY. Tel
01792-865377. Email
gabethomas@clara.net
Price £15 including postage.
MOONLESS NIGHT by
B A
‘Jimmy James.
Any prisoner of war deep inside the Third Reich who
attempted to escape deserves the highest praise for courage and determination.
Remarkably Jimmy James took part in no less than twelve attempts, including the
Great Escape, which so angered Hitler that 50 of the 76 POWs involved were
callously murdered.
In ‘Moonless Night’ he describes
in the most graphic and gripping terms not only his own experiences and
emotions, both in captivity and on-the-run, but also the achievements of his
fellow prisoners of war. The Authors style is so disarmingly modest that readers
may find themselves almost taking for granted the extreme risks involved. After
capture, following the Great Escape, he and a small group of colleagues
experienced appalling conditions at the notorious Sachsenhausen Concentration
Camp. Yet they utterly refused to accept captivity even when recapture carried
the real prospect of execution. Indeed they were sentenced to death by Himmler
after a further unsuccessful escape, but this was commuted to five month
solitary confinement in the Death Cells. In the closing stages of the war, Jimmy
James passed through Flossenburg and Dachau.
In the front rank of World War
Two escape stories, ‘Moonless Night’ is an inspiring, exciting and utterly
compelling book which demands reading. Hardcover, published by Pen and Sword
Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS. ISBN number
0-85052-828-3. £19.95. 225 pages incl photographs.
POW
83 by John W Wallace.
I have received review copies of two recently
published books on the subject of the fate of Japanese prisoner of war transport
ships, many of which were sunk by the Allies. POW83 is an unusual title
for a book, until you realise that the subject of the book, John Mackowski, was
one of only 83 American prisoners of war to survive the sinking of the Shinyo
Maru on 7th September 1944. Taken prisoner on Corregidor, John
was imprisoned in Military Camp Number 2, Davao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands
from May 1942 to September 1944. In August 1944 he spent three weeks undergoing
punishment and starvation for an alleged violation of camp regulations.
Afterwards it was touch and go whether or not he would live. One month later he
spent 19 days in the hold of the ship before it was torpedoed and sunk by the USS Paddle, an American submarine. Amazingly he managed to swim out of the
flooded hold and get clear of the sinking ship, despite the attempts by the
Japanese guards to shoot the men as they struggled helpless in the water. John
swam three miles to the nearby island where he and other survivors were rescued
by Filipino guerrilla’s. Written by John W Wallace and published by The Gray
Rider Publishing Company, 143 Longview Drive, Chatham, New York 12037, USA. ISBN
0-9673733-0-1. Softcover 264 pages.
DEATH ON THE HELLSHIPS
by Gregory F Michno.
Although the Japanese treatment of prisoners of war during
World War II has been written about before, only with this detailed chronicle
will readers come to appreciate the true dimensions of the Allied POW experience
at sea. It is a disturbing story; many believe the Bataan Death March pales by
comparison. Survivors describe their ordeal in the Japanese hellships as the
absolute worst experience of their captivity. Crammed by the thousands into the
holds of ships, moved from island to island and put to work, they endured all
the horrors of the prison camps magnified tenfold. Gregory Michno draws on
American, British, Australian and Dutch POW accounts as well as Japanese convoy
histories, recently declassified radio intelligence reports, and a wealth of
archival sources to present for the first time a detailed picture of what
happened. His findings are startling. More than 126,000 Allied prisoners were
transported in the hellships with more than 21,000 fatalities. While beatings,
starvation and disease caused many of the deaths, the most, Michno reports, were
caused by Allied bombs, bullets and torpedoes. He further reports that this
so-called friendly fire was not always accidental – at times high-level
decisions were made to sink Japanese ships despite the presence of POWs. The
statistics led Michno to conclude that it was more dangerous to be a prisoner on
the Japanese hellships than a US Marine fighting in the campaign. His careful
examination of the role of US submarines in the sinkings and the rescue of POWs
makes yet another significant contribution to the history of the Pacific war.
Harcover, 365 pages incl photos and a very good appendix listing the ships and
POW casualties. ISBN 1-55750-482-2. Price $32.95. Available from Naval Institute
Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402, USA.
www.NavalInstitute.org
Tel 800-233-8764. Or in the UK from Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 47 Church Street,
Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2AS. Price £25.
A GALLANT COMPANY
by Jonathan F Vance.
On the night
of 24th-25th March 1944, 79 Allied airmen clambered
through a tunnel at Stalag Luft 3 in eastern Germany in the final act of what
history and Hollywood have dubbed The Great Escape. The culmination of more than
four years of toil, triumph and heartbreak, the escape was intended to cause as
much disruption as possible in Hitlers Europe. In this, the escapers succeeded
beyond their wildest expectations, but the escape sent shock waves through the
German high command that were to have tragic consequences. Sadly 50 of the
escapers were later recaptured and murdered by the Gestapo. This is the story of
that remarkable battle to escape from captivity. Built around a cast of
colourful and engaging characters from every corner of the world, it describes
their ongoing struggle to outwit their captors, the growing sophistication of
their escape attempts, and their ambitious plan to construct three huge escape
tunnels and scatter hundreds of airmen across occupied Europe. It is a tale of
ingenuity, perseverance and courage, and a testament to what ordinary men can
achieve in extraordinary circumstances. Hardcover, 329 pages with illustrations.
