POW Camp Index

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Stalag 4g Prisoner of War Camp Stalag 4g Klinga Prisoner of War Work camp 22nd Jul 1941 Parcels If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Those known to have been held in or employed at Stalag 4g Prisoner of War Camp during the Second World War 1939-1945. Alton Floyd. Pte. Bennett James Joseph. Pte. Bowles Thomas Joseph. Pte. Collis George. Crellin George Edward. Entwistle Thomas. Fus. Florence George. Tpr. Forden Harold. Gnr. Gill Samuel. Tpr. Hart Philip Edmund Charles. Pte. Hayes Stanley Arthur. Pte. Hodge Joseph Howard. Pte. Horne Frederick Norman. L/Cpl. Jenkins HL. Jones V. MacInnes . Marks Elden Elmore. Pfc. Miller Frederick William. Pte. Monksfield George J.. Pte. Palfrey George Thomas. Trpr. Pascoe WG. Randles Paul John Leonard. Pte Shearwood Walter. Gnr. Skerry Bernard. Pte. Stratton Sidney Thomas. Pte. Thomas Victor Albert. Pte. Wardlaw George Linnen. Pte. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records from Stalag 4g Prisoner of War Camp other sources. 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. 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There are:568 items tagged Stalag 4g 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. WG Pascoe 56th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps WG Pascoe served with the 56th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Add to this record. V Jones 4th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment V Jones served with the 4th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Add to this record. HL Jenkins 44th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment HL Jenkins served with the 44th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Add to this record. Gnr. Harold Forden 124 Field Regiment Royal Artillery My deceased Father was in Stalag 4g I have found out some info on the camp but not that much. As you can see my Father was a gunner in the Royal Artillery during WW2. He saw action at Dunkirk & Africa before being captured at the fall of Tobruk. Gunner Harold Forden, Royal Artillery Enlisted into Royal Artillery Regular Army & posted to Depot 04/01/39 Posted to 1st Training Regiment 11/01/39 Posted to 22nd Field Regiment 15/04/39 Posted to 1st General Base Depot 19/04/40 Posted to 3rd Division 10/06/40 Posted to 76th (Highland) Field Regiment 11/06/40 Posted to Depot 21/06/40 Posted to 2nd Reserve Regiment 22/06/40 Posted to 124 Field Regiment 26/06/40 Reported Missing 20/06/42 Confirmed Prisoner of War 13/01/43 Repatriated to UK 14/05/45 Posted to 202 Field Regiment 12/07/45 Attached to Chillwell Motor Transport Group 02/08/45 Posted to 2nd Motor Transport Group 22/08/45 Released to Army Reserve 11/07/46 Discharged from Reserve Liability 30 June 1959 Auth: Navy, Army and Air Forces Reserve Act 1959 Service with Colours: 04/01/39 to 10/07/46 Overseas Service: British Expeditionary Force 02/10/39 to 01/06/40 Middle East Force 19/05/41 to 30/11/41 Iraq 01/12/41 to 12/02/42 Egypt 13/02/42 to 19/06/42 Prisoner of War 20/06/42 to 13/05/45 Italy, Germany Stalag 4b and 4g Dad was prisoner of war in Italy, but no records show which camp. He may have been kept in North Africa for some time, before going over to Italy. They were usually shipped into Italy via Benghazi or Brindisi. . After Italy surrendered they were transferred to Austria or Germany. Dad was held in Stalag 4B. The camp opened Oct.39. & was Liberated 23rd April 45. It was located in Muhlberg district 4. he was transferred to 4G on 14/10/43 This was at Oschatz eastern Germany, to the south east of Leipzig, in the direction of Meissen & Dresden & near to the south west of Muhlberg. There were only 20 men permanently based in the camp, the other 4,400 were out on working parties on farms, factories, mines etc. Stalag 4G was an administrative and holding centre and most of the POWs were assigned to work parties (arbeits kommandos). Any information, photographs of 4g would be greatly appreciated. Paul Forden Add to this record. Pte. Frederick William Miller 5th Btn. Sherwood Foresters Frederick Miller enlisted in the army on 18th of April 1940. He was posted to Infantry Training Centres in Rochdale, Galashiels and Dereham, prior to embarcation to North Africa on 23 December 