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L/Cpl. Victor Brannan
British Army Royal West Kent Regiment
from:Sydenham, Kent
My Uncle Victor Brannan fought in the army from the beginning of the war as a Lance Corporal in Royal West Kent Regiment and was captured at Albert on 21st of May 1940. His family received a telegram from the army that said he was missing believed killed in action.
However, he had been taken prisoner by the Germans. He went first to Thorn, Stalag XXA, before being sent on to Stalag XXB at or near Marienburg. In the winter he worked in a sugar beet factory and in the summer he cut down trees. He was able to communicate with his family by postcards that were subject to German censorship. In a postcard dated 15th of October 1944 Victor talks about the first film (Charlie Chaplin) he had seen since his arrival in the camp 4 years earlier.
After being released in 1945 he had to walk for about 3 months through Germany heading west, some prisoners died during this long march, some were shot. They finally met up with the American forces near Magdeburg and at last had something to eat. Victor ate a huge Dutch cheese and was taken ill with appendicitis.
I have a photograph of Stalag XXB with no markings on the back, it is the same picture as that posted on this site for Vic Thurgood. My uncle is third from right in back row. The postcard he sent shows XXB(4) I presume the (4) might be relevant to his precise location.
