249332 Rflman. George Alfred "Greedy" Greed British Army 1st Btn. Rifle Brigade from:London Before the war he was in the Territorial Army, George Greed lived in Poplar London, Tower Hamlets, but am not sure of his unit, either Poplar or Bethnal Green, or the dates he was enrolled. He signed up with the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, not sure of the dates. I think he trained in the Thetford forest area at Dixon’s camp? The following is what I have discovered, but not sure if it is accurate.
2nd Armoured Brigade Left UK on 28th of September1941 (perhaps from Felixstowe) Arrived Suez 29th of November 1941. In Egypt until 20th of December 1941. In Libya January 1942 to 16th of June 1942 then withdrew back to Egypt.
7th Armoured Division, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 19th of June 1942 onwards. In Egypt 12th of November 1942 then Libya until 10th of Feb 1943. To Italy September 1943 to December 1943 (he mentioned Salerno). In
January 1944 return to UK. June 1944 to France, landed Gold Beach, he was captured at Villers Bocage 13th of June 1944 when he was a half-track driver. He was a P.O.W 13th of June 1944 to 18th of April 1945, Prisoner No. 70132 at Stalag VIII-C Sagan, Germany (now Konin Zaganski Poland).
Dad would never speak much of his time in the war, he did tell me he was dive-bombed by Stukas in the desert and received shrapnel wounds in his legs. He mentioned he was at Mersa Matruh and El Alamein.
He was lucky not to be killed at Villers Bocage as he was a driver of one of the Half Track vehicles, which were all destroyed by Michael Wittmann’s Panzers. He was a prisoner at Stalag 8c and he worked at the Maulsh sugar factory in Poland. He told me that when he was a POW in Stalag 8C he used to feign illness to get into the sick bay, where he managed to get some bread from a kind orderly, and sneak it back to his hut. I remember him telling me he was on work parties loading sugar for the German troops on the Eastern front, and of course they used to sabotage as much as they could by relieving themselves in it and worse!!
At the end of the war when the Russians were advancing West, he managed, with a few others, to escape from a work party, they were eventually rounded up by the advancing Russians, who lined them up to shoot them as they thought they were Germans. He told me that a French, or French speaking woman managed to persuade the Russians that they were British soldiers, and she kissed my Dad and hung a cross around his neck, which saved their lives. I still have that cross.
Now here I become confused. I have read reports about the forced march from POW camps across Germany. But my Dad told me he was forced to march by the Russians, and that eventually he ended up in Odessa, where he was eventually shipped back to the UK.
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