1942. Disembarked in North Africa (Tunisia?) on 3rd of January 1943. He was with 2/5 Btn Sherwood Foresters (re-designated as 5th Btn on 28th of January 1943), who were over-run by a German Parachute Engineer Battalion, under the command of Major Rudolf Witzig, in the 1st Battle of Sedjenane in Tunisia on Tuesday 2 March 1943, which is when he was reported missing, believed to be a POW. Believed he was acting as a medic, caring for the many wounded soldiers from the battle. Next of kin not informed until 26th of March 1943. Confirmed as a POW in Campo 53 on 25th/26th of April 1943, he was transferred to Stalag IVG (Oschatz or its Work Camp at Klinga) in Germany on 30th December 1943 as POW 227653. Next of kin informed 11th of January 1944. He worked on an Arbeitskommando (Work Group) - one of 76 Work Groups based on Stalag IVG in the Grimma area, 50 miles WNW of Dresden. He was transferred from Stalag IVG to Stalag IVA (Hohnstein-Ernstthal - Airfield at Dresden-Klotsche) on 16th of February 1944. Apparently, the main camp was liberated by the advancing Russians on 24th of April 1945. His Army record lists liberation on 7th of May 1945 - the day before VE Day. Fred Miller Add to this record. Pte Paul John Leonard Randles Umvoti Mounted Rifles Paul Randles was headboy of his school Hilton College, Natal, S.Africa. He captained the 1st XV and 1st XI Cricket. In late 1940 he volunteered to join the South African Army (his father had served the Empire in WWI) and was assigned to a local regiment, the Umvoti Mounted Rifles. Following training in South Africa and Botswana the regiment embarked from Durban in July 1941 bound for Egypt. In 1941, the South African Army was comprised of two infantry divisions. The First Division was held in reserve while the Second Division was deployed to North Africa in support of Allied forces fighting the Desert War. The Second Division comprised 3rd, 4th and 6th Infantry Brigades. The Umvoti Mounted Rifles were part of 4th Infantry Brigade. After weeks of acclimatisation and training in desert warfare Paul was in action in the battles at Bardia and Sollum. In June 1942 the entire SA Second Division formed part of the Allied forces defending Tobruk. When Rommel attacked and captured Tobruk he handed all Allied POWs to the Italian Army. Paul was shipped to Italy where he was held in a number of POW camps. When Italy declared an Armistice on 8th September 1943 Commandants in many of the camps in Italy released their captives. Paul and three others were freed from Campo PG49, Fontanellato near Parma. They headed South on foot along the Apennine Mountains relying on peasant farmers (contadini) for shelter and food. They had reached Frosinone, south of Rome by early December. Unable to cross the Gustav Line, heavily fortified as it had become, they sheltered in a stone hut on a mountainside near San Donato Val di Comino. They were fed and clothed by a local family. They left the hut in January as they felt they were putting the family at too great a risk. Some days later their location was given away and they were recaptured by the Germans. Paul and his pals were trucked to Bolzano and then entrained to Germany. Paul spent the remainder of the war as a POW first in Stalag VIIA Moosberg, near Munich and Stalag IVG Oschatz, a work camp near Leipzig. There they were witness to the Allied bombing raids on Chemnitz and Dresden. In April 1945 their German guards forced the prisoners to march away from the camp. During the march they encountered groups of prisoners from concentration camps in Poland and Czechoslovakia. They finally met American patrols and were free. They commandeered a military ambulance and drove West through Germany and Holland. They crossed to England by ferry. Paul spent 4 months in England. He visited his aunt in Bexhill-on-Sea and spent a while in London taking part in the victory celebrations. He returned to South Africa late in 1945 where he was demobilised, Paul joined his father's legal practice in Pietermaritzburg and married Diane Tweedie. Paul went on to become senior partner at Randles Davis & Wood. He played provincial rugby and cricket representing Natal. He and Diane had 5 children: four daughters and a son. Paul died in 1978 aged 56. Alexander Irvine-Fortescue Add to this record. Pte. Philip Edmund