Did any POW's get released early?

[penderel]

From German camps?
Did exchanges take place?

Did any South African POW get released early?

Thanks.

[sapper]

Yes there were isolated instances of prisoners being returned on both sides ..usually because of serious sickness.
Sapper

[WotNoChad?]

I was reading just the other week something which had a brief reference to Allied/Axis prisoner exchanges, racking my brain to recall what it was though.

Hmmm not much use I admit.

cheers,

[handtohand22]

These are two stories about individual repatriation told by ex-Royal Marine Bill Balmer. He was taken prisoner by the Germans after the collapse of the ‘Sacrifice Army’ at Calais 26 May 1940. He was 17 years old at the time of his capture.
The first repatriation took place from Sternberg Timber Yard where he was part of a work party called E361, forced to labour for his captors. The second incident took place at Stalag VIIIb at Lamsdorf.

Mental Problems

We had to jump on a young Scotsman who tried to burn down the factory. On another night he destroyed as many dynamos as possible in the factory so that the electrical system failed. Then one night I couldn’t find him. One soldier came to me and took me to where the young Scotsman was. ‘Jock’ had gone to the timber yard and had lain down on the rollers just below the pendulum saw. He had manoeuvred himself so that when he released the saw it would cut his head off.

I asked him what the problem was. He replied that he wanted to get home so he was going to cut his head off. We told him he was stupid because they would not send him home without his head attached. This was the young man that had built us or illicit radio sets only a few months before.

We talked him out of releasing the saw blade that night. It was not long after that incident I was woken up late one night and asked to go to the timber yard. ‘Jock’ was lying on the rollers and was about to pull the rope that released the saw blade. We managed to save him again but this time we informed the German guard. ‘Jock’ ended up in hospital and before we knew it he was back in Scotland in a psychiatric hospital.

Not soon after that episode the Sergeant in charge of our billet received a very nasty letter from ‘Jock’s’ sister. She wanted know why we had allowed all this to happen.

Another Repatriation

Archie Achieson from Bendooragh also had himself repatriated. He was about six foot two inches tall. One day he approached me bent over and walking with the aid of a walking stick. I said, ‘Hello Archie, what’s wrong with you?’ Archie replied, ‘I have developed a bad back and I’m off to the hospital for treatment’. He then asked me to join him and do the same so that we would be repatriated. He told me that he had been pulling the same stunt for over a year and the doctors could not find the problem. They were on the verge of repatriating him.

One hour later I saw him coming from the hospital, still looking old and frail. Just then a soldier came out of the billet and shouted out, 'Grub up!' Although it was only the usual saurkraut and spuds, Archie ran down the road like a one-year-old greyhound, he was nearly first in the queue. I went into the billet and challenged him about his back condition. He told me there were time when you had to move fast. Archie was repatriated in 1943.

[penderel]

Thanks for replies. Those 2 stories are quite classic and give me a laugh, actually need that too.

[ADM199]

Originally Posted by penderel

From German camps?
Did exchanges take place?

Did any South African POW get released early?

Thanks.

There were a large group of Naval P.O.W. Released in exchange for Italian Naval Prisoners who were in the hands of one of the Arab Countries. The Italians came up with the exchange deal when they found out that their Countrymen were not being treated as well as they would have liked. Not sure if any were South African though.
As others have said releases were made both ways on Mental and Medical grounds.