Long March POW Casualty 1945: John Antony Ronald Coulthard, Stalag XXA, Thorn

My father was a POW with Antony Coulthard in Stalag XXA and they escaped together in 1942, making it all of the way from Poland to the Swiss border. I have the book of their escape and letters from his mother to Dad. Antony was captured near Amiens in mid April 1940 after being sent forward to find a lost Divisional HQ on his motorbike. He did not realise he had passed through the front lines and when he slowed to talk to fellow motorcyclists only realised they were German as he drew alongside! His mother states he was in the Intelligence Corps but my father's submission to MI9 after the war (regarding their escape) stated he was in the Fiels Service Police. I am not sure. His mother also states that he was buried at Domitz, on the old East/West border.

Steve Foster

 

Steve-It must have been later than April-The Germans didn't start their advance into Holland, Belgium, Lux and France until May 10th.

 

Steve-It must have been later than April-The Germans didn't start their advance into Holland, Belgium, Lux and France until May 10th.
Yes, you are quite right, my father was captured in Norway on Apr 23 1940 and that was the first contact between British and German troops. I have just re-read the passage in the book and Antony was deployed to France on April 7th and captured on May 20th. I have a picture of him with my father in Stalag XXA if anyone is interested. My intention is to go to Domitz next summer and try to find his grave. Steve

 

Its always good to put faces to names Steve.

 

Hi Steve, thanks for posting about your Dad and Antony Coulthard. I was intrigued by the account on Guardsman Burnell's Liberation questionnaire which was sent to me by someone who knows of my interest in Irish Guards, and wanted to confirm the correct casualty details.

I do hope that you can locate his grave. How far are you with regards to this research. Have you contacted CWGC to see if they can tell you of any burials as Unknown?

How much have you researched your father's service?

Would you be able to share and post the correspondence as I think it would be of interest.

Can you tell me when was the book published?

Regards
Diane
Hello Diane,

Pleased to meet you. I have only joined the site tonight so I am not sure how to attach items to the replies, is it the "insert image" icon above? I have researched my father's military record pretty thouroughly and have spent some time in the Sherwood Forester's museum with the curator last year. He was wounded and captured in Norway in 1940 when the 148th Brigade (TA) tried to halt the German advance from Oslo at a little town called Tretten. Most of his battallion were either killed, wounded or captured and it is a little known action which took place prior to the action in France and Belgium. I visited Tretten last year and the local historical society hosted me and took me round the war graves and the remains of the rock sangars that the Foresters held until overrun by tanks and ski troops.

I will pass as much as I can once I have learnt how to attach!

Steve

 

Hi Andy and Diane,

Please find attached two photos, one of my Dad, Sgt Fred Foster of 8th Bn Sherwood Foresters and the other of dad and L/Cpl Antony Coulthard of the Field Service Police. Both were taken in Stalag XXA. Antony is holding the Typewriter that they used to forge all of their pases for their escape. They volunteered to edit the Camp Paper, only as a rouse to get access to the typewriter which the Germans would only let them use in the camp HQ to make sure nothing subversive was being produced. Little did they know.

 

Hi Andy and Diane,

Last missive this evening, I find this fascinating that someone else knows about Antony Coulthard; I was convinced that his death was completely unknown to anyone alive. As far as I can tell he has no living relatives as he was an only son; his mother lived in New Milton in Hants but she will be long gone. Her letters to Dad reveled how heartbroken she was for the loss of her Son and put quite a lot of blame Dad's way for Antony coming back to help dad at the check point. He must have lived with that all of his life as my sister and I only found all of this information after his death in an old suitcase

Antony's full name was John Antony Ronald which aligns with the initials on the Dunkirk memorial.

Diane, the book has no date on it but has this on the intro page:

Oxford: Printed by A T Broome and Son, St Clement's

I have attached the letter my father wrote to MI9 in 1945, apparently it was routine for all escapees to be debriefed by MI9 who were the Military Intelligence Department for Prisoners of War.

Regards

Steve

Postnote: The system won't allow me to attach the letters as they are probably too big. I could Email them if you wish.

