captured.then a cup of water costs a wrist watch

[mxp4506]

hi.do hope am posting on the correct site.failed the last test.here goes.
at home in yorkshire fred walton knows he was one of the lucky ones to reach is age today .born 1916,
fred was brought up in selby .with my grandfather thomas edward smith.and my grandmother elise smith.(walton)
he joined the royal tank corps in 1937.reaching the rank of corporal.
after participating in the dunkirk evacuation .his service in north africa included the siege of tobruk in 1941.
he was taken prisoner in 1942.
we was overrun because the germans had far superior fire-power and much better equipment.he recalls.my unit lost all its tanks and had to withdraw to tobruk.the idea was to hold tobruk as a fortress as previously been done
for nine months.
unfortunately these things cannot be done with revolvers .which was all the armament we had left.
the day of his capture fred remembers like this .at dawn on june 21st.came the order .every man for is self.later with a few others i was on the cliff top.
when a large german tank appeared on one side and a armoured car on the other.both had large guns trained on us.so we decided to wait for them to come to us.that gave us time to throw our revolvers and ammunition in the sea.and share a can of raw bacon. not very nice .but we were hungry.
when the german got close .a head appeared out of the tank.and told us in fairly good english.for you the war tommy the war is over.the feeling when the guns were trained on us is not to be recommended.
fred walton and the other prisoners were then marched seven miles to tobruk harbour.the first of many trials to come.
we managed to beg a drink of water from a german officer.
this was like nectar .because it was midsummers day.and it certainly was hot.
at the harbour it was sheer bedlam with 30.000 prisoners all craving a drink.
but the price of a cup of water .from the germans was a wrist watch or
something of equal value.
after the heat of the day.the night which followed was bitterly cold.
we just collapsed on the sand .pulled our great overcoats round us and tried to sleep.
thus ended my first day as a prisoner of war.
more to follow.
mike

[mxp4506]

though captured by german forces .the prisoners were in libya.which was under italian control.so they were handed over to the italians.
we were loaded into lorries .all standing.jammed in tightly.scarely able to breathe.a desert tribesman sat on the cab of each vehicle.with is rifle pointed
at us .on desert roads there was constant fog of sand around us.the journey was terrible.it lasted a few days .and i do not think we were given any-thing to eat or drink during the entire journey.
every few hours the vehicles stopped and we were allowed to stretch our legs .and relieve ourselves.when it came to setting off again.if you were some distance away.the guard would fire is rifle close to you to make you hurry.
eventually the journey ended in tripoli at a camp the prisoners came to know as the HELL HOLE .there they were crammed into buildings resembling aircraft
hangers.the appalling conditions which awaited them was soon apparent.
the toilets had been used and neglected by previous prisoners .to enter one removed boots and socks .rolled up trousers .and paddled though.thank goddness this problem was overcome by the italians providing rods .bleach.
e.t.c and a party of our own men who worked like trojans.to make the toilets useable.
to this day day when ever i smell bleach that blasted place comes into my mind.
end of part two.
mike

[Kyt]

Great posts Mike. Thanks for posting them, and keep them coming.

[mxp4506]

hello.thanks for your comments kyt. means a lot comming from you.seems i doing some-thing right.reading these again .makes me think what .the prisoners went though.and survived. alas some did not.
here is part three.
the camp cookhouse was run by a group of prisoners who had been there some time.they looked after themselves and we had what was left.
why we never rioted .will never know.probably because those running the cookhouse were in the good books of the italian commander.
am sure would of set his troops on us if we had caused any trouble.
the daily ration was a small bread bun.one small ladle of rice in salt water.and one cup of ersatz coffee made from ground acorns.
about twice during the months we were there .we had a sort of stew.
bits of meat .bones .and rice.
we had about 20 water taps for thousands to wash in.
these were turned off after a few hours .and not turned on again till next morning.
in the hangers prisoners slept on the contrete floor.
each morning after rising we were not allowed back into the hangers until late in the day.
we spent the time listening to lectures-by anyone who could talk on any subject.
some lectures were quite enlighting.
on a few occassions we had a issue of ten cigarettes.
very dry and full of weevil holes.
we had to tear a piece of paper from our pay books and wrap it around our cigarette to try and get a few puffs.
all for now.
part four later.
mike

