POW Camp Index

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Stalag 8A Prisoner of War Camp    Stalag 8A (VIII-A, according to the German designation system) was located in Goerlitz (now called Zgorzelec) a western Polish town that lies on the border with Germany, approximately 50 miles east of Dresden. It was established in October 1939 to house Polish POWs taken during the German invasion. It was initially used as a transit camp (a 'Dulag') for prisoners, who would be processed and then distributed to other camps for permanent confinement. During the next few years, the size and composition of the camp population increased greatly as POWs of many nationalities were sent there. The camp reached its largest population of more than 47,000 prisoners in late 1944. In February 1945, in the face of advancing Soviet forces, Stalag 8A was evacuated.   22nd Jul 1941 Parcels If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Those known to have been held in or employed at Stalag 8A Prisoner of War Camp during the Second World War 1939-1945. Airy John. Pte. Aldridge Arthur. Pte. Banfield John Cecil. Basham Wilfred Donner. Pte. Baxter MID. Norman William. Pte. Bettley Enoch. Cpl. Bowring Hubert Stanley. Pte. Cammish Maurice Gosling. Pte. Carpenter Horrie George Stanley. Dvr. Chorley Wilf. Chorley Wilfred Lawrence. Clark Albert Arthur. Cpl. Clarke John. Pte. Conway John. L/Cpl. Darbyshire John. DeValck Pieter. Sgt. Dominik Julian. Durrant Donald George. L/Cpl. Dwyer Ronald William. Cpl. Evinou Andrew Jeffrey. Tpr. Furness Clarence John. Pte. Gilbert Frederick John. Dvr. Greene Derek Charles. Lance Corporal Grubb Joseph William. Cpl. Hamilton Fredrick William. RSM Haresign Frank. L/Sgt. Hellier Samuel Thomas John. Gnr. Hellyer Albert Westmore. Iticovici Bernard Berco. Iticovici Bernard Berco. James RF. Johnson Francis Daniel. L/Cpl. Jordaan Pieter Gabriel. Pte. La Doucer BSM. Harvey Leo. PFC Lambert Jack Prior. Gnr. Lambert Jack Prior. Gnr. Lambert Jack Prior. Gnr. Lewis Martin Albert Henry. Pte. Maletz Stanley M.. Tech5. McBride Alexander. L/Cpl McKenna John Alphonsus Stuart. Pte. McPherson James Ironside. Pte. McSorley MM. David James Hanvey. Gdsmn. Myburgh Ronald Philip Abercromby. Bmdr. Palmer Bill. Parker George Frank. Sgt. Parkinson Tom. Partridge Thomas. Sgt. Peters Bernard. Pieltani Georges. Price Laurie Noel. Sgt. Randles Paul John Leonard. Pte Resterhouse Loren George. Scaife George Alfred. Pte. Smith Reginald Alban. Spittel Frederick George. Pte. Tait George. Pte. Tajfel Henri. Thresher Leslie Stephen. Pte. Tuck Harry Arthur. Pte. Turner Claude. Wallace Francis Thomas. Pte. (d.6th Apr 1944) Warf Norman. Pte. Warrilow James R. West Charles. Rfmn. White Ernest Albert. Cpl. Williams Eric George. L/Sgt. Woods Norman James. Pte The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records from Stalag 8A Prisoner of War Camp other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. Announcements 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web. 19th Nov 2024 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible. Looking for help with Family History Research?   Please read our Family History FAQs The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. Want to know more about Stalag 8A Prisoner of War Camp? There are:558 items tagged Stalag 8A Prisoner of War Camp available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. James R Warrilow 3rd Hussars James R Warrilow served with the 3rd Hussars British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Add to this record. RF James 3/4th Sqd. County Of London Yeomanry RF James served with the 3/4th Sqd. County Of London Yeomanry British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Add to this record. Georges Pieltani My great grandfather, Georges Pieltani, from Pepinster, Belgium was held in Stalag 8A. My grandmother told me stories how he and some of the others would kill a pig and have a barbecue or ruin the laundry on purpose. It was sort of their little ways of fighting the Germans discretely. I know he saw some really horrible things during the five years he was there and I have a letter from Red Cross telling my great grandmother where her husband was. Crystal Geron Add to this record. Tpr. Andrew Jeffrey Evinou 4th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment My father, Andrew Jeffrey Evinou, served as a tank driver with the Fourth Royal Tank Regiment during WW2. He served with the British Eighth army in France and was one of the soldiers rescued off the beaches at Dunkirk. He told of how the ship he was on was hit by Messerschmitz and many were killed on deck. He was saved because he went below deck where tea was being served. After a very short leave during which time he married my mum, he was sent to North Africa. He fought with the Fourth armoured division at Tobruk