114837 Lieutenant Edward GARTSIDE, MiD, Royal Army Medical Corps

1141837 Lieutenant Edward GARTSIDE, MiD, Royal Army Medical Corps
18th April 1913 Oldham, Lancashire - October 1991 aged 78

CAPTURED 25 MILES FROM HIS HOME
Capt. E. Gartside Returns After 31/2 Years

Taken prisoner less than 25 miles from his home, Capt. Edward Gartside, R.A.M.C., of Cheriton, reached Folkestone last week after being repatriated with some 1000 Dominions officers and men.

Capt. Gartside is at present on 28 days leave, part of which he is spending at Cheriton High Street, where he practiced before volunteering for the R.A.M.C. on the outbreak of war.
He was captured at Calais in May 1940, after having been rushed to the French Channel port four days earlier.

NOW NEAR THE WAR
"Being made a prisoner of war not more than 25 miles froms his own home made me realise how close to England the war had come." said Capt. Gartside to a 'Folkestone Herald' representative this week.
"Actually I knew little of the Battle of Calais, it was four days of hard work for me. There was a lot of noise but we were too busy that it did not mean very much at the time," he continued.

"All we knew was that we were to hold on as long as possible. I knew nothing of Dunkirk or what the defence of Calais meant to the successful evacuation of our men from there.
"We were bombed out of one and then another dressing station," he went on.
"Calais was a shambles and ablaze when we left it as prisoners of war. The Navy gave it a terrible pasting with their guns."

Talikng if his experiences as a prisoner of war, Capt. Gartside said he was been very lucky.

NOT SO "HOT"
"I had my work. For five months I was in Bavaria and that was not so 'hot' but for the last two and half years I have been working in the hospital at Lamsdorf (Stalag VIIIB) on the borders of Poland.
"It's a very good hospital with 450 beds. Medical facilities were very good and there was a big staff.
"The grounds of Lamsdorf were derelict when I first went there but one of the medical orderlies, a former landscape gardner, set to work and with the help of the convalescing patients he made magnificent gardens, flower and kitchen.
At Lamsdorf Capt. Gartside had been specialising in opthalmic work and when Major Charters left to start a Braille school. Capt. Gartside was left in charge of work.
"They are training men who have lost their sight on St. Dunstan's lines at the Braille school which has been established at Kloster Hains in Central German," said Capt. Gartside.

THEIR TRAINING
"They are being trained in typing, book-keeping, carpentery, massage, piano playing and of course, reading and writing. It is a very well run school.
"Yes the health of our troops is good and no thanks to the Germans but thanks to the Red Cross." continued Capt. Gartside.
"The Red Cross, both in regard to food, medical supplies and recreational facilities, books and games, have been absolutely first class. They have worked magnificently and yes cannot speak too highly of the organisation. Since my return I have written to them, and I am going to make a personal call.
"And the spirit of our men, excellent. You can't keep the British Tommy down. I have the greatest respect for them and they are grand fellows.

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
"In the camp we had a symphony orchestra of about 55 players and we tackled such ambitious works as Beethovens's Fifth Symphony, Haydyn's Oxford and London Symphonies and Tchkovsky's Fifth Symphony.
"The average Tommy wouls rather listen to good music rather than 'swing'. The concerts always had to be repeated, running for about 10 days, with audiences of 700, the capacity of the concert hall, a former barrack room.
"There was also a first class R.A.F. choir of some 50 voices. Not long before I came away they performed "Merrie England," which was very popular.
"The choir also sings in the church and has ocassionally took part in the symphony concerts.

AMATEUR DRAMATICS
"Amateur dramatics too, are very popular. Plays performed included Ian Hay's 'The Housemaster', 'Square Crooks,', an American gangster thriller, 'French Without Tears' and "Grouse in June.'
The acting was of a very high standard and the female impersonation was very good."
Capt. Gartside travelled by hospital train from Lamsdorf to Marseilles, a journey taking five days and there a German ship to Barcelons.
Then he boarded a British ship for a port in the Middle East, and after five days wait he was on his way home in a hospital ship.
Asked for his impressions on wartime England after an abscence of three and a half years, Capt. Gartside said: "I expected to find the face of England more changed than actually it is."

FOOD AND TRANSPORT
The food he considers excellent after over four years of war, and transport facilities better than what he expected after all that he heard.
"Anyone who grumbles about transport facilities in this country should have to experience those in Germany," he commented.

Folkestone, Hythe & District Herald 11th December 1943