A Glider Pilot's Story - continued (25)

CHAPTER 25

The journey to Barth lasted about three days. Although the conditions were cramped the guards allowed us to dismount from the train on a couple of occasions so that we could stretch our legs at the side of the track. The biggest problem came when everyone was tired and needed room to lie down. In the generally accepted sense this was not possible for everyone at the same time.

However a workable solution was suggested by a prisoner who had been in the bag since Tobruk. His name was Charlie Mogolo and he was a Bantu from South Africa who had formerly worked in the gold mines. On his travels he had encountered these sort of conditions before, whereas for the rest of us, mostly American air crew, this mode of travel was new.

We had already talked together and when it was obvious that the majority of us were having trouble finding enough room to stretch out, he turned to me and said, "Baas! You tell feller, lie down so!" He then explained that if eight men lay across the wagon at the end, the next eight could lie in the same way with their heads level with the hips of the first set; the third set's heads level with the hips of the second and so on. It worked. Before long we had five rows of eight reclining prisoners in two thirds of the floor space. Although all the feet were pointing in the same direction, there was some similarity with sardines in a tin.

When we arrived at Barth on the 17th January, we were marched to the camp. We were greeted officially by the German commandant the tenor of whose remarks was to lay down the ground rules and to discourage prisoners from attempting to escape. The main rules concerned those occasions when we would become legitimate targets for the German guards. This mainly involved the warning wire which was a single strand supported on posts about two feet high and about twenty feet in from the defensive rolls of barbed wire and marked the official limit of where we had access.

A similar welcome from senior Allied officers put an embargo on individual attempts to escape though for obviously different reasons. This also included a briefing on the structure on, and maintenance by the prisoners of, their own discipline. The camp had been in existence for some time but had been enlarged considerably and we were placed in the newly completed North 3 compound.

Most of the prisoners were American but the South Compound, the oldest, was populated mainly by R.A.F. Among the new arrivals were enough British to fill one hut. We were welcomed by some of the older inhabitants and those in the South compound sent us some cigarettes. Each hut held, I think, some three hundred, five rooms of thirty on each side of a central corridor. At one end of the corridor was a door giving access to the compound and at the other end a set of double doors. Between these doors was on one side a room occupied by the Senior Officer, and across the corridor a room containing a night box and a sink. The external doors at each end of the hut were secured by a metal bar every night at lockup which took place at nine o'clock.

Before dark we had to close the wooden shutters over the windows and secure these with a wooden bar. After lockup the compound was patrolled by one guard with a dog and of course overlooked by the ever present sentries in the towers. Between 7 a.m. and lockup we were allowed to exercise or play games in the compound and also to visit friends in other huts.

Every morning of course there was a roll-call when all the prisoners except the lame and the halt had to stand on the parade until the German staff had counted everyone and managed to get their sums right. Sometimes this went on for a long time and on these occasions most huts would go into an exercise routine to keep warm. This might be accompanied by a Rhythmic chant like "Come on .... Joe!" and referred to Uncle Joe Stalin and the Red Army.

Occasionally there would be a snap roll call at some other time of the day and while all the prisoners were standing there we would see the special group from the Abwehr or security enter the compound. They would select one of the huts and carry out a thorough search, confiscating anything which they considered to be on their forbidden list. For everyone this meant a greater delay before we could be dismissed and for the occupants of the selected hut, it also meant a tidying up operation and perhaps the loss or damage of personal possessions.

Sometimes one or two Abwehr personnel would wander through the compound or into the huts at any time of the day with their ears wagging and hoping to pick up intelligence from prisoner's gossip.

To protect against this were two routine orders (Allied not German). The first of these was that each hut would provide a sentry for its door. If any German approached and looked as if to enter, the sentry would shout out an alarm warning. Under American influence the cry was "Goon!" but when the Germans realised the derogatory nature of this, they objected and the cry had to be modified to a dignified "On guard!" The other security precaution was a ban on forces gossip after lockup since it was known that occasionally one of the "Goons" would sit underneath a hut or stand quietly just outside the window.

I have already suggested that the principal preoccupations were food and news. The need for news was at two levels; personal and national. For those who had been in captivity for a considerable period, they had the advantage of receiving personal mail and parcels. Many though were hungry for first hand news from those who were captured later. The new prisoners had not been in the bag long enough to have made contact at home and in any case the German transport system was being maintained in the face of great difficulty and P.O.W. mail and supplies were only at a low priority. Red Cross parcels were an example of this.

