Prisoners of War

My Father's Life in the RAF in 1941-6 and 1950-5

At that time the squadron was equipped with Hawker Hurricane MK IID's which was developed for low level...

My Story of Capture and Evacuation through Italy and Switzerland

When the Germans retook Tobruk, speakers were erected around the camp, and we got German music and Italian...

Anecdotes from Life as a POW Taken by the Italians

On Christmas Day 1941, the Italians took advantage of the festive season to rush us across to Italy in one...

Anecdotes from Life as a POW: In Servigliano, Italy

Building a Radio in a P.O.W. Camp - Part Two.

Long before we arrived at the camp, the prisoners, likewise the Italian sentries were staggering along like...

'The Will To Live': Chapter 21 - A Journey Into The Unknown in Steel Cattle Trucks

Although I cannot remember all I had at that time, I certainly had the following: bucket, a four imperial...

A View from a Stretcher: Cheshire Regiment in North Africa and Italy - and Life as a Wounded POW

By the time he was repatriated, shortly before me, we could converse fairly easily in a strange mixture of...

The Tragic Story of Lieutenant James Patrick Heenan (My Uncle) - A Victim of American 'Friendly Fire'

Mr. T.C.R. Harrison has handled the contacts with Mrs. Heenan on our behalf and I have appended his letter...

Colditz 1945: The Last Days

Colditz is a small town on the banks of the river Mulde, some 25 miles from Leipzig, and has a magnificent...

L/Cpl David B Murdoch: Lost In A Dry Land

The others had belonged to my grandfather who had served with the Army in India during WWI. Thinking back...

Escape from Poland

They connected the radio station and listened in to the news from Warsaw: they knew where the Germans and...

Eric Robinson's Story

Now in Java each little village has its own set of drums so they can pass messages to each other to tell...

Richard Bradley, Escape from Stalag VIIIB, Part 5 - Second bid for freedom

Somewhere along the line we were standing in a crowded carriage when a little Girl pointed at me and said...

Stalagluft III (Part 1)

To Milan and back in a Mark I Halifax For our first operational sortie we were given a very elderly...

The Long Journey Home: A Prisoner of War in Upper Silesia

Civilians lined the road giving them bread and fruit, and the Germans allowed it as they had no means...

Henry Dufour - American Ambulance Corp & RCAF to Concentration Camp

Whilst the Germans occupied his mothers homeland Henry found himself back across the Atlantic. Unlike...

Strabane Air Ace a WW2 Prisoner in Stalag Luft 111

In May Douglas was part of a bombing expedition to Maastricht to halt the German advance there and they...

Welche Nummer? (What Number?)

First to Stalag Luft VI, near Heydekrug, in the Baltic states, then as the Russians advanced so they were...

Heinz the Prisoner of War

In this afternoon atmosphere, attended by German prisoners while my parents slept, I sat on the floor by...

Shot Down - Hospital Life in Germany

I'd already learnt German and French at school — at Dusseldorf I got a big compliment from a...

Lew Kemp: A Country Boy. Service with the Parachute Regiment

During training a Sgt of the Para's came looking for volunteers, 3 mates and I volunteered when they...

Million to One Against Chance: Meetings in Capetown and London

Offering to take us on trips in the area, One day two mates and myself were offered a trip to the top...

Mum

Our world then was a happy place, we lived in a small weatherboard house in an inner suburb of Sydney. I...

The Sudden Unexpected Peace

In the evening of our first day ashore a British resident arrived from the civilian prisoner of war camp to...

Coalmining for the Japanese

Our job was to guard the front line in Siam, just waiting for things to happen, which they did, with the...

From Yugoslavia to Dukinfield

However, he and his men always retained their loyalty to King Peter and to General Draza Mihailovic, the...