Published by Pacifica Military History of California at $29.95 and available in
the UK from Midland Counties Publications, Watling Drive, Hinckley, LE10 3EY.
Tel 01455-233747. ISBN No 0-935553-47-9.
CRADLE CREW
by Kenneth K Blyth.
For the past
50 years Ken has regaled his family and friends with many of the stories in
this book. They have enjoyed the wartime personal experiences of the ‘Cradle
Crew’ that flew the Handley Page Halifax bombers with the Royal Canadian Air
Force during World War II. His close friends, Cal and Bill Ollerhead, have
encouraged him to document those experiences, part of the nostalgia half a
century after the Big War: training experiences, raids over enemy targets,
being shot down over Germany, life in a prison camp, and finally release at
wars end by the Russians. Known as the ‘Cradle Crew’ because of their young
age, (the pilot and author Ken Blyth was 21 years old) they were one of 19
bombers shot down by the new ME-262 jet fighters of Jagdgeschwader 7 on 31st
March 1945. Shipped off to Stalag Luft 1 at Barth they were fortunate in that
the war had only a few weeks left to run before the camp was evacuated
en-masse by a fleet of B-17s. Published by Sunflower Press, ISBN No
0-89745-217-8. Softcover 197 pages, illustrated. Signed copies are available
for $25 incl postage, from the author Ken Blyth at 2116, Imperial G C Blvd,
Naples, FL 34110,
USA. Email
kennykeane@aol.com
SEVEN YEARS AMONG PRISONERS OF WAR.
By Chris Christiansen.
Translated by Ida Egede Winther.
Chris Christiansen joined the staff of the
Danish YMCA in 1940 and spent the next 8 years involved in prisoner of war
relief work. His book is divided into four sections; Part One describes his work
among Allied prisoners of war in Germany when he lived in Berlin for four years.
In November 1942 he visited Stalag 3C at Kustrin east of Berlin where 7,000
Russian POWs had just arrived. When he returned 3 months later half of them had
died from starvation or neglect. The YMCA was not allowed to provide medicine,
food or clothing, but they did provide musical instruments to some Russian POW
camps. It is interesting to read that most of the Polish, French and Belgian
POWs were released and repatriated early in the war or forced into employment as
civilian workers in Germany. When the war came to an end the Russian forces
arrived in Berlin and rounded up the many foreigners still in the city and
shipped them eastwards into Russia. Part Two describes the year that Chris spent
as a guest of the Soviets in Moscow where he staged his own hunger strike.
Thereafter he was sent to Krasnogorsk outside Moscow where he spent the
Christmas of 1945 in company with German POWs captured at Stalingrad. Eventually
he was allowed to go home and after a short period of recuperation moved to
Britain where a quarter of a million German POWs were being held in 130 POW
camps. Part Three describes his work with the POWs of the defeated Third Reich,
who never had to complain to him about the food or conditions in their camps,
indeed at 3,300 calories per person daily they were fed more than the civilian
population. In Part Four Chris goes to Egypt where the conditions under which
the German POWs were kept was causing concern amongst their own chaplains and
the YMCA tried to alleviate the situation. Hardcover. Available from The
University of Chicago Distribution Center, Billing Office, 11030 South Langley
Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60628, USA. Tel 001-773-568-1550. Price US$34.95 incl
postage. ISBN number 0-8214-1069-5.
ARNHEM DOCTOR. By Stuart Mawson.
A moving and riveting account of how a young Captain, the Regimental Medical
Officer to the 11th Parachute Battalion of the 4th
Brigade, 1st Airborne Division, was parachuted along with his fellow
soldiers into the hell that became known as the Battle of Arnhem. There are many
accounts of what it is like to be a fighting soldier in the heat of battle – but
few about what it was like at the sharp end of a medical nightmare where doctors
had to try and treat an endless stream of wounded men with inadequate facilities
in the middle of a fierce battle. Mawson, his sergeant and batman became
separated from their colleagues after they had parachuted into Holland on 18th
September 1944. In the confusion they fetched up in the dressing station
established in Schoonoord Hotel by Lt.Col Marrable with the 181st
Field Ambulance of the glider-borne Airlanding Brigade – where the arrival of
another medical officer with part of his section was more than welcome. In the
ebb and flow of a battle whose ferocity, a German officer told him, had never
been surpassed in his own experience even in Russia, Mawson and his colleagues
were captured twice by the Germans. In the end the Germans evacuated all the
wounded from the hotel and took Mawson as well as the German doctor could
communicate with him in French and he needed Mawson to persuade the British
wounded to accept treatment from the Germans. Published by Spellmount, The Old
Rectory, Staplehurst, Kent TN12 OAZ. Price £12.99. ISBN No 1-86227-088-0.