Charles Hart 2nd Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment My father, Philip Hart was a POW in Stalag 4G in Oschatz, Saxony from 1943 until the end of the war. Although he was not a tailor by trade, he managed to convince the Germans he was one, as he had knowledge having been in men’s outfitting (retail) before the war and after. This undoubtedly saved him, as many of his regiment (Royal West Kent) didn’t survive the salt mines. He was employed with Polish prisoners to repair officers’ uniforms from Colditz, and the officers used to keep them updated with what was happening with the war by leaving messages in trouser cuffs. Although not physically ill-treated, he was nevertheless chronically short of food and would not have survived without Red Cross parcels, although the Gestapo destroyed the contents on occasions, presumably as a demoralising exercise. Following his internment, my father was repatriated to England just a few days after the war’s end on a Lancaster arriving in Sussex. My parents had been apart for five years. They married in April 1940 and my father was called up in the autumn, so they didn’t have long together before my father was sent abroad. His regiment was stationed in Malta and was there during the siege. My mother also did her bit in the war effort helping to make Horsa gliders in Christchurch, which were crucial for landing troops and supplies in battles later in the war. After the war my mother and father remained happily married for 43 years. My father died in 1983. Angela Tremain Add to this record. Pte. Joseph Howard Hodge 423rd Infantry Regiment, E Coy 106th Division Joseph Hodge served with the 106th Division 423rd Infantry Regiment US Army in WW2. He enlisted 10th of January 1943 and was shipped overseas in October 1944. He fought at the Battle of the Bulge from 16th of December 1944 and five days later was captured and held as a prisoner of war by the Germans, 21st of December 1944. Joe was sent to Stalag IV-B then transferred to Stalag IV-G at the end of January 1945. He was in a work party assigned to clearing streets and railroad tracks. He was eventually liberated from the POW camp 20th of April 1945. Mary Jo Reed Add to this record. Tpr. George Florence 7th Queens Own Hussars I found a set of war medals was found in an empty house in Leatherhead, Surrey. I set out to find the owner's family so I could pass them on. They belonged to George Florence who joined the Army in 1940/41 quite old at 31. G Florence number 7934651. He served in the 7th Queens Own Hussars, an Armoured Regiment. In the Reconnaisance Corps. On 27th June 1941 his regiment saw action in the Western Desert of North Africa. There were many casualties and George was missing presumed killed. His name appeared on three casualty lists but by 16th of Feb 1942 it was presumed he was a POW. Lists 748,695,723 all mention his name. In 1943 It was reported that he was a POW in Italy at Camp no.85, Tuturano Transit Camp. Post Mark 3450. In 1945 he was in Germany at Stalag 4g Oschatz with POW number 251593. On 26th June 1945 he was released and returned home to his family in Leatherhead. He passed away in 1995. He never got to see his medals because they had been sent to the wrong address. Stephen Foster Add to this record. Pte. George J. Monksfield Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry George Monksfield served with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, he was captured and held in Stalag 4g. Chrissie Gilbert Add to this record. Pte. George Linnen Wardlaw 1st Btn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders George Wardlaw initially served with the Royal Artillery and then the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders prior to WW2. He served in Palestine and, on the outbreak of WW2, the Battalion moved into Egypt, mainly fighting Italians. As Crete came under attack by the Germans around 20th May 1941, his Battalion was shipped into the ongoing battle. They were roughly deployed to protect the airfield and choke points. With incessant air attacks, the RN withdrew, and what was left on the Island surrendered to German troops. He was shipped to Greece and through the Balkan states to Berlin. Conditions were very difficult on the cattle trains and food was limited and many died. He