Prisoner of War 1940-1945 - by Lilian Tomlinson Hart

Tom joined the 1/5th Battalion Leicester Regiment in September 1939. He became friends with another volunteer by the name of Joe Tiffen, who was from Durham, but worked in Leicester. They were sent to Durham to wait until they were sent overseas. The conditions were so bad that Tom wrote to say "The lads wouldn't go on parade as they said they should have had a decent meal to walk miles on. Really the food isn't enough for a child let alone men"
However Norway was their next destination. It was a disaster. The troops were not prepared, they arrived without maps, guns, air or artillary back up and no suitable clothing for the climate.
At some point Tom hurt his leg, on finding himself alone he knocked at the door of a Norwegian families house. The family were regular listeners to Lord Haw Haw on the radio.
The Norwegian lady was afraid to speak to Tom but she gave him some food and sent him away. He was eventually captured by the Germans and along with others was sent in a cattle truck to Germany and on into a prisoner of war camp.
An escape attempt led Joe Tiffen into hiding in the mountains. He managed to obtain civilian clothing, made his way to the coast and eventually got home. He later lost an eye whilst fighting on the Western front.
Tom was sent to Northern Poland and was set to work on a farm owned by Germans. He was there for five years. When the Russians began to invade Germany the Germans drove the Prisoners from Poland to Germany. It was the 1,000 mile forced march, taking three months. They were rescued by the Americans in Hanover. On returning home Tom was exhausted. After a few weeks leave Tom was sent to the Isle of Man to look after German Prisoners, he found this difficult as he'd been one himself and knew how it felt. He was finally demobbed in January 1946.
The physical toll of the conditions during captivity and whilst on the march weakened Tom considerably and he died the following year from pneumonia, leaving his new wife and 10 month old son Andrew.

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