Paperback. 170 pages. Foreword by General Sir John Hackett.
FROM SICILY TO THE ALPS.
Written and compiled by Glynn B Hobbs.
The war in Italy has sometimes been called the ‘Forgotten Front’ of WWII, yet
for almost a year before the D-Day landings in France the only fighting
between Allied and Axis armies in Europe was in the beautiful but difficult
terrain of the Italian countryside. There some of the toughest fighting of the
war took place, which claimed some 250,000 lives. This book, written by those
who were there, brings the Italian campaign to life. The personal accounts in
this collection of 75 stories have been extracted from diaries and unpublished
memoirs as well as regimental and service magazines and other publications.
There is the saga of the soldier who was captured three times before finally
reaching freedom. Another escape involved the hijacking of an enemy aircraft –
perhaps the first hijack ever recorded. A snow patrol is described, as is the
experience of a tank crew during battle. First hand accounts of the battles at Cassino and Anzio are given, together with details of the first encounter with
a jet fighter and the shooting down of fighter pilots behind enemy lines. 259
pages. Softcover, with illustrations. ISBN number 1-875076-14-X. Copies can be
obtained from Mr Alan Smith, 131 Staunton Road, Headington, Oxford OX3 7TN.
Price £13 including UK postage.
THE HEROES OF RIMAU
by Lynette Ramsay Silver,
from the research of Major Tom Hall.
On 11th September 1944, the
British submarine Porpoise slipped quietly from Fremantle Harbour, bound
for Indonesia. It was carrying the 23 Australian and British members of
Operation Rimau, who under the leadership of the remarkable Lt Col Ivan Lyon of
the Gordon Highlanders, intended to repeat the successful Jaywick raid of 1943
by blowing up 60 ships in Japanese-held Singapore Harbour. None of these men
returned. For 45 years the truth about the operation has been shrouded in
mystery. Enmeshed in red tape, distorted by hearsay and covered up by
officialdom at the highest levels, the story of Rimau and its 23 men was all but
lost. According to the scant official history the mission was an utter failure.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. It has taken the combined
talents of writer Lynette Ramsay Silver and Major Tom Hall, who has spent 31
years in research, to overturn the official version. In so doing, they have
revealed a dramatic story of unparalleled courage and amazing tenacity. The
Heroes of Rimau is an enthralling tale of heroism and determination in the
face of overwhelming odds and is undoubtedly one of the most remarkable and
intriguing stories to emerge from World War II. Softcover, 314 pages with
illustrations. Published by Sally Milner Publishing Ltd, 558 Darling Street,
Rozelle, NSW 2039, Australia. ISBN No 1-86351-053-2.
ZWISCHEN FIKTION UND
ZEITZEUGENSHAFT by Barbara Stalzl-Marx.
This book tells the story of
American and Soviet prisoners of war in Stalag 17B Krems-Gneixendorf in
Austria. This book is probably the best that you will ever find on Stalag 17B.
It is well researched and comprehensive. My only criticism is that I would
have liked to have seen a detailed list of the arbeits kommandos which were
administered by the Stalag. Unfortunately, the book is written in German and
at present there are no plans to produce an English edition. If you were
there, or know someone who was, it is worth buying the book and learning
German or going in search of a friendly translator. ISBN No 3-8233-4661-X.
Softcover, 332 pages including photographs and drawings. Available from Gunter
Narr Verlag, Dischingerweg 5, D-72070 Tubingen, Austria. Cost DM96-
‘KILL THE PRISONERS!’
by Don Wall.
This is the authors sixth book and is a result of years of
research into the fate of British and Commonwealth prisoner of war in the Far
East. Concentrating on the RAF and Royal Artillery personnel who were taken
prisoner on Java and used to build airfields for the Japanese. The nine
chapters detail their movements to Kuching, Jesselton, Rabaul, Ballale Island
and Sandakan. One chapter covers the sinking of the prison ship Suez Maru
with the loss of most of the prisoners. It is a story of murder, massacre,
ill-treatment, cruelty and starvation. The cause of death of the men lost in
Borneo was kept from the next-of-kin at the end of the war. Now the truth can
be told. This book is excellent value for money with 392 pages including an 85
page Honour roll. ISBN No 0646-278-347. Published by the author and available
in the UK from Peter Moore Bookseller, PO Box 66, Cambridge, CB1 3PD. Price
£19.95 plus £3 postage. Tel 01223-240559.
‘PORTRAIT OF A NURSE’ by
Pat Darling.
When the Japanese took Singapore in 1942, 65 Australian
nurses were evacuated on the Vyner Brooke. Two days later the
ship was sunk by Japanese bombers near Banka Island and Pat spent 18 hours in
the water before reaching the shore. A Japanese patrol found some of the
survivors and bayonetted the men; nurses were ordered into the sea and
machine-gunned. Only 32 nurses survived the sinking and the massacre and eight
of those were to die in captivity in Sumatra before the end of the war.
