The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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249550 Pte. Martin Albert Henry Lewis British Army Welch Regiment from:Newport, Mon. My father, Martin Lewis was captured outside Bengazi on 29th of January 1942 and arrived at Weinsburg on 9th October the following year. Leaving the North African port of Tripoli on 23rd of February 1942 he reached Naples four days later and eventually found himself at an Italian POW camp in Capua. When this camp was taken over by German forces he was moved in July 1943 and travelled via Rome, Foggia, Padua, Bologna and Moderna eventually, after several months travelling, reaching Weinsburg on the 9th October. En route to Oflag VA in Germany my father spent time in Strasburg as well as a transit camp near Munich, Stalag VIIA, Moosberg before finally reaching Weinsberg. Strangely he was placed in a camp for officers for his rank was a private, however he was a gents' hairdresser so perhaps this was the reason he was placed in an Oflag rather than a Stalag POW camp, the latter being for enlisted men as opposed to officers. His war diaries articulate the routine and events of life within a German POW camp which he stated was far tougher than in his previous two camps run by the Italians. There were obviously difficulties he and Other Ranks faced, this being a camp for officers, one example being given just 15 marks per month for working almost daily cutting hair in the camp salon. Sadly, my father suffered psychologically as time went on in the Weinsberg camp, so much so that on being released in 1945 he had a complete nervous breakdown and never really recovered full mental health during the rest of his life. He died at an early age in 1973 when he took his own life.   Group of POWs in Oflag VA Martin Lewis Add to this record.  Related Content: Welch Regiment Western Desert Campaign in North Africa Benghazi Prisoner of War Camp Prigione di Guerra (Campo) P.G. 66 Prisoner of War Camp Stalag 8A Prisoner of War Camp Oflag 5A Prisoner of War Camp Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

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