211646 Aircraftsman 1st Class Allan Cooper Craw Royal Air Force from:Larkhall, Lanarkshire My dad, Allan Craw, was in the R.A.F and was in Oflag 7b from 23/11/44 to 14/05/45. He joined the R.A.F on 23/07/1941 aged 19 and after he did his basic training at R.A.F Hunmanby Moor he went on a ship to Egypt via South Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Serving with the ground support with the R.A.F in North Africa. He was captured at the fall of Tobruk on 22/06/42 and taken to Benghasi on the 27/06/42. He was taken over to Taranto in Italy on the 23/07/42 and then onto Brindisi on 24/07. Moved to Benevento on 04/08/42 onto Capua on 02/08 and finally to Macerata on 22/11/1942. He escaped on 16/09/43 and was on the run until he was re-captured nearly 6 months later on 02/02/44 about 7 miles from Orsogna trying to get back to the Allies who had advanced near this point. Whilst he was on the run he was fed and sheltered by the Italian people in their homes at great risk to themselves, he never forgot their kindness and generosity towards him. He said the reason he got caught was that he had found a parcel dropped by the Allies and it contained among other things some new boots so he had the boots on and was later questioned by a German soldier speaking in broken Italian asking were he got them from, the soldier wasn't happy with his answer. Anyway he was taken to the police station. Of course they knew straight away he was Scottish and not Italian and he was re-captured. After he was captured he was taken to L'Aquila on 29/02 then onto Latina on 23/03/44 then onto Mantova on 12/06 and finally to Mooseburg in Germany on 18/06/1944. After 2 weeks he was sent off on a working party to Munich to help clear up Allied bomb damage. He was then taken from there to Oflag 7b on 23/11/1944 where he met up with his old friend John Campbell who was in P.O.W camp in Macerata. He was in the column of men who were marching out of the camp to Mooseburg on 14/04/1945 when they came under attack from Allied aircraft thinking they were German soldiers, killing at least 11 and wounding over 40 more. Arriving in Mooseberg on 23/04/1945 he was released on 29/04/1945 taken to Ingolstatt and flown from there by Dakota c47's to Rheims in France and then back home by Lancasters. My dad was Aircraftsman 1st Class Allan Craw 1557340 he was demobbed on 11/12/1945. He was born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire in 1922 and died in Rotherham, South Yorkshire aged 80 in 2002. All the imformation and details were taken from his war time log book.
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