Written by one of the 24 survivors this book is a timely reminder that where
war crimes are concerned, the Japanese did not discriminate between men, women
or children. 98 pages softcover, ISBN No 0-9585418-1-7. Contains photos, maps
and Honour Roll of the nurses. Available in the UK from Peter Moore
Bookseller, PO Box 66, Cambridge, CB1 3PD. Price £14.95 post paid. Tel
01223-240559. Those members living ‘Down Under’ wishing to obtain copies
locally can contact the author at 98, Darley West Street, Mona Vale, NSW 2103,
Australia.
COPPER WIRE by Robert Harding.
Robert was an RAF bomber pilot who
spent 3 years as a prisoner of war in Africa, Italy and Germany. On the day
that the Dieppe landings took place in Europe he discovered over Tobruk the
dangers of flying poorly maintained aircraft when one of his propellers fell
off and he found himself down in the desert, with a 9 day trek ahead of him
before the Afrika Korps picked him up. He spent time in the hell hole of the
transit camp in Benghazi before being transported to Italy. Ill-health meant
that he just missed embarkation on the SS Scillin, which was torpedoed by a
British submarine with the loss of almost 800 prisoners of war. First stop in
Italy was the transit camp at Capua, followed by a 175 mile journey to PG70
near Ancona. One morning they awoke to find that the Italian camp guards had
been replaced by Germans and soon they were off by train to Stalag 4B near
Muhlberg on the River Elbe. Over 100 pages are devoted to Stalag 4B and the
conditions there and experiences of the residents. This book should be of
special interest to the many relatives of men who were imprisoned there and
who are seeking information on the camp. Well researched and thoroughly
recommended reading. Signed copies are available from the author at 8, Trevone,
Herbert Road, New Milton, Hants BH25 6BX. Cost £12 including post and
packing. ISBN No 0-9538536-2-4. Softcover 182 pages. Profusely illustrated
with maps.
GREEN BERETS IN KOREA
by Fred Hayhurst.
In 1949, at the age of 17, Fred volunteered for the
Royal Marines. After 15 months recruit training, a commando course and
specialising in medium machine guns and mortars, he was given his first
overseas posting to Malaya. This was changed and he was sent to join the newly
formed 41 Independent Commando for service in Korea with the US 1st
Marine Division. They took part in the Chosin Reservoir Campaign and fought in
the battle at Hellfire Pass, which saw a number of them taken prisoner. These
men suffered privation, indoctrination and death during their long captivity.
One marine took advantage of the cease fire agreement and remained with his
captors. This is a long-awaited book that fills an important gap in our
knowledge of the conditions under which British units fought in Korea and of
the treatment of those who became prisoners of war. Softcover, 472 pages and a
bargain at £8.99. Published by Vanguard Press and available from Books4u
Distributors, Sheraton House, Castle Park, Cambridge CB3 OAX. Tel
01223-370012. ISBN number 1-903489-12-1.
UNSUNG HEROES OF THE ROYAL AIR
FORCE by Les and Pam Stubbs.
This is the type of book that Historians
yearn for and wish they had the time to research themselves. The only way to
describe the book in one sentence is to say that it tells you everything you
would wish to know about RAF prisoners of the Japanese. Les Stubbs was one of
the 5,102 RAF men who became prisoners of the Japanese in the Far East and he
has spent ten years researching the story. Two hundred of the pages list the
fates of the other 5,101 men, of which over 1,700 died. The first seventy
pages of the book explain in seven chapters, the circumstances by which the
men fell into Japanese hands. Hong Kong, Borneo, Thailand, Malay, Singapore,
Sumatra, Java are all covered. Even the RAF men serving behind enemy lines in
Burma with the Chindits are included. Work in the various camps is also
described, from the Burma-Thailand railway to mining, smelting, shipbuilding,
land reclamation and dam building. The movements of the prisoners from place
to place are covered in depth, with plenty of detail on the prison ships,
including those that were sunk enroute. A very comprehensive bibliography
lists the many books which have been written about Far East prisoners of war.
For those who would visit the public record office in Kew, there are detailed
instructions on how to decipher the Japanese POW record cards filed in
WO342/1-58. I am very impressed with the book and heartily recommend it. Les
and Pam - how about turning your hand to a similar book on the Army Far East
Prisoners of War? 288 pages, softcover, with maps. ISBN number 1-903172-21-7.
Copies can be obtained direct from the authors at 143, New Road, Bromsgrove,
Worcs B60 2LJ price £15 including post and packing.
ONE WAY FLIGHT TO MUNICH
by
Assheton F Taylor.
