209051 Pte. Arthur Hooten British Army Some years ago my Mother worked with a lady named Elsie who would often talk about her husband's wartime service and how she related he was a mere shell of his former self. The lady's husband's name was Mr. Arthur Hooten, for whom I have the very greatest respect and understanding for. Elsie, related how she had to go and get him when he was repatriated home to England, how he hated the dark and had suffered at the hands of the Germans. The back of his right hand bore a horrific scar, where the tendons at the back of his hand had been cut and knotted so he could never fire a rifle again.
At the time of knowing Arthur our families used to spend weekend evenings at a local drinking club, poor Arthur used to attend with his wife, but would always seem to be in his own private world or was it his own private hell? My interest at the time was collecting German and wartime memorabilia. One evening in the club I was talking about a new acquisition to my collection and had for a moment forgotten Arthur's presence. He looked and never said a word, but on another similar occasion when we both sat together, he put his hand on mine and pulled from his pocket a small grey coloured piece of metal. I looked upon it and was surprised to see that it was his POW German Camp dog tag.
I looked at Arthur and I remember him telling me he was caught at Dunkirk, but for the life of me I cannot remember what unit he served with. He like many in your other stories would not talk about his time interned by the Germans, but his wife Elsie also now deceased told me and my parents that we should make allowances for Arthur being quiet and never wanting to join in the fun. He had regular nightmares, waking up shouting in his sleep, he found it difficult through the rest of his life keeping certain food down suffering with his stomach.
Elsie Hooten related to me, on many occasions, how much she hated the Germans. Further saying that she never ever got the man she married back. After the war he never really recovered, his life after lived in torment. Upon his death Elsie gave me Arthur's dog tag and when I looked it bore the name of the Camp where he was interned, Thorn. I don't profess to know anything of the history of this place, or the camp Arthur was interned in, but I saw first hand how frail and tormented poor Arthur Hooten was before his death. I still have Arthur's dog tag and will never part with it, but would love to know more of anything known about this man. I don't even have Arthur's service number because out of respect and feeling, nobody ever asked.
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