213402 George Black British Army 11th Btn. Durham Light Infantry from:Sunderland I was a member of the 11th Battalion of the DLI, captured at Lille in 1940. I spent the rest of the war in Stalag 8b. One of my fellow POW's was a Mauri who was the New Zealand Army Division Heavy Weight Champion boxer.
We had a Sergeant in charge of our working party E565 Siersza Wodna at a coal mine near Trzebinia, Poland, we knew him as Sgt "Krappitz" (The Man of Confidence) He was from County Durham or Northumberland, spoke with a slight lisp and had trouble pronouncing his R's. He was a great man and was like a father to us younger lads. Does anyone remember him?
I would like to get in touch with anyone who remembers Sgt Krappitz from those times. He was with us on the long march from Poland to Landshut where we parted company.
I would also like to get in touch with the family of one of my fellow prisoners who was killed in a accident whilst working in the coal mine in July 1944. He was about 23 or 24 years old, from London I think, I didn't know his full name but I think he may have been Pte Harry Williams of the 5th Battalion of the Hampshire Regt who died on the 15th July 1944 and is buried at the Cracow Rakowicki Cemetery.
I'd also like to hear from my friend Cecil B. Moulden who was from Stroud in Gloucestershire, we lost touch after the war.
|