These are the personal memoirs of the authors experiences
during WWII, including service with 460 RAAF Squadron at Binbrook, where he
was posted as a navigator in a substantially Australian crew. Whilst on a
night raid on Munich in 1943 his Lancaster was attacked by fighters and within
minutes had exploded with four crew members, including the author, still
inside the aircraft. The book graphically describes Asshetons capture,
interrogation and life as a POW in Stalag IVB Muhlberg, followed by his escape
from Russian ‘custody’ and his crossing of the Elbe River to the safety of the
American zone on the western bank. Highly recommended and a must for any
former residents of IVB. Published by AMHP. ISBN No 1-876439-37-8. 273 pages
softcover. Price 33 Australian dollars (£9.90) from The War Book Shop, 13
Veronica Place, Loftus 2232, Australia.
www.warbooks.com.au
PRISON CAMP SPIES
by Howard Greville.
The author was born in 1917 in London. In his final year at school he was Head
Boy, top in school and Captain of the 1st Soccer Eleven. He became
convinced that German was the language to pursue and was rewarded with an
intermediate certificate for German from the Royal Society of Arts. It was a
fortunate choice as he was taken prisoner in Greece in April 1941. The book is
subtitled ‘Intelligence gathering behind the wire’ and this is what Howard
became involved in. Sent to a prisoner of war camp in Austria, he collated
military information gleaned from the observations of fellow British,
Australian and New Zealand prisoners and from their contacts amongst local
Austrians. Their intelligence material was then sent through secret methods
back to Allied intelligence officers.
118 pages, softcover.
Published by Australian Military History Publications. ISBN No 1-876439-12-2.
Price 22 Australian dollars (£6.60) from The War Book Shop, 13 Veronica Place,
Loftus 2232, Australia.
www.warbooks.com.au
A CONDUCTORS
JOURNEY by Major James Howe, MBE.
Jimmy Howe is a life vice-president
of the NEXPOWA and at the request of his many friends he has completed ‘A
Conductors Journey’. With 106 pages and 40 photographs he tells the story of
his fascinating musical life of over 70 years. He began by learning the piano
and playing the cornet with brass bands in north-east England in the early
twenties. Joining the Royal Scots as a band boy in 1933, he describes army
discipline and the pre-war pleasure of making music around the seaside resorts
which was disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Serving
in France and Belgium as a stretcher bearer, he was taken prisoner by men of
the German SS Totenkopf Division at the village of Le Paradis, and he vividly
recalls his experiences of the battle. His time in the prison camp was not
wasted. With musical instruments bartered from German guards, exchanged from
Polish prisoners and some provided through British Red Cross channels, he
formed a dance band which helped maintain the morale of British captives in
Poland and Berlin. After the war he was appointed Bandmaster of the Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders and in 1959 was commissioned into the Scots Guards as
Lieutenant Director of Music. Preparations and the work that goes on behind
the scenes of ceremonial occasions such as Trooping the Colour, the annual
Armistice Parade at the Cenotaph, and providing the orchestral music at
Buckingham Palace are recounted with a sense of humour. Retiring from the Army
in 1974 after 41 years service, his musical career took on another aspect.
Conductor with the BBC, appearances with leading symphony orchestras at the
Royal Albert Hall, then as an entrepreneur presenting massed band concerts at
major venues throughout the country. He now lives in Eastbourne where he plays
the cornet in local musical ensembles and conducts bands on the towns famous
bandstand during the summer. Signed copies are available from the author at
34, Pashley Road, Eastbourne, BN20 8DY. Tel 01323-640006. Price £9.99 plus
£1.75 postage.
SPICE ISLAND SLAVES by
Leslie J Audus.
The little publicised story of Japanese prisoner of war
camps in the Moluccan Archipelago (The Spice Islands) in Eastern Indonesia
from May 1943 onwards is comprehensively recorded in this book. This
chronological history has been compiled from contemporary diaries and records
from a large number of British and Dutch sources, including those of the
author. It is illustrated by 25 drawings of camp scenes and personalities,
maps, camp lay-outs and graphs. In those slave-labour camps on the islands of
Haruku, Ambon (at Liang) and Ceram (at Amahai) and during the final disastrous
attempts to return them to Java, half of the 4,110 servicemen (2,827 British
and 1,283 Dutch) were to die from starvation, disease, brutal thrashings,
executions and drownings. The multiplicity of sources ensure that there are no
significant gaps in the story which spans the time period from the initial
assembly of the drafts in Java to the final piecemeal return of the living
skeletons of survivors during the last year of the war. The tragic transit
camp on the island of Muna at the south-east corner of Sulawesi is fully
covered. 254 pages, softcover. Copies can be obtained from L J Audus, c/o L J
Clark, 5 Barrons Close, Ongar, Essex CM5 9BJ. Price £10.25 plus £1.70
post/packing. Overseas air mail £4.55.
A TERRIER GOES TO WAR
by Jim Roberts.
