Private Jonathon Wilkinson - POW

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A part of the story here - The rest at:

Private Jonathan Wilkinson

Life as a POW in Southern Germany

On 19th September, after 3 days by train in a cattle wagon with 60 mates and no food, we arrived at Stalag VIIIA Gorlitz Mays, near Dresden in South Germany. This was a holding camp for POWs, with over 500 of us in a hut. I received my POW ID 81828. Here we were allowed to play football and I learnt to box under the guidance of Ambrose (ABA middle weight champion) and John Evans (Army light heavyweight champion). On 6th October, I received my first Red Cross parcel for 2 months, and my new POW kit. We were sent out to work in local Kommandos (work camps).

Life as a POW in Upper Silesia. On 5th November 1943, we were pushed into another closed cattle wagon at Stalag VIIIA Gorlitz Mays and transported to the extreme cold and snow of Upper Silesia. This was to be my ‘home’ for the next 14 months. At the first kommando Zabrzec, we worked on railway sidings and often saw young dejected German soldiers on their way to the horrors of the Russian front. Here we took the chance of ‘lifting’ extra food from the supply wagons – right under the guards’ noses. We devised numerous diversions like building snowmen and snowball fights, while Jackie Hicks and I helped ourselves to the ‘spuds’. This went well until guards found peelings had been left in one of the huts. We also did our share of sabotage by uncoupling wagons to delay supplies going to the front.

[52nd Airborne]

Pte Wilkinson was in the same regiment as my grandfather (5th Hampshires) they were both captured at the battle of Sidi Nsir.

I have been in contact with Pte Wilkinson's son in law and I passed on to him Jonathan's completed Liberated POW interrogation questionnaire.