Lt. William John Cuthbertson Whyte
South African Army South African Artillery
from:Cape Town
My grandfather, William Whyte, who was a Lieutenant for the South African Artillery, was reported missing on 20th of June 1942 in Libya. Judging from the letters, July 28th, 1942 he still was "missing", until roughly August 23rd, 1943 when he sent a letter to his parents from PG 75 Italy.
He seemed to stay in Italy for a while, as he sent letters on March 2nd, 1943 through until May 2, 1943. He sent a letter on 11th September 1944 from Oflag VA, his Geangennummer was 3180/37, he spoke about how his birthday had come and gone, he was reading a lot, and he was very fit for the two and a half years he'd been prisoner. The last letter I came across was also sent from Oflag VA on 2nd March 1945. Shortly thereafter, once released, he went to his closest relatives in Scotland and finally back home to South Africa. He died shortly after from stomach cancer.
