238151 Rflmn. Frank William Haydon British Army Kings Royal Rifle Corps My father, Frank Haydon, was a Rifleman in The King's Royal Rifle Corps and was captured on 27th May 1940 at Calais when it finally fell to the advancing Germans.
He was then taken to Stalag XXB in Poland. He never spoke much about his incarceration. Whilst he occasionally mentioned the odd "humourous incident" he never, ever, went in to detail about the terrible conditions and treatment meted out to prisoners.
I have since learned through various books and publications just how vicious the Battle For Calais was and how harsh the conditions and treatment were for P.O.W's at Stalag XXB. He would have been among the prisoners who were forced to march back in to Germany as the Russians advanced towards Poland - which must have been a harrowing experience given what everyone had to endure.
|