This is the true story of the experiences of a member of
the Territorial Army, or ‘Terrier’ from the time of the Munich crisis in
September 1938 until demobilisation in February 1946. Taken prisoner while
serving with the Queen Victorias Rifles in Calais in May 1940, Jim was shipped
off to Stalag XXA Thorn in Poland where he became prisoner of war number
10706. The general opinion was that those men who volunteered to work on farms
would be fed better than those remaining in the Stalag, so Jim went off to
Danzig to find himself on a construction crew. The book describes the life led
by the average prisoner of war on an arbeits kommando, together with Jims
attempts to escape and the long march back to the west as the war came to an
inevitable end. A very good book for associate members seeking information on
the life of the prisoners of war in Poland. Published by Minerva Press, ISBN
number 0-75410-257-2. Softcover, 172 pages with photos. Signed copies can be
obtained for £10 incl postage from Jim at Torrs View, Horne Park Road,
Ilfracombe, Devon EX34 8JT. Email
JIMDIROB@AMSERVE.COM
NOTIFY ALEC RATTRAY by Meg
Parkes.
Atholl Duncan had an extraordinary war, in that as a member of the
British Expeditionary Force he was evacuated not once, but twice, from France
in 1940. Employed as a cipher officer at GHQ Singapore, he fortunately left
before it fell to the Japanese in early 1942, only to be captured at Java
later in the same year. This remarkable wartime story tells of the privations
and emotions of an officer of the 2nd Battalion of the Argyll and
Sutherland Highlanders fighting and then in captivity in Java and Japan.
During that time, his fiancee, Elizabeth Glassey, was a final year medical
student at St Andrews University in Scotland. Alec Rattray, an old family
friend who had emigrated to California in the 1920’s received a coded radio
message about Atholl after almost two years of silence. Atholl and Elizabeths
diaries and letters tell a story that should not be forgotten. This is the
type of book that I like to see nowadays; there are photos, camp diagrams and
letters to complement the text and help portray the whole picture. Thoroughly
recommended. 196 pages, softcover. ISBN number 0-9541428-0-2. Copies can be
obtained from Kranji Publications, 34 Queens Road, Hoylake, Wirral CH24 2AJ.
www.kranji.co.uk. Price £10 plus
£2 post/packing.
DREAMS OF ACES by Colonel Harold E Fischer with Penny Wilson.
As an
only child growing up on an Iowa farm, Harold Fischer dreamed of flying. His
heroes were the aces of the First World War, and he dreamed of becoming an
ace. The Second World War ended before he could pursue that dream. But when
the dark clouds of conflict loomed over Korea he got his chance. On his second
tour of duty, strapped tightly into an F-86 Sabre, he became an ace in only 47
missions. He then became a double ace. On his 70th mission in the
F-86 he jumped three MiG-15s, downed one, hit another and fell victim to the
third MiG pilot. He became a prisoner of war in China. Had he not been shot
down, his colleagues believe that he would have been the top scoring jet ace.
When the Korean War ended, his POW status was changed to political prisoner,
amongst the first political prisoners of the Cold War. Finally released from
China in 1955, he returned to flying and finally a tour of duty in Vietnam.
His thoughts on that war are also included in this book, which is one of the
first to describe the treatment of prisoners of war on the wrong side of the
Chinese border. ISBN number 0-9711556-0-7. Softcover, 243 pages with photos.
Copies can be ordered direct from Penny Wilson, PO Box 856, Glen Rose, TX
76043, USA. Price to be advised.
Pennywilson@compuserve.com
168 JUMP
INTO HELL
by Art Kinnis. President of the KLB Club,
Art was one of the 168 Allied
airmen sent to by the Gestapo to die in Buchenwald concentration camp at the
end of 1944. There were 26 Canadians, 82 Americans, 48 Royal Air Force, 9
Australians, 2 New Zealanders and a Jamaican. All had been shot down over
France but had managed to contact the French underground. They were betrayed
to the Gestapo by a French traitor and were incarcerated in Fresnes Prison in
Paris. When the Allies began to close in on Paris they were herded into cattle
trucks for a five day trip into Germany. When they arrived at Buchenwald they
discovered that 37 agents from the Special Operations Executive had arrived
three days before them. One month later 31 of the 37 were executed by the SS,
the others escaping by the skin of their teeth. A couple of weeks later the
order arrived in the camp for the 168 airmen to be liquidated. Fortunately
they managed to get a message to the nearest Luftwaffe airfield and an
argument developed in Berlin between the SS and the German Air Force about
their fate. Finally two Luftwaffe officers appeared at the camp and escorted
the starving and emaciated men to Stalag Luft 3. Price $30 Canadian dollars
plus shipping. Order direct from Art at 3821, Synod Road, Victoria, British
Columbia, V8P 3X7, Canada.
ALL MY FATHERS
CHILDREN by Margaret Metcalfe
is subtitled ‘A Personal Journey’ and
tells the story of her search for the truth about her father Dougas Webster
Berneville-Claye. He is listed in our record books as Lt D W St.A
Berneville-Claye of the West Yorkshire Regiment, prisoner of war number 35300
and resident at Oflag 79 at Braunschweig. We believe he was serving with the
Special Air Service when he was taken prisoner in December 1942. What our
records did not tell us was that he later donned the black uniform of Himmlers
SS and was actually seen dressed as such on a railway platform by one of our
members. Margaret has gone to a great deal of trouble to discover the true
story. In her book she describes hardship and endurance, triumph over
adversity, love and betrayal, loyalty and friendship, courage and defiance as
well as treachery in wartime. She has had to confront and relive painful
memories from her childhood and was to discover fascinating and shocking
details about the handsome, but flawed character who was her natural father.
