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About
211256L/Cpl. James Walker McLaren
British Army Cameron Higlanders
from:6 Hamburgh Place, Leith, Edinburgh
My father, James McLaren was captured on 27/5/1940 at La Basse, France. He was sent to Stalag XXA (Thorn) from 9/6/1940 - 19/4/1941. He was then transferred to Stalag XXB from 19/4/1941 - 24/1/1945. During his time in the camps he worked at Marienwerder 23/4/1941 - 2/3/1943 (Farm), Rehof 16/3/1943 - 18/4/1944 (Farm) and Mierua 20/4/1944 - 24/1/1945 (Smithy Work). He was then forced to go on the long march. During his time working on the farms he became very friendly with a young Polish girl called Stefania Drews. Soon after the war he applied for permission to bring Stefania to Britain and he married her. They went on to have four children, three girls and one boy.
Additional Information:
My dad Private George Harry Porter was captured at St. Valery, France on June 12 1940 according to notes he left me he spent time in Thorn before being transferred to Stalag XXB in Marienberg where he remained until the Russians liberated his camp on January 23 1945. During his time at Stalag he too worked on farms, I have a picture of him with a young woman. Because he was injured while a POW it took him three months to make it back to the UK. I wonder if they knew each other. My dad was with the Gordon Highlanders. I used to ask him many questions about his time as a POW which he didn't want to talk about, then one day he gave me a notebook with lots of details and told me to read this and not to ask him again, he said these were memories he would rather not talk about. I typed up these notes and cherish them. My dad passed away in 2004.Angela Leishman
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