eventually moved from various Stalags and work camps, was injured by allied bombing of the Dresden/Liepzigrail yards doing forced labour. George was eventually released by US Forces at Stalag IV-G. He returned home and continued to serve in a number of regiments, regular and TA, settling back into the miner's home in Kirkcaldy. Bill Mason Add to this record. Pte. James Joseph Bennett Royal Leicestershire Regiment My father James Bennett was captured at the battle of Kasserine Pass in February 1943. He was transported to Italy and then to Germany, ending up at Oschatz - Stalag IVg, where he worked in quarries. He had an appendectomy (no anaesthetic), by a French doctor in nearby Colditz. He was arrested twice for trying to escape. After the war he served in the Rhine army. James died in 1995. I would be interested to hear if anyone remembered him. Peter Bennett Add to this record. Pte. Victor Albert Thomas Royal Army Service Corps Victor Thomas joined the Army Service Corps when he turned 18. He was sent unprepared and almost unarmed to Crete aged 23 he was captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW in Eastern Germany. In his words: "We didn't have anything at all to defend the island, we were using rifles from World War One with two rounds each. They captured us and put us in cattle wagons and took us to Germany." He caught Diphtheria in the camp and became so weak that he couldn't walk or work. He was looked after by New Zealand-born doctor and officer Earl Stevenson-Wright. He was taken to Berlin with one guard to the hospital. When on the Berlin underground a lady gave him her seat as he could barely stand. She told him that her son was a POW in Canada and hoped people would do the same for him there. The Germans were going to shoot Uncle Vic due to his repeated escape attempts. Dr. Stevenson-Wright stepped in and told the Germans that Vic was his batman and therefore shouldn't be shot. It worked and he became Dr. Stevenson-Wright's batman from then on until they were moved to separate camps. He was in the following camps: Stalag VIII B (Lamsdorf, Silesia) in October 1941 Stalag III D (Steglitz, Berlin) in 1941 Stalag IV G (Ostritz, Saxony) in 1944 He witnessed many things, including seeing a barbed wire compound in a wood where the Germans had herded Russian POWs and left them to starve to death. He saw the destruction of Leipzig by RAF carpet bombing and told me of the terrible effect it had on the camp guards who lived in the city with their families. The German guards, despite being short of food for themselves and their families, always passed on the Red Cross parcels to the POWs whenever they occasionally made it through. He also received food parcels, which arrived addressed from The Cafe. They were really sent by Miss Cascarini in St. Thomas, who did not put her name to them for fear of persecution of her family in Italy. Almost at the end of the war they were marched Westwards, guarded by very jumpy Hitler Youth. He managed to slip away with another POW and head towards the Western Allied lines. Whilst hiding in a barn an American plane strafed them, killing his companion right at the end of the war. Upon being liberated he spent many months in hospital recovering from his ordeals and severe malnutrition. After the war he re-visited Germany several times, to meet some of the Germans who despite everything had been kind to him. He never had a bad word to say about Germans in general, just specific people there who behaved extremely badly. Russ Thomas Add to this record. Pte. Stanley Arthur Hayes 4th Btn. Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) Stanley Hayes was my father, born in Watford in 1918. He enlisted in the Army in WW2 and was sent to Malta along with the rest of the 4th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) in October 1940. He spent a lot of his time filling-in bomb craters on the island's runways. In mid-1943 when the Italian surrender meant that Malta was safe, the Brigade that 4th Buffs were part of, was sent to Alexandria. From there they became part of the ill-fated attempt to capture and hold some of the former Italian islands in the Aegean. The 4th Buffs were on Leros when my Dad was captured in November 1943. He was initially held in Stalag IV-G, Oschatz, before being