241671 Pte. Alfred Platt British Army 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers from:Newton-Le-Willows My late father, Alf Platt, was part of the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers who were part of the rear guard action to hold back the Germans during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
My father very rarely spoke of his ordeal but I do know that he was captured and marched to the North of Poland where he spent 5 years in the P.O.W camp at Danzig, now called Gadansk. For several Months my late mother was told that he was "missing in action, believed killed", this was later corrected when she learned that he was a P.O.W.
it was only when a Dutch civilian gave him a piece of paper and asked him to write his name on it, that my Mother was then informed by the Red Cross that her husband had been seen alive, she was later advised that he was a P.O.W in Stalag XX3A. My Mother and her 5 year old daughter did not see him again until he was liberated in 1945.
My Father spoke very little about the war or his ordeal as a P.O.W and despite reading several accounts of Dunkirk, cannot find many mentions of the soldiers who stayed behind and were captured, we only read about the hero's of the R.A.F, the Royal Navy and the little ships, and nothing much about those left behind.
If anyone can shed any light on the Lancashire Fusiliers role at Dunkirk or the prison camp at Danzig and the march to get there, I would very much appreciate it.
Whilst we all (quite rightly) honour those brave young men of the R.A.F and the little boat crews etc in the evacuation, let's not forget those heroes who gave their lives, or 5 years of their lives to facilitate that evacuation.
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