|
|
|
Laghouat Prisoner of War Camp
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
|
|
|
The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.
Announcements
- The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 24 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web.
- 22nd April 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 263973 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible.
- Looking for help with Family History Research?
Please read our Family History FAQ's
- The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web.
If you enjoy this site
please consider making a donation.
Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our
Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. |
|
We are now on Facebook. Like this page to receive our updates.
If you have a general question please post it on our Facebook page.
Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted
photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them.
The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted.
World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion
Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a
Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations.
|
|
Want to know more about Laghouat Prisoner of War Camp? There are:-1 items tagged Laghouat Prisoner of War Camp available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
|
Able Sea. Thomas "Ron" Hall Gunner HMS Manchester   Thomas (Ron) Hall was born in South Shields, Co. Durham on 11 April 1917, the family home being in Hebburn-on-Tyne. Although christened Thomas, he was always known as Ron by his RN friends and his wife's family - no-one knows why! At the age of 16 he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Sailor. After training at the shore base HMS Ganges, he was sent for gunnery training at HMS Excellent, Portsmouth.
At the outbreak of war, he was serving on HMS Glasgow, but was transferred to HMS Barham, where he was wounded in May 1941. Barham had been assisting with the withdrawal of Allied forces from Crete, during which time she was subjected to almost constant German attacks. The gun turret in which Thomas was serving was hit, and he was the only one to emerge from the wreckage.
Posted ashore in Alexandria on 2nd July for rehabilitation, his next ship would be the Cruiser HMS Carlisle. On 9th April 1942, Thomas joined HMS Manchester, which had been assigned the role of escort to convoy WS-21S - better known as Operation Pedestal - the convoy which would save Malta from starvation and surrender. On 13th August, whilst rounding Cape Bon, Manchester was crippled by Italian torpedoes and was later scuttled off Kelibia Roads, Tunisia. Thomas survived and was taken prisoner and interned by the Vichy French at Laghouat in Algeria.
With the landing of British and American troops in Morocco and Algeria as part of Operation Torch on 8th November 1942, Thomas and his shipmates were able to return to England in December. After 8 months ashore, Thomas was assigned to the Destroyer HMS Janus, which provided artillery support for the Allied landings at Anzio on 22nd January 1944 under Operation Shingle. Janus was sunk the next day by a German air attack. Thomas was again saved, but the experience of being sunk for a third time would have a lasting effect on his nerves.
He was invalided out of the Royal Navy in November 1945, and died in 1973, aged 55.
|
Ray "Taff" Davies HMS Manchester My first ship was the destroyer HMS Cossack (LO3)and I was aboard when she was sunk by a German U-Boat in the North Atlantic in 1941. I was one of 58 survivors out of a ship's complement of 240. I spent 6 hours in the water and was able to help rescue a young Lieutenant who went on to become Rear Admiral Anthony Davies. Rear Admiral Anthony Davies eventually became the President of the Swindon Branch of the RNA and stayed in contact with me and my family until he passed
away a few years ago. We were eventually rescued by HMS Legion, which was under the command of Commander Jessel.
My next ship was the cruiser HMS Manchester that was sunk whilst escorting a Malta convoy in August 1942. We were in the water for 12 hours and eventually picked up by an Italian E-Boat and taken to Tunis. We were then tranferred by train to Algiers and truck to Laghouat POW camp, which was 320 miles into the Sahara desert. I spent 5 months in Laghouat and was then repatriated to Algiers where I took passage aboard the troopship Arundel Castle back to Rosyth in Scotland. I then travelled back to RNB Portsmouth before taking 2 weeks leave.
I then joined the light cruiser HMS Emerald and sailed for the Far East in January 1943 and patrolled the Indian Ocean for about 18 months before being recalled post haste back to the UK. We went straight back to Rosyth, we were not allowed any leave and once back at sea the ship's company was informed that it was D-Day - Operation Neptune to the navy. Our beachhead was 'Sword' and 'Juno' where we were attacked by a German bomber. The bomber dropped 5 bombs, 2 to port and 2 to starboard, buckling the port and starboard plates. The fifth bomb landed on a gun deck and remarkably did not explode. We spent 10 days on the beachhead.