moved to Stalag IV-B, Muhlberg. Interestingly, on his Register form his last camp is recorded aa IV-C, Wistritz, but his Identification Tag states IV-B. On both documents his PoW number is the same. He was released on 20th May 1945. Jan England Add to this record. Tpr. Samuel Gill Royal Armoured Corps My uncle Sam Gill spent some time at Stalag IVb having been captured at Tobruk fighting against Rommel troops. He also travelled to other camps, amongst them Stalag IVg Oschatz, Germany. I am reading notes that he left at his passing away about his experiences in these camps. He was away from home in Sheffield for about four and a half years. Terry Gill Add to this record. WG Pascoe 56th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps WG Pascoe served with the 56th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan V Jones 4th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment V Jones served with the 4th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan HL Jenkins 44th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment HL Jenkins served with the 44th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: Unfortunately The Wartime Memories Project has lost touch with Dan, his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Gnr. Harold Forden 124 Field Regiment Royal Artillery My deceased Father was in Stalag 4g I have found out some info on the camp but not that much. As you can see my Father was a gunner in the Royal Artillery during WW2. He saw action at Dunkirk & Africa before being captured at the fall of Tobruk. Gunner Harold Forden, Royal Artillery Enlisted into Royal Artillery Regular Army & posted to Depot 04/01/39 Posted to 1st Training Regiment 11/01/39 Posted to 22nd Field Regiment 15/04/39 Posted to 1st General Base Depot 19/04/40 Posted to 3rd Division 10/06/40 Posted to 76th (Highland) Field Regiment 11/06/40 Posted to Depot 21/06/40 Posted to 2nd Reserve Regiment 22/06/40 Posted to 124 Field Regiment 26/06/40 Reported Missing 20/06/42 Confirmed Prisoner of War 13/01/43 Repatriated to UK 14/05/45 Posted to 202 Field Regiment 12/07/45 Attached to Chillwell Motor Transport Group 02/08/45 Posted to 2nd Motor Transport Group 22/08/45 Released to Army Reserve 11/07/46 Discharged from Reserve Liability 30 June 1959 Auth: Navy, Army and Air Forces Reserve Act 1959 Service with Colours: 04/01/39 to 10/07/46 Overseas Service: British Expeditionary Force 02/10/39 to 01/06/40 Middle East Force 19/05/41 to 30/11/41 Iraq 01/12/41 to 12/02/42 Egypt 13/02/42 to 19/06/42 Prisoner of War 20/06/42 to 13/05/45 Italy, Germany Stalag 4b and 4g Dad was prisoner of war in Italy, but no records show which camp. He may have been kept in North Africa for some time, before going over to Italy. They were usually shipped into Italy via Benghazi or Brindisi. . After Italy surrendered they were transferred to Austria or Germany. Dad was held in Stalag 4B. The camp opened Oct.39. & was Liberated 23rd April 45. It was located in Muhlberg district 4. he was transferred to 4G on 14/10/43 This was at Oschatz eastern Germany, to the south east of Leipzig, in the direction of Meissen & Dresden & near to the south west of Muhlberg. There were only 20 men permanently based in the camp, the other 4,400 were out on working parties on farms, factories, mines etc. Stalag 4G was an administrative and holding centre and most of the POWs were assigned to work parties (arbeits kommandos). Any information, photographs of 4g would be greatly appreciated. Paul Forden Pte. Frederick William Miller 5th Btn. Sherwood Foresters Frederick Miller enlisted in the army on 18th of April 1940. He was posted to Infantry Training Centres in Rochdale, Galashiels and Dereham, prior to embarcation to North Africa on 23 December 1942. Disembarked in North Africa (Tunisia?) on 3rd of January 1943. He was with 2/5 Btn Sherwood Foresters (re-designated as 5th Btn on 28th of January 1943), who were over-run by a German Parachute Engineer Battalion, under the command of Major Rudolf Witzig, in the 1st Battle of Sedjenane in Tunisia on Tuesday 2 March 1943, which is when he was reported missing, believed to be a POW. Believed he was acting as a medic, caring for the many wounded soldiers from the battle. Next of kin not informed until 26th of March 1943. Confirmed as a POW