Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website
Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website
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237161
Rifleman James Murray
British Army 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade
from:Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
The stories I know of my uncle Jimmy Murray are through my mother, his sister.
All I know is that he was serving in France, was captured by the Germans, POW in Stalag 20b, Marienburg / Malbork Poland. He had a tooth missing due to being hit by a German with the butt of his rifle.
He managed to escape. Walking through the woods one day he found a large hole in a mound. He quickly got inside so he could rest for a while, but noticed it was warm inside. When he looked out of the hole, he saw in the distance walking away from the hole a wild boar. (I don't think he stayed long in that hole).
While in the woods one day he was swilling his face in a puddle when a cigarette packet hit his shoulder. He thought that was the end of his escape. When he looked at the packet he noticed it was an American packet of cigarettes. This was the beginning of his journey home.
That is all that I know of my uncle Jimmy. If anybody has any information, however small, I would be very grateful for the chance to build a bigger picture of him and his time during the war years.