- Contributed by
- John
- People in story:
- Thomas Gale
- Location of story:
- France, Africa, Germany
- Background to story:
- Army
- Article ID:
- A6345335
- Contributed on:
- 24 October 2005
My father never spoke much about the war. But in his later years he told me amazing accounts of the war which I should have written down at the time, I never did so this is a hazy recollection of things he told me.
He was a proffesional soldier in the Rifle Brigade. The Rifle Brigade was sent over to Calais in 1940 to hold up the German advance on Dunkirk. The Rifle Brigade was wiped out and only 35 came back, my father being one of them. This is all in a newspaper article which I have attached.
From their he went to the 8th Army. I think he was with the Long Range Desert Force when he was captured by the Italians after his lorry got a puncture. I remember him saying the Germans had more respect for the British prisoners than the Italians who they had no respect for.
He was sent across the Mediterranean on a ? troop/passenger ship. The ship was torpedoed and there were so few survivors that my father was reported killed. He was picked up after being in the water 24 hours.
He spent the rest of the war as a POW. He recounted several stories but they are very vague. One was an episode when they were out of camp on a work party and a young Jewess picked up a squashed potato from the road to eat. Her punishment was to be made to stand outside in the cold and rain with only a light coat on. Do not know what happend to her.
He had other memories of Colditz which I didn't understand because he was not an officer but reading books I understand there was a Other Ranks POW camp near to Colditz. Also he mentioned but never in depth, that they were taken to Dresdon after the fire bombing to help clear up. I believe Dresdon is near Colditz.
Towards the end of the war the prisoners were being moved on foot. He and some friends hid behind a hedge and eventually ended up in the Russian lines.
I remember most he describes his homecoming walking into the house and his sister was in the kitchen. Then going out to find his father who was sitting leaning against a tree to ease his bad back.
I regret this is such a vague account of what was an amazing story.
My father had five other brothers. One served and died on the HMS Hood. One got his pilots wings then disobeyed an order not to go from Canada to America to visit his brother, was thrown out of the RAF spent the rest of the war in the Guards but wearing his pilots wings. Anothet brother was a navigator in a bomber, unfortunatly I do not know which bomber. He was either shot down or crashed for some reason in the channel, but he survived.
I have been unable to add newspaper cuttings to this article I will e mail them seperatly.
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