in Campo 53 on 25th/26th of April 1943, he was transferred to Stalag IVG (Oschatz or its Work Camp at Klinga) in Germany on 30th December 1943 as POW 227653. Next of kin informed 11th of January 1944. He worked on an Arbeitskommando (Work Group) - one of 76 Work Groups based on Stalag IVG in the Grimma area, 50 miles WNW of Dresden. He was transferred from Stalag IVG to Stalag IVA (Hohnstein-Ernstthal - Airfield at Dresden-Klotsche) on 16th of February 1944. Apparently, the main camp was liberated by the advancing Russians on 24th of April 1945. His Army record lists liberation on 7th of May 1945 - the day before VE Day. Fred Miller Pte Paul John Leonard Randles Umvoti Mounted Rifles Paul Randles was headboy of his school Hilton College, Natal, S.Africa. He captained the 1st XV and 1st XI Cricket. In late 1940 he volunteered to join the South African Army (his father had served the Empire in WWI) and was assigned to a local regiment, the Umvoti Mounted Rifles. Following training in South Africa and Botswana the regiment embarked from Durban in July 1941 bound for Egypt. In 1941, the South African Army was comprised of two infantry divisions. The First Division was held in reserve while the Second Division was deployed to North Africa in support of Allied forces fighting the Desert War. The Second Division comprised 3rd, 4th and 6th Infantry Brigades. The Umvoti Mounted Rifles were part of 4th Infantry Brigade. After weeks of acclimatisation and training in desert warfare Paul was in action in the battles at Bardia and Sollum. In June 1942 the entire SA Second Division formed part of the Allied forces defending Tobruk. When Rommel attacked and captured Tobruk he handed all Allied POWs to the Italian Army. Paul was shipped to Italy where he was held in a number of POW camps. When Italy declared an Armistice on 8th September 1943 Commandants in many of the camps in Italy released their captives. Paul and three others were freed from Campo PG49, Fontanellato near Parma. They headed South on foot along the Apennine Mountains relying on peasant farmers (contadini) for shelter and food. They had reached Frosinone, south of Rome by early December. Unable to cross the Gustav Line, heavily fortified as it had become, they sheltered in a stone hut on a mountainside near San Donato Val di Comino. They were fed and clothed by a local family. They left the hut in January as they felt they were putting the family at too great a risk. Some days later their location was given away and they were recaptured by the Germans. Paul and his pals were trucked to Bolzano and then entrained to Germany. Paul spent the remainder of the war as a POW first in Stalag VIIA Moosberg, near Munich and Stalag IVG Oschatz, a work camp near Leipzig. There they were witness to the Allied bombing raids on Chemnitz and Dresden. In April 1945 their German guards forced the prisoners to march away from the camp. During the march they encountered groups of prisoners from concentration camps in Poland and Czechoslovakia. They finally met American patrols and were free. They commandeered a military ambulance and drove West through Germany and Holland. They crossed to England by ferry. Paul spent 4 months in England. He visited his aunt in Bexhill-on-Sea and spent a while in London taking part in the victory celebrations. He returned to South Africa late in 1945 where he was demobilised, Paul joined his father's legal practice in Pietermaritzburg and married Diane Tweedie. Paul went on to become senior partner at Randles Davis & Wood. He played provincial rugby and cricket representing Natal. He and Diane had 5 children: four daughters and a son. Paul died in 1978 aged 56. Alexander Irvine-Fortescue Pte. Philip Edmund Charles Hart 2nd Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment My father, Philip Hart was a POW in Stalag 4G in Oschatz, Saxony from 1943 until the end of the war. Although he was not a tailor by trade, he managed to convince the Germans he was one, as he had knowledge having been in men’s outfitting (retail) before the war and after. This undoubtedly saved him, as many of his regiment (Royal West Kent) didn’t survive the salt mines. He was employed with Polish prisoners to repair officers’ uniforms from Colditz, and the officers used to keep them updated with what