240075 Pte. Stanley Arthur Hayes British Army 4th Btn. Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) from:Watford Stanley Hayes was my father, born in Watford in 1918. He enlisted in the Army in WW2 and was sent to Malta along with the rest of the 4th Battalion, Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) in October 1940. He spent a lot of his time filling-in bomb craters on the island's runways.
In mid-1943 when the Italian surrender meant that Malta was safe, the Brigade that 4th Buffs were part of, was sent to Alexandria. From there they became part of the ill-fated attempt to capture and hold some of the former Italian islands in the Aegean.
The 4th Buffs were on Leros when my Dad was captured in November 1943. He was initially held in Stalag IV-G, Oschatz, before being moved to Stalag IV-B, Muhlberg. Interestingly, on his Register form his last camp is recorded aa IV-C, Wistritz, but his Identification Tag states IV-B. On both documents his PoW number is the same. He was released on 20th May 1945.
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