In 1944 I joined the Hunt Class destroyer HMS Talybont (L18) and saw out the war in Europe. We then sailed to the med' for 2 1/2 years service on Palestine patrols. After the war I was called but because of the Korean war and I saw out my service until 1951 on HMS Battleaxe.
|
Pte. William Ranner HMS Manchester My Grandfather served on HMS Manchester. His name was William (Bill Ranner) Private Royal Marines. His service docs show that he was interned after the sinking of the Manchester. I can only assume he made it ashore and was captured and held as a POW.
|
Chaplin Donald Bruce Walker HMS Manchester Donald Walker was the R.N. Chaplin of HMS Manchester, after the ship was torpedoed he made it to the Tunisian coast and was taken POW by the Vichy French along with many of the crew.
|
Stoker 2nd Class. Norman Greaves HMS Manchester (d.20 Oct 1942) Norman Greaves was 22 years old whne he was interned by the Vichy French in the Laghouat Camp in Tunisia, after surviving the torpedoing of HMS Manchester. On 20th October 1942 he attempted to escape through the perimeter wire after bribing the Arab sentry with a wristwatch, the Arab sentry took the watch then double crossed him and shot him in the back. A riot by the PoW’s was de-fused by Captain Drew R.N. demanding of the French Commandant that medical attention be given to Greaves. However, he was unconscious and never recovered. His burial service was conducted by the Reverend Donald Bruce Walker, the R.N. Chaplain of HMS Manchester
|
Ldg Stoker Charles Ernest Spooner HMS Manchester My father-in-law, Charles Spooner was a stoker first class on The Manchester at the time that
she was sunk. He was then held in a POW camp by the Vichy French and
after his release with the other prisoners he was returned to England
where he was hospitalised in either Hastings or Wales. This was around
1942/3
As my Husbands parents separated he has very little knowledge about
what his Father went through during this time and as I am doing a web
page I would appreciate any information that anyone can give me such as
how many men were on the HMS MANCHESTER, how many survived and how many
days were the survivers in the water before being rescued and does anyone
have any idea what the name of the POW camp would be and what kind of
conditions would be there I understand that it was in North Africa.
|
Radar Operator George Louis Robertson HMS Manchester My Dad, George Louis Robertson served as Radar Operator on the Manchester during Operation Pedestal. He was a survivor of the sinking of the HMS Manchester. He was interned in the Laghouat POW camp but escaped with others. They made their way to the North coast of Africa and came across allied soldiers who nearly shot them because they were in rags and unrecognisable as Royal Navy seamen. However, one of the men shouted that they were British. They were eventually returned to British control and re-assigned to other ships to continue the war.
He also served on Tartar and Campania. George died in 1978 but I am researching that time of his life. If anyone served with George or served on the ships at the same time could you contact me. Thank you.
|
Jack Mitchell HMS Manchester Jack Mitchell served on HMS Manchester and was on board when they took part in Operation Pedestal, the largest convoy of the war, bringing vital support to Malta, which was facing the possibility of surrender to Italy. The convoy included 13 large merchant ships, five aircraft carriers, two battleships, eight cruisers, 36 destroyers and nine submarines. Only two of these vessels actually reached Malta. In an interview in 2005 Jack said:
"Before the convoy left, Churchill sent a signal to the officer commanding to say that, should just one merchant ship arrive in Malta and all the others sunk, it would still be deemed a success. Malta would have had to surrender if no-one had got through."
The Manchester was torpedoed in the convoy on the 13th of 1942. Jack Mitchell and the rest of the crew abandoned ship and the vessel was scuttled. Jack and his crewmates were taken prisoner by the Vichy French and spent four months at the infamous Langout POW camp in Algeria. Conditions were vicious. A book was written about the camp and it said "Let us never forget the extreme privations suffered by the crew of the HMS Manchester and others in Langout."
After Jack was freed from the camp following the North Africa landings, he returned to sea on aircraft carriers.
|
CPO. John Philip Didcock HMS Manchester Dad, John Didcock never spoke of his naval service and regrettably we did not enquire. He did tell us that when his ship was scuttled in August 1942 after being torpedoed near the coast of Tunisia, he swam ashore with other crew members, he was a very strong swimmer. Having then been captured, the only thing he mentioned about the POW camp was that when they arrived there, there were lots of dogs about, but by the time they were released there were none Aboard ship, dad had been a cook in the officers' mess. We do not know the truth of this.
|
Henry Atkinson HMS Manchester My father, Henry Atkinson was a steward to the officers. When they were interned in Algeria he was given a melodeon by one of the officers and told to keep it. I still have it. He also told me Mae West saved him, so as a child I imagined a woman swimming and saving him!
|
Able Sea. Charles Gilbert Broome HMS Manchester My granddad, Able Seaman Charles Broome, was interned at the Laghouat POW Camp in Algeria after the sinking of HMS Manchester.
A silver lining of his internment, if there could ever be such a thing, is that when on compassionate/recuperation leave in Scotland after being freed by the American Army, he met my grandmother (a serving naval nurse at the time)...and the rest, I guess, is history.
|
John Hendry Horne HMS Manchester John Horne was my father who served with the Royal Navy in WW2 aboard HMS Manchester during Operation Pedestal.
