Pte. Frederick Charles Standen
British Army 4th Btn. Royal West Kents (The Buffs)
from:Whitstable, Kent
The extract below is taken from my father's recollections of his life which he wrote a few years before he died. He was taken prisoner in Leros in November 1943 and continues his story...
"I well remember my first three days because there was no food or very little water. Then we were crammed on a Italian destroyer below deck no air no nothing. I think most of us prayed it would hit a mine or likewise but no, we landed at Athens. Marched around Athens just to show how clever they were then into cattle trucks headed for Germany. We don't know this of course. 80 of us in our truck when laying down it was nose to tail, you cuddled the bloke's feet opposite and vice-versa to guard against frostbite. Right up through Bulgaria etc to Germany and Stalag X1A. From here we are put out on working parties. First our party went to Ackerskebron (Altengrabrow?) working for the council digging reservoirs. We then went on air raid shelters. Massive things all dug out by us with spades. Then the Jerries moved in to do the shuttering, then over a period of time we are back there to cement them in. Now that's where the trouble starts, this big cement mixer had done a yard (one ton) at a time. I believe it was two bags of cement a mixing. Well, every so many mixings - no cement. Well, what do you know, everything set, take away shuttering don't know how long but it all collapsed.
Now, showing their gratitude, they shoved us down a salt mine three-quarters of a mile deep at Great Shearstedt [Sarstedt] for 12 hours a day for three weeks. I think it was after this period I am working on a scaffolding about 15 ft up when a big block broke off. Hit me in the back of the head and ran down my back trapping my legs. One does not move far with a lump of salt on you, with great difficulty I was got down with my leg in two. Worse to come, was put in hospital full of casualties just back from Dieppe, they thought I was a pilot who had just baled out. You try and explain that when I think my German was far better than their English. They moved me from there I don't know where but in the room was another Buff. I finished up back in 11A hospital.
Here I upgrade to watches - never wanting to give them up or it was back to the salt mine. This I had no intention of doing till Jerries had me up and told me what they thought of me. They took my crutches away and gave me a walking stick. By a bit of luck I knew the corporal in charge of boot mending and said come on help me or you know where I'm going. Can you mend boots he said, no I said but my father did, so mend boots it was. And then the Russians are coming. Jerries said either wait here for Russians or on the road to be picked up by our own troops. This we did for a month; we were on road sleeping in woods mostly and then came the Yanks but we had got quite a few miles to go. The bridge over some river had been blown-up. By now our boots are under our chin straps; never mind taken to a town called Halle. Flown home from there in Dakotas to High Wycombe area. Reassemble and re-kitted and home on leave for three months."