[mxp4506]

still snowing .will put next piece on.
a friend of mine and myself tried stripping bark from trees in the camp.
this we shredded and wrapped in any paper we could find.it was very vile.
trying to smoke it.and you could only stand two or three puffs.
lights were obtained by using magnifying glasses .nobody had matches or lighters.
after many months.the el alamein started .and we were ordered to start digging gun emplacements outside the camp.
this was ignored so we had all rations stopped. but things must have been getting close because we were all quickly loaded onto wagons and taken to tripoli docks.
then hundreds of prisoners were loaded onto a ship bound for italy.
we were put in a hold and battered down ,
with one of the crew i exchanged my great overcoat for bread.cigaettes.
and a thin italian coat.
it was fiercely hot in that ships hold,some prisoners passed out because of
the heat and starvation.
they were taken out on deck to recover .
i do not know what ever happened to them .
how we got from tripoli across the mediterranean .i will never know.
god must have been with us.
however we disembarked in naples.
we must have looked pretty grim .because a group of elderly italians ladies
who saw us immediately dropped on their knees and began praying for us.
in fred waltons war next.
hopes of freedom dashed.then grim ordeals on the way to germany.
mike

[mxp4506]

hi just to say ,should read part four.put five by mistake,mike

Have changed it now, Mike - Kyt

[Antipodean Andy]

A great read, thanks mate. Very sobering.

[mxp4506]

Originally Posted by Andy in West Oz

A great read, thanks mate. Very sobering.

thanks for that andy.am sure fred wil be pleased some-one out there is reading his story.in his own words.
six days locked on a prision train.then work brings chance of a discarded.
cigarette end.
so bedraggled when they reached italy that woman onlookers prayed for them
fred walton and his prisoner colleagues initially found themselves in a better accommodation than that left behind in libya.as fred recalled at his home in hook ,there was a banother boost to spirits too.
not much food was forthcomming .but we had our first red cross parcel
(god bless them)one parcel between two prisoners .and i shared mine with a man from my own unit.
first we had a cup of english tea.with sugar and condensed milk.and pudding.
spotted dick.
i would not attempt to put into words our feelings aftrerwards.i lay down that night. and had difficulty sleeping .because my whole body was tingling so
much.probably due to the sweetness after so long without.
soon however we were moved again.a long road journey took them to a camp near porto st george.on the adriatic coast.we would remain there for some time.
barbed wire surrounded a large hanger .it was very dark inside .two small light did nothing to penetrate the gloom.beds were three-tier bunks.
jammed nose to tail.so the hanger could accommodate all of us.
again there was no work.time dragged terribly.to relieve boredom it was decided to put on a show of sorts.
there was no shortage of volunteers because the reward for those selected
was a meal bone from the cookhouse . if you were fortunate it might have a bit of meat clinging to it..
stage shows and football matches became regular events .
then the prisoners learned of italys withdrawal from the war and the allies
subsequent advance.
part six to follow .
mike

[mxp4506]

the italian guards changed their black fascist shirts to royalist blue.then all the sentries were taken away.fromthe barb wire and the gates were left open.we asked ourselves what shall we do now.some immediately left.
my friends and i.wandered outside.had some grapes and waited.
as we thought for the allied troops.we had been free inside the camp for possibly three days when we noticed the italians changing back into black shirts.in the sentry boxes well-armed germans appeared.they immediately closed and locked all gates.our days of freedom were over.
it was probably next day when a train of cattle trucks came down the line into camp.immediately we had to grab our belongings .we were allocated to the trucks about 25 at a time.we were issued one red cross parcel between two prisoners.and a loaf of german bread which had the date on of baking on it.this was 1943.the date of the loaf was 1937.
the truck doors were closed and locked and the train pulled away.
life inside our truck was very unpleasant.it had one small barred window.
we had to reserve one corner of the truck for performing our bodily functions.
disgusting .i know .but what could be done when the doors were locked.
we must have been in the truck six days .some-where ,half-way through
our journey the doors were unlocked and we found ourselves in a fairly large
station.we were then ordered to get off the trucks to relieve ourselves
in full view of people on both sides of the station.i think this was a propaganda move to show german civilians how low we british had sunk.
part seven later on .
mike

[mxp4506]

when their rail journey ended the prisoners transferred to lorries and moved again.somewhere along the road we halted at a small camp .we were prdered from the vehicles and in the middle of a field .we were told to strip off all clothes .the clothes were then put into a steam cleaner to kill the body lice .which had pestered us most of the time we were prisoners of the italians .we then had to line up for a haircut .this was done by an ancient
sheep-shearing machine operated by two russian prisoners .the cutting was rough and painful but very effective .four times over the head and the result.
bald as a billiard ball.next we had to go into a sort of hot shower .still in middle of the field.emerging wet .with no towels .we had to collect our gear.
from the steam cleaner and put it on .-hot and wet .rough methods.
but it go rid of them lice.
ater arriving at stalag IVB.fred and his pals were moved to lezip.they were among 30 prisoners based in a small room within a factory.
each man had a single bed and a small wooden box for his belongings.
the room had a stove with a hot water cylinder close by.
at one end a partitioned section accommodated german guards.
this ends part seven .
more to follow . mike