He was detained by the Vichy French from 13th of August 13th of August 1942 until 3rd of November 1942.
I have a Bible stamped "Presbyterian Church, Algiers". Inside the cover of the Bible he has signed his name. It is also signed by another crew member, William Richards. They also wrote "Three months of hell".
|
Able Sea. Thomas "Ron" Hall Gunner HMS Manchester Thomas (Ron) Hall was born in South Shields, Co. Durham on 11 April 1917, the family home being in Hebburn-on-Tyne. Although christened Thomas, he was always known as Ron by his RN friends and his wife's family - no-one knows why! At the age of 16 he joined the Royal Navy as a Boy Sailor. After training at the shore base HMS Ganges, he was sent for gunnery training at HMS Excellent, Portsmouth.
At the outbreak of war, he was serving on HMS Glasgow, but was transferred to HMS Barham, where he was wounded in May 1941. Barham had been assisting with the withdrawal of Allied forces from Crete, during which time she was subjected to almost constant German attacks. The gun turret in which Thomas was serving was hit, and he was the only one to emerge from the wreckage.
Posted ashore in Alexandria on 2nd July for rehabilitation, his next ship would be the Cruiser HMS Carlisle. On 9th April 1942, Thomas joined HMS Manchester, which had been assigned the role of escort to convoy WS-21S - better known as Operation Pedestal - the convoy which would save Malta from starvation and surrender. On 13th August, whilst rounding Cape Bon, Manchester was crippled by Italian torpedoes and was later scuttled off Kelibia Roads, Tunisia. Thomas survived and was taken prisoner and interned by the Vichy French at Laghouat in Algeria.
With the landing of British and American troops in Morocco and Algeria as part of Operation Torch on 8th November 1942, Thomas and his shipmates were able to return to England in December. After 8 months ashore, Thomas was assigned to the Destroyer HMS Janus, which provided artillery support for the Allied landings at Anzio on 22nd January 1944 under Operation Shingle. Janus was sunk the next day by a German air attack. Thomas was again saved, but the experience of being sunk for a third time would have a lasting effect on his nerves.
He was invalided out of the Royal Navy in November 1945, and died in 1973, aged 55.
|
Ray "Taff" Davies HMS Manchester My first ship was the destroyer HMS Cossack (LO3)and I was aboard when she was sunk by a German U-Boat in the North Atlantic in 1941. I was one of 58 survivors out of a ship's complement of 240. I spent 6 hours in the water and was able to help rescue a young Lieutenant who went on to become Rear Admiral Anthony Davies. Rear Admiral Anthony Davies eventually became the President of the Swindon Branch of the RNA and stayed in contact with me and my family until he passed
away a few years ago. We were eventually rescued by HMS Legion, which was under the command of Commander Jessel.
My next ship was the cruiser HMS Manchester that was sunk whilst escorting a Malta convoy in August 1942. We were in the water for 12 hours and eventually picked up by an Italian E-Boat and taken to Tunis. We were then tranferred by train to Algiers and truck to Laghouat POW camp, which was 320 miles into the Sahara desert. I spent 5 months in Laghouat and was then repatriated to Algiers where I took passage aboard the troopship Arundel Castle back to Rosyth in Scotland. I then travelled back to RNB Portsmouth before taking 2 weeks leave.
I then joined the light cruiser HMS Emerald and sailed for the Far East in January 1943 and patrolled the Indian Ocean for about 18 months before being recalled post haste back to the UK. We went straight back to Rosyth, we were not allowed any leave and once back at sea the ship's company was informed that it was D-Day - Operation Neptune to the navy. Our beachhead was 'Sword' and 'Juno' where we were attacked by a German bomber. The bomber dropped 5 bombs, 2 to port and 2 to starboard, buckling the port and starboard plates. The fifth bomb landed on a gun deck and remarkably did not explode. We spent 10 days on the beachhead.
In 1944 I joined the Hunt Class destroyer HMS Talybont (L18) and saw out the war in Europe. We then sailed to the med' for 2 1/2 years service on Palestine patrols. After the war I was called but because of the Korean war and I saw out my service until 1951 on HMS Battleaxe.
|
Pte. William Ranner HMS Manchester My Grandfather served on HMS Manchester. His name was William (Bill Ranner) Private Royal Marines. His service docs show that he was interned after the sinking of the Manchester. I can only assume he made it ashore and was captured and held as a POW.
|
Chaplin Donald Bruce Walker HMS Manchester Donald Walker was the R.N. Chaplin of HMS Manchester, after the ship was torpedoed he made it to the Tunisian coast and was taken POW by the Vichy French along with many of the crew.