 

** The missing letters on post #32 below have now been reposted on post #211 on page 22 **

Steve


Hi Diane,

I have Emailed you with the letter in 5 parts, the attachments and the accompanying texts are a bit out of sinc but you should have all 5 parts.

I have just read the prefatory note from Antony Coulthard's book and the following is printed: The King has been graciously pleased to approve the Posthumous award of Mention-in-Despatches, in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in the Field to 5386215 L/Cpl J A R Couthard (Intelligence Corps)

From the London Gazette, Nov 23rd 1945. War office

So he was mentioned in despatches, I am not sure if this was for his actions prior to capture or as a result of dad's letter to MI9 detailing Antony's part in their escape.

Steve

 

Hi Diane,

No mention of his MID in the text of the book, just at the preface. I have e mailed the CWGC to see if they know where his grave is in Domitz or indeed if he was repatriated. If not, it will give me a project in the summer to find his grave and to pass my father's respects.

Steve

 

Thanks for that Diane, it seems complicated but will give it a go. I have Emailed the last 3 pages of the book to you where it states Antony was buried in the cemetery at Domitz by four of his friends. Probably Guardsman Burnell was one of those, he obviously felt very strongly about the manner of death to sign a statement.

I have Emailed the German Tourist Board to find out who to contact about the cemetery in Domitz. I may get a reply!

Please post the book pages for me if you wouldn't mind.

Thanks

Steve

 

Well done Di for starting this thread and thanks Steve for sharing what you have-That mothers letter is really heartbreaking. Like you mentioned Di, a side of war we seldom get to see or read about.

 

Hi Andy, I am glad I have added to Diane's thread, as I said to Diane by Email, it is amazing how the internet can connect people with different parts of a sad story that probably no one would have been aware of. Most of what I have about Antony Coulthard and Dad has now been posted, except for the book written about Antony after the war and a very long and detailed typed letter of their escape. I only have pages 2-12 of this letter and I feel it may be the carbon copy of the original that Dad sent to Mrs Coulthard after she asked for details of their escape. If either you or Diane would like photocopies of these documents, I am only too happy to send them by post. When I scan them, they appear too big to post on the site. Maybe I am missing a trick on how to do it.
One last piece of information you may be interested in: If you log onto WWIIMEMORIES.COM and on the main menu click on Prisoner of war Journals and then click on Sept 1942. Pictures of various journals come up. Click on the third picture down on the right and the front page of a journal comes up with a picture of Dad, Sgt Foster, with Corporal Sam Kydd the actor. They were in the same hut together at XXA. The article underneath describes how they were a film crew visiting all of the working parties from Stalag XXA. This was not all as it seemed; in the long letter, Dad described how he only volunteered for this as a means of a detailed recce prior to their escape. He got to know all of the roads to the railway station, the exact layout of the station, all of the lanes outside the camp and where to best cut the wire. He also memorised the train timetable. When he got all of the info he wanted, he "de-volunteered" . This was a similar rouse to volunteering to edit the camp magasine and thus being able to work in the camp HQ on the typewriter. They forged all of their documents this way. All of this was detailed in the long letter to Mrs Coulthard. Best wishes to you and Diane, Steve

 

Hi Steve, Diane and Drew
I'm Antony's neice and I found your thread after a Google search of Antony's name. I was also thinking of trying to visit his grave if it is still in Domitz.
I can ask my cousins in England if they know anything if you like? Antony had 2 sisters and I am a daughter of the oldest sister, Pamela Coulthard.
We all still remember Antony and the story of his remarkable personality. He was an inspiration.
I hope Steve's Dad tempered my Gran's letter with some commonsense, in that she was a totally heartbroken mother. He was clearly not to blame for the terrible circumstances they were all placed in.

Antony was christened John Antony Ronald, but always called Antony (maybe because his Dad's name was John). It sounds like he was a unit Intelligence soldier? My mother said he didn't get enough training before going to the front, though no one predicted France would fall so quickly.
Regards
Barbara