The son of my friend Hans, likes to know more about his dad's time in England (same name) and his life as POW in England. I had already posted an earlier thread, but did not get very far with it. * 02.11. 1910 POW number, see picture He always spoke very highly about the time as POW, may be it helped to be a keen singer of German folk music or anything else the brits allowed him to perform. Can someone dig out about the camp, his comrates and camp comander, etc? Stefan.
Hi Stefan I know its a wiki page - List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia but can't find the camp name you mention, and it doesn't come up as a geographical loocation either ?? - can you double check TD
Could it be Borrowdale in Cumbria? Grizedale Hall was No 1 POW Camp about 30 miles away Grizedale Hall - Wikipedia
Also known as Camp 56 Prisoner of War Camp 56 - Suffolk Heritage Explorer Italian POW in UK - Camp 59 Botesdale -Diss Norfolk Have a happy afternoon with Google TD
Your Grandpa was lucky to have been caught by the English! It sounds like POWs were well looked after compared to German camps in Poland.
BBC radio - "Document" episode - available on the Iplayer : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rb1xr German PoWs in the UK Document Mike Thomson investigates the story behind the German prisoners of war forced to work in Britain for three years after the Second World War had ended. The International Red Cross condemned the ongoing use of forced PoW labour after the end of hostilities and the British public and the press voiced strong opinions about the deployment of 'slave labour'. But the government had other plans: there was a drastic shortage of manpower after the war - with one million British troops still posted overseas - and the availability of nearly 400,000 PoWs in camps on British soil was seen as the quickest solution to the crisis. Before long, German forced labour made up a quarter of the nation's agricultural workforce. They were put to work on the roads and they even made up a third of the workers who prepared Wembley for the 1948 Olympics. Mike unravels the political and moral debate about the repatriation of the Germans; he also hears some of the unintended consequences of captivity by meeting a former PoW who decided to stay behind once he fell in love with both the Scottish Borders and his future wife.
Sorry if this has been posted before;- Assets | Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) The following documents and files are available at the WASt: Alphabetical Central Registry with over 18.000.000 record cards of persons who served in W.W.II (Soldiers of the Wehrmacht and members of other military/para-military organisations) More than 100.000.000 individual messages about postings between units during W.W.II Over 150.000.000 individual messages about unit losses in the Wehrmacht as well as other military formations during W.W.II In excess of 2.100.000 personal files on German naval personnel (Imperial German Navy, forerunner to the Reichsmarine, Reichsmarine, Kriegsmarine, German Minesweeping Service and drafted merchant seamen) for the period 1871-1947. More than 5.000.000 personal documents of the German Wehrmacht (Army- and Air Force personnel) for example identity cards, paybooks, etc. Over 15.000.000 files on German and Austrian forces and their allies who were POW´s (mainly in French, American and British custody). Release documents on transports (repatriations) from the East. Approximately 1.500.000 files (residue) on foreign POW´s in German custody. Gravecard Registry with 900.000 individual registrations for the First World War and 4.500.000 for the Second World War. Miscellaneous files and combined records as for example Army and Air Force List, Honours and Awards, etc Kyle