Self-published in softcover, 276 pages plus photo section. ISBN No
0-9542848-0-1. Copies can be ordered direct from Mrs Margaret Stoll at
‘Foxhaven’ 19 Rochefort Drive, Rochford, Essex SS4 1HT price £12 plus postage.
‘I REMEMBER’ by Stanley Rayner.
Stan was born in Selby, Yorkshire, the son of an ex-RSM who became verger of
Selby Abbey. He was working at Sainsburys in Kingston Upon Thames when war
came in 1939 and he joined the East Surrey Regiment. He fell in the bag at St
Valery on 12th June 1940 while doing his duty as a despatch rider
with 2nd/6th Battalion. Then followed the long trek to Stalag XXA
at Thorn where he became POW number 16953. Together with three mates he was
registered as a Harvest Worker and was sent on working party 365 to Burdins
Farm and Market Garden at Quadendorf. The camp was registered to Stalag XXB at
Marienburg and Stan spent the next five years there. Those who have wondered
what life was like on a farm in those days will not be disappointed. There was
even a farm dog, a beautiful alsatian which got on well with the prisoners but
had a severe dislike for the village policeman. On 17th February
1945 Stan was one of around
2,000 men who began the long
trek from Stolzenburg Camp to the west. They were probably the last POWs to
leave Danzig before the Russians arrived. During this chapter Stan describes
the joys of sleeping in a pig sty and his amazement at seeing a German officer
put in jail by an Oberfeldwebel for stealing his troops rations. On 2nd
May 1945 he was finally liberated by the Americans. A very good account of
the Other Ranks in captivity. ISBN No 1-873257-04-X. Softcover 215 pages with
illustrations. A bargain at £4.50. Published by Tucann Design and Print, 19
High Street, Heighington, Lincoln LN4 1RG. Tel 01522-790009.
DESTINATION BUCHENWALD
by Colin Burgess.
The summer of 1944, when Allied forces were sweeping
towards Paris, was the beginning of the end for Hitlers Third Reich. However,
for a group of downed airmen evacuated from Fresnes Prison ahead of the
advancing troops, the worst of the war was about to begin. In total 168 Allied
airmen, including several from Australia and New Zealand, were transported
illegally to the infamous Buchenwald concentration camp where they experienced
first-hand the black heart of Nazism. Miraculously they survived the order for
their mass execution, but not before members of their group had died through
starvation, brutality and neglect. The author, Colin Burgess, has interviewed
many of the survivors and carried out extensive research to create this
gripping account of the full story – from tense days in the care of the French
Underground through to the only recently resolved fight for proper
compensation. This book, above all, is a story of comradeship and the fighting
spirit among ordinary people in the face of tyranny and the most acute evil.
ISBN No 0-86417-733-X. Softcover 184 pages with illustrations. Published by
Kangaroo Press and available at 25 Australian dollars from the War Book Shop,
13 Veronica Place, Loftus, New South Wales 2232 Australia. Their website can
be found at
www.warbooks.com.au
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM by Tony
Johnson.
The author was a wireless operator/air gunner in a Wellington
bomber during the war. When he arranged to meet his new girlfriend, Joyce, he
could not have known that he would be unable to keep that date until the end
of the war. Shot down over Germany on his next mission, (16th April
1943) with 427 Squadron, RCAF, he parachuted to safety. In spite of a valiant
effort to evade capture, he was eventually apprehended and sent to Stalag Luft
4 and 6 to sit out the rest of the war. But Johnson had no intention of
remaining a prisoner and looked for every opportunity to escape. Eventually
that moment came and he was free for a short time before recapture. ‘Escape to
Freedom’ tells the story of his experiences in the RAF, his imprisonment and
the treatment suffered by him and his fellow prisoners at the hands of the
Germans, before he finally escaped and made his way home to England and to the
girl who had waited for him. Published by Pen and Sword 2002. ISBN No
0-85052-984-1, hard cover, 197 pages incl photos. Price £19.95. Pen and Sword
Books Ltd, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire S70 2BR.
Fred Kennington has sent in a
copy of FROM POMERANIA TO PONTELAND by Rudi Lux.
Subtitled ‘The Youngest Prisoner of War’ this
55 page softcover book tells the story of Rudi, who became a prisoner of war
at 16 years old. Born in Pomerania, about 140 miles north east of Berlin Rudi
was conscripted in the Spring of 1945 as the Russian advance came in his
direction. For six weeks he was a private soldier in the Wehrmacht, most of
that time following the same route as the Allied POWs heading for the West.
