234458 Frank William Biddlecombe British Army 6th Btn. Royal West Kent Regiment My son and I are taking my father to Gdansk to revisit his wartime POW sites. Dad is Frank William Biddlecombe.
Now 85, he was a Private in the 6th Batt Royal West Kents. They were sent to
France in the BEF and were taken prisoners virtually en masse at Doullens
fighting what turned out to a rearguard for Dunkirk. A few weeks later he
arrived at Thorn Stalag XXA. He was soon moved out to a satellite camp in
Pietsendorf (Piecki) a suburb of Danzig (Gdansk) and from there engaged in
his trade as a carpenter iaw the Geneva Convention working in Sopot for
several years. In the last 12 months he has started talking about his
experiences to his grandchildren. My sister and I have never heard any of
this and the horrors he and his colleagues endured are mind bending!
Thankfully we are recording this and I am taking a tape recorder with me to
capture as much as possible. May I ask if anyone has any experience of
visiting Poland and Thorn (Torun) in particular? Would much appreciate any
tips; we plan to visit Thorn, Pietsendorf and possible Bromberg (Bydgoszcz)
all places dad has talked about.
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