L/Bmdr. Arthur Sydney Paxton
British Army 282 Bty. 88th HAA Regiment Royal Artillery
from:Hampstead, London
My late father, Arthur Paxton, signed up in the Territorial Army in March 1939. He was called up for service in August 1939 with the Royal Artillery, 88th HAA Regiment, 282nd Battery. He was initially stationed at White City. From the regiment’s diaries I know he was stationed around London including Enfield, Epping Forest, and Mill Hill.
In July 1941, Batteries 281, 282, and 283 were deployed to the Middle East. They arrived at Port Tewfik in Egypt on 23rd of July 1941. The 282nd Battery consisted of 11 officers and 346 ordinary ranks. Batteries 281 and 283 were a similar size. They were deployed in the Suez area, tasked with defending the Port of Alexandria and the Suez Canal. In October 1941 they were moved to defend the desert landing grounds in preparation for Operation Crusader in the Western Desert. This operation lasted until January 1942, when Rommel counter-attacked. In May 1942, my dad’s regiment was moved to Tobruk, where the 282nd Battery suffered major losses in June.
My father was listed as missing at Tobruk on 20th of June 1942 and is then listed as a POW captured in Cyrenaica. From Tobruk he was taken to Italy, and there is a WO telegram dated September 1942 confirming he was a POW in Italian hands. He is listed as a POW but with no camp allocated, which leads me to believe that he was in a work camp.
We have a family story that when Italy surrendered, my dad was being taken from Italy to Germany and the train he was being transported on was bombed by allied aircraft and he and many others escaped. This could be the Bridge at Allerona, but I can find no corroborating evidence for this. He then hid in the mountains, begging and stealing food from the local farmers. He was recaptured as he was trying to make his way back to Allied lines.
I know that he next turned up at the main prisoner transit camp at Mantova, before being transported by train through the Brenner Pass to Germany. He was initially held during August 1944 at POW camp VII-A before being transferred to Stalag XI-A at Altengrabow in Saxony. Stalag XI-A was liberated by the Americans, and my father was repatriated in May 1945. His POW number was 135310.
I have my father's military service record and the ICRC POW record, but neither gives me any detail as to where my father was held during the 2 years he was a prisoner in Italy. I would love to find out more about my father's time in Italy if anyone can help me.