was happening with the war by leaving messages in trouser cuffs. Although not physically ill-treated, he was nevertheless chronically short of food and would not have survived without Red Cross parcels, although the Gestapo destroyed the contents on occasions, presumably as a demoralising exercise. Following his internment, my father was repatriated to England just a few days after the war’s end on a Lancaster arriving in Sussex. My parents had been apart for five years. They married in April 1940 and my father was called up in the autumn, so they didn’t have long together before my father was sent abroad. His regiment was stationed in Malta and was there during the siege. My mother also did her bit in the war effort helping to make Horsa gliders in Christchurch, which were crucial for landing troops and supplies in battles later in the war. After the war my mother and father remained happily married for 43 years. My father died in 1983. Angela Tremain Pte. Joseph Howard Hodge 423rd Infantry Regiment, E Coy 106th Division Joseph Hodge served with the 106th Division 423rd Infantry Regiment US Army in WW2. He enlisted 10th of January 1943 and was shipped overseas in October 1944. He fought at the Battle of the Bulge from 16th of December 1944 and five days later was captured and held as a prisoner of war by the Germans, 21st of December 1944. Joe was sent to Stalag IV-B then transferred to Stalag IV-G at the end of January 1945. He was in a work party assigned to clearing streets and railroad tracks. He was eventually liberated from the POW camp 20th of April 1945. Mary Jo Reed Tpr. George Florence 7th Queens Own Hussars I found a set of war medals was found in an empty house in Leatherhead, Surrey. I set out to find the owner's family so I could pass them on. They belonged to George Florence who joined the Army in 1940/41 quite old at 31. G Florence number 7934651. He served in the 7th Queens Own Hussars, an Armoured Regiment. In the Reconnaisance Corps. On 27th June 1941 his regiment saw action in the Western Desert of North Africa. There were many casualties and George was missing presumed killed. His name appeared on three casualty lists but by 16th of Feb 1942 it was presumed he was a POW. Lists 748,695,723 all mention his name. In 1943 It was reported that he was a POW in Italy at Camp no.85, Tuturano Transit Camp. Post Mark 3450. In 1945 he was in Germany at Stalag 4g Oschatz with POW number 251593. On 26th June 1945 he was released and returned home to his family in Leatherhead. He passed away in 1995. He never got to see his medals because they had been sent to the wrong address. Stephen Foster Pte. George J. Monksfield Duke of Cornwalls Light Infantry George Monksfield served with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, he was captured and held in Stalag 4g. Chrissie Gilbert Pte. George Linnen Wardlaw 1st Btn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders George Wardlaw initially served with the Royal Artillery and then the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders prior to WW2. He served in Palestine and, on the outbreak of WW2, the Battalion moved into Egypt, mainly fighting Italians. As Crete came under attack by the Germans around 20th May 1941, his Battalion was shipped into the ongoing battle. They were roughly deployed to protect the airfield and choke points. With incessant air attacks, the RN withdrew, and what was left on the Island surrendered to German troops. He was shipped to Greece and through the Balkan states to Berlin. Conditions were very difficult on the cattle trains and food was limited and many died. He eventually moved from various Stalags and work camps, was injured by allied bombing of the Dresden/Liepzigrail yards doing forced labour. George was eventually released by US Forces at Stalag IV-G. He returned home and continued to serve in a number of regiments, regular and TA, settling back into the miner's home in Kirkcaldy. Bill Mason Pte. James Joseph Bennett Royal Leicestershire Regiment My father James Bennett was captured at the battle of Kasserine Pass in February 1943. He was transported to Italy and then to Germany, ending up at Oschatz - Stalag IVg, where he worked in quarries. He had an appendectomy (no anaesthetic), by a French doctor in nearby Colditz. He was