In January 1942, German PWs and refugees were shipped from Halifax, Canada to the UK. What could have been the reason that precious troopship capacity was used for this purpose?
Unfortunately for some reason your attached files have failed to open for me. What sort of numbers are we talking about? Could they have had intelligence value?
The One That Got Away (1957 film) - Wikipedia TD Prisoner of War Camps in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Canada - Wikipedia Behind barbed wire in Canadian PoW camps - CBC Archives With the war raging on in Europe in 1940, Great Britain grew concerned about what would happen with their German PoWs in the case of an invasion on British territory. Fearing that freed prisoners would help bolster the invading forces, the British government appealed to Canada and Australia to take custody of PoWs.
Note this is a movement of people from Canada BACK to the UK. Also, I could download the attachments. Most of the people mentioned are labeled "refugees" (at least 3 of them Jewish, from the imposed middle name "Israel" listed) and only a few are "internees". The title of the second page is "Nominal roll of refugees & p/w class II to be returned to United Kingdom". For the names of the internees, we have Oakar(??) Sturm, and last names Demarco, Rampoldi (x2) and Tomaselli, most of them presumably Italian.
I think you've missed the point - these guys were apparently coming the other way!. I have come across one example of a POW apparently coming from North America to Britain. Captured in Russia by the Soviets in 1942 then shipped across the Pacific to N America and then on the Britain but why is a mystery
In 1940 Britain sent a large number of enemy alien civilians (German and Italian) to Canada. Numbers of refugees often Jewish also went. Some are known to have come back for a number of reasons including MI5 recruited a number to use to keep an eye on Enemy Aliens remaining in Britain recognised as anti Fascist (e.g Communists) and allowed to live outside of camps amongst the general community but of whom MI5 were inherently suspicious. A number of non British rabbis who had fled to Canada volunteered to return and act as unofficial chaplains to Jewish soldiers. Later when regulations were relaxed they became official chaplains
Great - thank you for pointing out an error by going staraight between the eyes - perhaps sending me a 'conversation' on the subject would be better - I also need to add some !!!!! We are not all perfect TD
Although the attached documents do not prove that British Intel was involved in the recruitment of a batch of refugees and PWs for transit from Canada to the UK in May 1942, it does confirm that they were involved with convoy NA 8, in one way or another. One document mentions that the refugees were not confined during transit, which to me, is an indication that they were not a security risk, which may then hint at their future role in the war effort. The British Security Coordination office, in NYC, was run by the Canadian, Sir William Stephenson, code name "Intrepid". These documents originate from heritage.canadiana.ca, reel C5751, images 1522, 1523, 1446 & 1414.
It may be they were merely returning to the UK to serve in the Armed Forces. I have abstracted a similar situation from: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/5220598/Britains-secret-German-army.html "When the Phoney War of 1939-40 turned to disaster in France, attitudes to enemy aliens hardened. Churchill ordered mass internment and Willy Field found himself in the crowded, festering hold of a liner en route to Australia with 2,600 prisoners of war and refugees. Following a period of internment in Australia, he returned to Britain to join the Pioneer Corps, and in 1943 was transferred to the 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars. The driver of a Cromwell tank, he saw action in Normandy and the Low Countries. In 1944, as his unit led the British advance into the Netherlands, his tank was struck by an 88mm shell. He was the only survivor from a crew of five." I do not have a subscription to FMP so am unable to check further but it seems they hold the index cards for those interned during WW2. It would probably be worthwhile to see if the persons named appear and what information is given. Tim Edited to add: www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/family-records/how-to-find-enemy-aliens-in-britain-with-new-records
This might be the man in the article Willy Hirschfeld Field 1920–2012 BIRTH 17 AUG 1920 • Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany DEATH 12 MAY 2012 • London, England Apr 1936 • Started as apprentice for Herz & Co, Siegburg Bet. 1936-1938 • Moved from Lenné Strasse to Liszt Strasse to Dorotheen Strasse 10 Nov 1938 • Arrested by SS at factory. 15 Nov 1938 • Taken to Dachau Apr 1939 • Released from Dachau; travelled to England with cousin Margot May 1939 • From Bonn to Flushing, Holland, to Harwich, England Bet. May-Jun 1939 • Wrasford Farm, Bude, Cornwall Jun 1939 • Farm in Sussex Also Known As Willi Field This is all from a family tree - there are no comments re any military service TD
That's him TD. Previous paragraph to the one I quoted is: "I volunteered because I wanted to repay Britain for saving my life," says Mr Field, who lives in north London. A Jew, he fled Germany in May 1939 after spending six months in Dachau concentration camp. During his confinement he had witnessed men dropping dead from exposure after being forced to stand on parade for 60 hours in retaliation for the disappearance of an inmate. "I knew they would soon come back for me, but if it wasn't for Britain I would have perished in the Holocaust. Some thought I was silly to want to fight but I wanted to do something; I wanted to get back at Hitler and the Nazis." Tim
An interesting documentary ' Churchill's German Army' on the 10,000 Germans and Austrians who fought for Great Britain. Link to: Part 1 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDkxq5gbRoE Part 2 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6SRWUoAZuU Part 3 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wx69rDxwGw Part 4 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRcDPTiRjP8 Tim