Eventually he was taken prisoner by the Americans and spent a year as a
prisoner of war, six months of which were at Fallingbostel. His opinion of the
place is much the same as the British POWs who spent time there. In the summer
of 1946, along with many other young Germans he was sent to England to work on
a farm at Ponteland. When he was discharged as a POW in 1948 he had nowhere to
go. His family was in what was now Communist run East Germany, so along with
40,000 other former German POWs he stayed put and became a farm worker. The
book describes his new life in England and his trips back to Germany. An
interesting perspective on life on the ‘other side of the fence’ and worth a
read. Copies can be ordered from Fred Kennington at 35, Corbar Road,
Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6EP. Price £5.50. ISBN 0-9526496-3-2.
THE LAST ESCAPE
by John Nichol and Tony Rennell.
At Last! Someone has told the story of
the Great March to the West through the winter of 1944-45. Often referred to
as the Death March, the result of Hitlers decision to prevent the liberation
of the majority of the prisoner of war population by the Russians and at the
same time to ensure a good supply of hostages should the circumstances demand
it. Most of the men were ill-prepared for the evacuation, having suffered
years of poor rations and wearing clothing ill-suited to the Siberian winter
that enveloped them. The German organisation for once, was not up to the job
and the men were forced to march long distances with little food to sustain
them. Some men had marched a thousand miles by the time Spring finally came
and with it, liberation by Allied forces advancing from the west. Medical care
was non-existent and frost bite and dysentery was rife. Many men fell by the
wayside and were despatched by a guards rifle, the snow soon covering their
lifeless forms. The authors have interviewed many of those who took part in
the march and pieced together the story which has waited for fifty-seven years
to be told. Heartily recommended. Published by Penguin, 80 Strand, London WC2R
ORL. Hardcover, 471 pages, ISBN No 0-670-91094-5. Price £20. Purchase online
from
www.penguin.co.uk
THE SHADOW ON MY EVENING
by Albert Miles.
Retired Royal Marine Albert Cox who writes under the name
Albert Miles, has penned a factual account of his time as a prisoner of war.
He was captured in June 1941 in Crete, transferred to Czechoslovakia and
following the Normandy Invasion was moved to Stalag 8A at Gorlitz on the far
eastern border of Germany. One of his most vivid memories was seeing a mass
grave containing 500-600 bodies, many of them women and young children.
Includes a good account of his release by the Russians and his journey back to
freedom. Published by Vanguard Press, 128 pages, price £6.99. ISBN No
1-903489-22-9. Paperback. Copies can be ordered through bookshops or from the
publishers online at
sales@pegasuspublishers.com
PRISONERS OF WAR by Hank
Nelson.
Subtitled ‘Australians under Nippon’ the book tells the story of
the 22,000 Australian service personnel, including 71 women of the Australian
Army Nursing Service who became prisoners of the Japanese. They were held in
more than a dozen camps scattered throughout Southeast Asia, including Timor, Ambon, Manchuria and Japan. Only 14,000 survived the brutal years at the hands
of their captors. 220 pages. Softcover, ISBN No 0-7333-0070-7. Published by
the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and based on Tim Bowdens award-winning
radio series of the same name. Available for $35 Australian dollars from The
War Bookshop, 13 Veronica Place, Loftus, New South Wales 2232, Australia.
Email address
warbookshop@bigpond.com
SPEEDO! SPEEDO!
by Bill Spalding.
Subtitled ‘To the limits of endurance,’ the book is a personal account of
working on the Thai railway. Great value for money, with 192 pages in 17
chapters, with many photographs and maps. Softcover, ISBN No 0-9540914-0-X.
Published in 2001 by Majic Ink. Copies can be purchased for £8.95 post free
from MM, PO Box 66, Manchester, M12 4XJ. Cheques made payable to Sirenstorm
Media. Or order on line from
www.amazon.co.uk at £9.99 plus
postage
ESCAPE FROM ITALY 1943-45 by
Malcolm Tudor.
Subtitled ‘Allied Escapers and Helpers in Fascist Italy’ this
book is a follow up to Malcolms earlier ‘British Prisoners of War in Italy:
Paths to Freedom’. Two in every three escapers and evaders who returned to
active service with the Armed Forces of Britain and the Empire before the end
of the Second World War came from Italy. In this book Malcolm shows the
crucial role played by ordinary Italian men and women in sheltering and
helping the fugitives under the noses of Fascists and Germans. Resistance
fighters also set up escape routes and passed the servicemen from one safe
house to another until the final dangerous crossing to Switzerland or through
the enemy lines. In liaison with the partisans, agents of British and American
military intelligence undertook dangerous search and rescue operations. Many
of these covert actions are described here in gripping detail. Published on
the 60th Anniversary of the Allied invasion of Italy, the book is a
tribute to the resilience and ingenuity of Allied servicemen and to the
courage and generosity of their Italian helpers. During the war, Malcolms
mother and grandparents assisted a group of British and South African
prisoners of war in the mountains of northern Italy. 116 pag