arrested twice for trying to escape. After the war he served in the Rhine army. James died in 1995. I would be interested to hear if anyone remembered him. Peter Bennett Pte. Victor Albert Thomas Royal Army Service Corps Victor Thomas joined the Army Service Corps when he turned 18. He was sent unprepared and almost unarmed to Crete aged 23 he was captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW in Eastern Germany. In his words: "We didn't have anything at all to defend the island, we were using rifles from World War One with two rounds each. They captured us and put us in cattle wagons and took us to Germany." He caught Diphtheria in the camp and became so weak that he couldn't walk or work. He was looked after by New Zealand-born doctor and officer Earl Stevenson-Wright. He was taken to Berlin with one guard to the hospital. When on the Berlin underground a lady gave him her seat as he could barely stand. She told him that her son was a POW in Canada and hoped people would do the same for him there. The Germans were going to shoot Uncle Vic due to his repeated escape attempts. Dr. Stevenson-Wright stepped in and told the Germans that Vic was his batman and therefore shouldn't be shot. It worked and he became Dr. Stevenson-Wright's batman from then on until they were moved to separate camps. He was in the following camps: Stalag VIII B (Lamsdorf, Silesia) in October 1941 Stalag III D (Steglitz, Berlin) in 1941 Stalag IV G (Ostritz, Saxony) in 1944 He witnessed many things, including seeing a barbed wire compound in a wood where the Germans had herded Russian POWs and left them to starve to death. He saw the destruction of Leipzig by RAF carpet bombing and told me of the terrible effect it had on the camp guards who lived in the city with their families. The German guards, despite being short of food for themselves and their families, always passed on the Red Cross parcels to the POWs whenever they occasionally made it through. He also received food parcels, which arrived addressed from The Cafe. They were really sent by Miss Cascarini in St. Thomas, who did not put her name to them for fear of persecution of her family in Italy. Almost at the end of the war they were marched Westwards, guarded by very jumpy Hitler Youth. He managed to slip away with another POW and head towards the Western Allied lines. Whilst hiding in a barn an American plane strafed them, killing his companion right at the end of the war. Upon being liberated he spent many months in hospital recovering from his ordeals and severe malnutrition. After the war he re-visited Germany several times, to meet some of the Germans who despite everything had been kind to him. He never had a bad word to say about Germans in general, just specific people there who behaved extremely badly. Russ Thomas Pte. Stanley Arthur Hayes 4th Btn. Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) Stanley Hayes was my father, born in Watford in 1918. He enlisted in the Army in WW2 and was sent to Malta along with the rest of the 4th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) in October 1940. He spent a lot of his time filling-in bomb craters on the island's runways. In mid-1943 when the Italian surrender meant that Malta was safe, the Brigade that 4th Buffs were part of, was sent to Alexandria. From there they became part of the ill-fated attempt to capture and hold some of the former Italian islands in the Aegean. The 4th Buffs were on Leros when my Dad was captured in November 1943. He was initially held in Stalag IV-G, Oschatz, before being moved to Stalag IV-B, Muhlberg. Interestingly, on his Register form his last camp is recorded aa IV-C, Wistritz, but his Identification Tag states IV-B. On both documents his PoW number is the same. He was released on 20th May 1945. Jan England Tpr. Samuel Gill Royal Armoured Corps My uncle Sam Gill spent some time at Stalag IVb having been captured at Tobruk fighting against Rommel troops. He also travelled to other camps, amongst them Stalag IVg Oschatz, Germany. I am reading notes that he left at his passing away about his experiences in these camps. He was away from home in Sheffield for about four and a half years. Terry Gill Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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