When we arrived at Luft One, the rate of issue for the first week was one parcel per man per week to supplement the German ration of one-seventh of a loaf of bread each day and vegetables when available. This was reduced by fifty per cent for each of the next two weeks when no more parcels were issued until about two weeks before our liberation in May. We all sent out postcards (2) and letters (l) each month without any means of knowing whether they were being received or not. In fact mine were not. Those that I sent arrived in the UK. after I was repatriated, with one exception. A friend of mine, Alfred Oddie who was at a seminary at Sutton Coldfield, received a card and notified my parents.

The other sort of desirable news was readily available. Each hut had a speaker system which broadcast German radio and copies of the German news were supplied and posted at the end of each hut. After lockup, however, each hut was supplied with a duplicated copy of "Kriegy News" which was transcripts of B.B.C. service. This was eagerly awaited and passed from room to room to be read to the waiting inmates.

Sometimes of course the news was somewhat depressing as for instance the death of Roosevelt. Frequently, though, the news was very encouraging. A particular highlight was the Rhine crossing. Many huts displayed an up to date map on the wall of the corridor. These were often consulted by the guards for comparison with the German radio reports on the progress of the allies.

Most of our time was occupied with some form of recreation. Sometimes it may have been little more than a constitutional walk but often of course we played outdoor games like volley ball. At this time it was often expedient to strike a balance between the conservation of physical resources made necessary by the shortage of rations and the need to keep fit. Occasionally there were routine tasks to be performed in turn like the removal and emptying of the "honey buckets" or night boxes. Washing of clothes was done with cold water and soap which was of an inferior standard.

Indoor games occupied our evenings after lockup - it was surprising how much rivalry could be aroused by the team from one room playing against that from a room across the corridor - at Tiddley Winks. Bridge tournaments too were popular and continued endlessly as one pair played the best of three rubbers against every other pair from perhaps twenty or thirty other pairs. Some six or seven weeks after our arrival there was a transfer of British prisoners from the North to the South compound. For us this was very good as one or two Glider Pilots were there. Among them I think were Captain O'Malley and Lt. Johnstone.

At this time too there was an influx of army prisoners evacuated from the path of the Russian advance in the east. Our senior officers were also involved at this time in making contingency plans to deal with whatever the future situation might require. Amongst these was the was the formation of a field force who might be needed for military duties to give some form of protection to the camp should the need arise. Both Phil and I were in charge of small sections of the organisation in which army personnel were at a premium. I recall that my number 2 was a private in the Northumberland Fusiliers; the rest included four R.A.F. officers, from Flight Lieutenant downwards, and one R.A.F. Flight Sergeant.

Apart from our involvement with the field force, Phil and I saw much less of each other having formed new friendships and interests. I joined the orchestra and regularly played the violin at rehearsals. In the South compound there were also opportunities to attend lectures and classes on various topics. Also in the South Compound one sometimes had a glimpse of the outside world. At weekends the locals used to walk by the wire and often we would see staff and trainees, male and female, from the nearby Flak-Schule.

The month of April brought a great improvement in our food situation. The Red Cross parcels which had been destined for us were thought to be lying in railway sidings somewhere in the now chaotic railway network. The change was brought about by stocks of parcels coming through Sweden and held at the port of Lubeck which was not very far away. Though the Germans had no transport to spare, they did allow Canadian Red Cross trucks through under the Papal and Red Cross flags. These were able to deliver to Luft One and our stocks were rapidly replenished so that almost immediately we were issued with one parcel for every four men, with a further issue before the week was out.

As April came towards its end, it became increasingly obvious from the news bulletins that the Germans could not carry on effectively for much longer. There were signs of demoralisation among the guards. They became less fussy about getting the count right. I saw one move the pins on the map showing that he thought that the Russian advance was even nearer than our map was showing.

Our Senior Officers were on the alert for the danger they feared. It had been reported that Himmler had given orders that no prisoners were to be left behind in any withdrawal. Berlin was about to be overrun by the Russians. Rumours were rife and expectations were mounting. Suddenly one day a message was passed around, the Germans are preparing to pull out. All members of the field force to report to the Vorlager. Our liberation was at hand.

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