A Glider Pilot's Story - continued (27)

CHAPTER 27

Those prisoners who had waited at Luft One were amply rewarded for their patience. From the actual liberation of the camp to the arrival of the last load at R.A.F. Ford, only 14 days had elapsed, and for the majority it had been no more than 13 days. I doubt if any could find praise enough to do justice to the organisation, co-operation, and efforts of those responsible for our return to the UK. Our reception also could have asked for no more. As we left the aircraft at the perimeter track, we were asked to go through a tent where we had a dose of delousing powder squirted down our shirts. Then we were taken to the NAAFI which had been organised to deal with everybody smoothly. A voice over the tannoy advised everyone which window to report to when we had finished our refreshment. After much admired white bread, sandwiches and cakes, Phil and I reported. In less than ten minutes we were in a lorry on the way to a tented camp set up in a village some ten miles away. Here we were taken to a marquee type tent which had eight beds already prepared. There was also an orderly whose task was to make arrangements so that we could be guided through each stage of our processing without delay or frustration. The result was that by five minutes to six, Phil and I were standing outside the village pub waiting for it to open. Before this we had already sent home telegrams; received a kit issue; had a meal; showered; changed into new uniforms; had stripes and flashes sewn on by the local W.V.S.; filled in debriefing forms; been paid; and been medically and dentally inspected. There were still a few more formalities to be completed but early in the morning we were taken to Horsham station complete with kit, ration cards, and travel warrants, so that I arrived at my home in Manchester that same afternoon. On the journey from London I shared a compartment with another Glider Pilot who had been repatriated from another camp. He was a member of my own squadron, Staff-Sergeant Alan Cram, and he came from Salford.

In this narrative, I have largely drawn from my own experience without the addition of researched material which though relevant would have interrupted the flow. There are one or two exceptions and of course the previous chapter is a mixture of experience and researched material. It is my intention to use additional material in Part 2. A large part of this consists of details which were not known to me at the time, and it is my hope that the reader will find them to be of some fraction of the interest which I had in their discovery.

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