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Pte. Leslie Mintz
British Army Royal Fusiliers
from:Manchester
Leslie Mintz was my father, born in November 1924. He trained in Carlisle and Pirbright and was sent to Italy via North Africa. He was shot and captured in Italy (at Anzio I think) around March 1944. Initial communications declared him a battle casualty but then it was discovered he had been captured and hospitalised to recover from the wound. He was happy that a German soldier had to carry him down several flights of stairs to the loo, then back up again. Mind you, he was probably only about 8 stone.
Imprisoned in Stalag 4C. Stories include: He spent all day on his birthday locked in a toilet to avoid work. He mixed tobacco with cowdung to make special cigarettes to sell to the German guards. When the allied bombers came over, the camp gates were opened, the prisoners ran into the woods, then ran back to the camp when the air raid was over. When the Russians liberated the camp he legged it down the road and jumped on a truck to get to the Americans. He died almost four years ago aged 89.
