247301 Pte. John Kendall British Army Rifle Brigade from:Birmingham My grandfather, John Kendall, was captured at the Battle of Loos in September 1915, during his first action I believe. He was certainly sent to Munster II, aged 19, initially and I am not aware he was sent anywhere else. During his time he worked down a coal mine.
He managed to escape from the camp with a companion, surviving on field turnips for food. Eventually they were captured by a policeman and dog, returned to camp and beaten. He told me the two of them were forced to stand outside in the bitter cold with their arms out and hands outstretched. When they clenched their fists for warmth, they received a rifle butt across the hands. I have often wondered how he would have got far, a Brummie in Germany, miles from home with no German language and no resources.
To my knowledge he spent the rest of the war at Munster II. An irony for me is that I believe the Munster II camp was situated at a racecourse and he loved betting on the horses and watching racing on the TV.
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