|
Stoker 2nd Class. Norman Greaves HMS Manchester (d.20 Oct 1942) Norman Greaves was 22 years old whne he was interned by the Vichy French in the Laghouat Camp in Tunisia, after surviving the torpedoing of HMS Manchester. On 20th October 1942 he attempted to escape through the perimeter wire after bribing the Arab sentry with a wristwatch, the Arab sentry took the watch then double crossed him and shot him in the back. A riot by the PoW’s was de-fused by Captain Drew R.N. demanding of the French Commandant that medical attention be given to Greaves. However, he was unconscious and never recovered. His burial service was conducted by the Reverend Donald Bruce Walker, the R.N. Chaplain of HMS Manchester
|
Ldg Stoker Charles Ernest Spooner HMS Manchester My father-in-law, Charles Spooner was a stoker first class on The Manchester at the time that
she was sunk. He was then held in a POW camp by the Vichy French and
after his release with the other prisoners he was returned to England
where he was hospitalised in either Hastings or Wales. This was around
1942/3
As my Husbands parents separated he has very little knowledge about
what his Father went through during this time and as I am doing a web
page I would appreciate any information that anyone can give me such as
how many men were on the HMS MANCHESTER, how many survived and how many
days were the survivers in the water before being rescued and does anyone
have any idea what the name of the POW camp would be and what kind of
conditions would be there I understand that it was in North Africa.
|
Radar Operator George Louis Robertson HMS Manchester My Dad, George Louis Robertson served as Radar Operator on the Manchester during Operation Pedestal. He was a survivor of the sinking of the HMS Manchester. He was interned in the Laghouat POW camp but escaped with others. They made their way to the North coast of Africa and came across allied soldiers who nearly shot them because they were in rags and unrecognisable as Royal Navy seamen. However, one of the men shouted that they were British. They were eventually returned to British control and re-assigned to other ships to continue the war.
He also served on Tartar and Campania. George died in 1978 but I am researching that time of his life. If anyone served with George or served on the ships at the same time could you contact me. Thank you.
|
Jack Mitchell HMS Manchester Jack Mitchell served on HMS Manchester and was on board when they took part in Operation Pedestal, the largest convoy of the war, bringing vital support to Malta, which was facing the possibility of surrender to Italy. The convoy included 13 large merchant ships, five aircraft carriers, two battleships, eight cruisers, 36 destroyers and nine submarines. Only two of these vessels actually reached Malta. In an interview in 2005 Jack said:
"Before the convoy left, Churchill sent a signal to the officer commanding to say that, should just one merchant ship arrive in Malta and all the others sunk, it would still be deemed a success. Malta would have had to surrender if no-one had got through."
The Manchester was torpedoed in the convoy on the 13th of 1942. Jack Mitchell and the rest of the crew abandoned ship and the vessel was scuttled. Jack and his crewmates were taken prisoner by the Vichy French and spent four months at the infamous Langout POW camp in Algeria. Conditions were vicious. A book was written about the camp and it said "Let us never forget the extreme privations suffered by the crew of the HMS Manchester and others in Langout."
After Jack was freed from the camp following the North Africa landings, he returned to sea on aircraft carriers.
|
CPO. John Philip Didcock HMS Manchester Dad, John Didcock never spoke of his naval service and regrettably we did not enquire. He did tell us that when his ship was scuttled in August 1942 after being torpedoed near the coast of Tunisia, he swam ashore with other crew members, he was a very strong swimmer. Having then been captured, the only thing he mentioned about the POW camp was that when they arrived there, there were lots of dogs about, but by the time they were released there were none Aboard ship, dad had been a cook in the officers' mess. We do not know the truth of this.
|
Henry Atkinson HMS Manchester My father, Henry Atkinson was a steward to the officers. When they were interned in Algeria he was given a melodeon by one of the officers and told to keep it. I still have it. He also told me Mae West saved him, so as a child I imagined a woman swimming and saving him!
|
Able Sea. Charles Gilbert Broome HMS Manchester My granddad, Able Seaman Charles Broome, was interned at the Laghouat POW Camp in Algeria after the sinking of HMS Manchester.
A silver lining of his internment, if there could ever be such a thing, is that when on compassionate/recuperation leave in Scotland after being freed by the American Army, he met my grandmother (a serving naval nurse at the time)...and the rest, I guess, is history.
|
John Hendry Horne HMS Manchester John Horne was my father who served with the Royal Navy in WW2 aboard HMS Manchester during Operation Pedestal.
He was detained by the Vichy French from 13th of August 13th of August 1942 until 3rd of November 1942.
I have a Bible stamped "Presbyterian Church, Algiers". Inside the cover of the Bible he has signed his name. It is also signed by another crew member, William Richards. They also wrote "Three months of hell".
|
Recomended Reading.Available at discounted prices.
|
|
|
Site Home
Add Stories
