The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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50105 Rifleman Cecil A. Ponsford Army Kings Royal Rifle Corps Believed to be the funeral of Cecil A. Ponsford The above is a photograph of the funeral of a POW, about March 1943. The exact location of the funeral is not known but it is assumed to be near Fort Rauch in Poland, German POW camp Stalag 21d. I believe the deceased man was RFN Cecil A. Ponsford, POW No.2474 at Stalag 21d who lived near to my father, Albert Palmer, in London before the war. On the back of the photo is an address, written in pencil, of a place in London where Mr. Ponsford's relatives lived at the time. The address side of the photo has a German Stalag 21d rubber stamp on it, ready to be sent by Red Cross back to London, but for some reason, the photo postcard was not sent. My father had possesion of Mr. Ponsford's photo's during the rest of his stay as a POW. It's possible that the Germans did not want Mr. Ponsford's possesions sent back to his relatives due to the nature of his death. This was the man, according to my mother, who was shot by German prison guards for whistling persistently whilst out with a working party. This would have broken the Geneva Convention & the Germans would not want his relatives to know. This postcard belonged to Mr. Cecil A. Ponsford who died as a POW at Stalag 21d as explained in previous emails. My father held this card, & others, until the end of the war & it was not allowed to be sent back to Mr. Ponsford's family by the Germans due to the nature of his death. Mr. Ponsford POW number at Stalag 21d was 2474. It shows a group of 9 POW's dressed up and performing a stage play at Fort Rauch Stalag 21d. On the back of the postcard can be seen Mr. Ponsford's address, the card was written in pencil & the message side of the card has been deliberately rubbed out & the German rubber stamp has been scratched out. This could have been done by the Germans before my father took posession of it. I can just see a date in pencil which says 24/3/1943 These photographs, also belonged to POW Cecil A. Ponsford, my father had these in his possesion after the death of Mr. Ponsford before March 1943. The top picture picture shows 3 POW's on stage giving an amateur dramatics performance for the rest of the POW's at Stalag 21d. The bottom shows a POW football match with Fort Rauch Stalag 21d in the background, date of photo possibly 1942. Christopher Palmer Add to this record.  Additional Information: When I was a child, my father told me of a young man at the same PoW camp as him who was shot for whistling. He gave the story that it was a terrible misunderstanding because the young man spoke no German. A German sentry’s family had been killed in an air raid. He shouted at the prisoner to stop whistling - possibly could not stand the cheeriness. The boy spoke no German and did not understand either that the shout was for him or what it meant. Whichever it was, the boy ignored the order and that one sentry fired killing him. I have my Dad’s PoW diaries and had been looking for his record of this tragedy but the 1943 diary is missing. Dad told us one had been found and confiscated. By chance (looking for something else) I have found the young man. Patricia Bailey Reply Related Content: Kings Royal Rifle Corps 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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