where he was captured when his tank was hit. Dad lost a finger in that incident. He was a POW with the Italians for a year and a half then handed over to the Germans. He was a POW at stalag V111b and stalag V111a. He worked in the mines fourteen hours a day. He participated in the great march, but luckily survived it. He was ninety pounds in weight when he got home. I will always be my dad's proud daughter. He was eighty seven when he died in October of 2005. LEST WE FORGET. Janet Thompson Add to this record. Bernard Berco Iticovici We are searching for any information about Bernard (Berco) Iticovici or his relatives. Bernard (Berco) Iticovici was a French POW at Stalag VIII A, Gorlitz, Germany in 1941. He was a Romanian Jew who lived in Paris in the 1930’s. He was inducted into the French Army in 1940 and in June 1940 was captured during the Battle for France and sent as a French POW to Stalag VIIIA at Gorlitz, in Germany. Bernard was at the Stalag in 1941 as prisoner #29347. It is possible that Bernard was present at Messaien’s first performance of his “Quartet for the End of Time” at Stalag VIIIA on a cold January day in 1941. The archives at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC contain a German deportation list showing that two men with the surname Iticovici were deported from Paris to Auschwitz in 1942: Itic Iticovici, born in Iasi, Romania, in 1905, and Joseph Iticovici who was listed as a French national It is possible that these victims may have been relatives of Bernard. We seek anyone who many know the fate of Bernard in the camp and after the war, or may know of any relatives of his that have survived. David Lewin Add to this record. John Cecil Banfield My father John Cecil Banfield was captured in Libya and was sent to C.C.N.52 P.M.3100 in Italy. He was then sent to Stalag VIII A in Germany on 13/03/1944. He was later sent to Hospital Stalag XI B on 23/02/1945. He did not talk much about his time as a POW, but what I did get out of him was not very good. He passed away in 1991, but I am still trying to find out what happened to him as a POW. G. Banfield Add to this record. Bernard Berco Iticovici We are searching for any information about Bernard (Berco) Iticovici or his relatives. Bernard (Berco) Iticovici was a French POW at Stalag VIII A, Gorlitz, Germany in 1941. He was a Romanian Jew who lived in Paris in the 1930’s. He was inducted into the French Army in 1940 and in June 1940 was captured during the Battle for France and sent as a French POW to Stalag VIIIA at Gorlitz, in Germany. Bernard was at the Stalag in 1941 as prisoner #29347. It is possible that Bernard was present at Messaien’s first performance of his “Quartet for the End of Time” at Stalag VIIIA on a cold January day in 1941. The archives at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC contain a German deportation list showing that two men with the surname Iticovici were deported from Paris to Auschwitz in 1942: Itic Iticovici, born in Iasi, Romania, in 1905, and Joseph Iticovici who was listed as a French national It is possible that these victims may have been relatives of Bernard. We seek anyone who many know the fate of Bernard in the camp and after the war, or may know of any relatives of his that have survived. David Lewin Add to this record. Pte. Leslie Stephen Thresher Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry My Dad Leslie Thresher fought in Italy and was captured at Monte Casino. He was transported as a prisoner of war to Stalag 8A. He was liberated at the end of the war and returned to Shenley. He married his long term girlfriend and had a son. He died at the age of 74. Stephen Thresher Add to this record. Pte. Clarence John Furness C Company 20th Battalion Clarence Furness known as Clarrie, was my mother's first cousin. Son of George Samuel Furness and Mary Edith Williams known as Edie. Born in 1920 at Blaketown, Greymouth, New Zealand, he died in 1991 at Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24464, 13th January 1945, p.6 reported: Private C. J. Furness, No. 14247 C Company, 20th Battalion, Middle East Forces West Coast Prisoner of War Outstanding on Athletic Field. Private Clarence John Furness, eldest son of Mr and Mrs George Furness. Blake Street, Blaketown, Greymouth, prisoner of war at Stalag 8A, Germany. After serving in Greece, he was wounded in Crete, and subsequently taken prisoner. Last year he participated in a sports meeting held at Stalag 8A, where 20,000 prisoners of war are confined. After a few events had been decided it became apparent that the championship would be between a hut of South Africans and a hut comprising New Zealanders and Australians. “The South Africans,” to quote from a letter from F. H. Fraser-Smith, of Wellington, “got a good lead of points in the field events, but our chaps notched a few points in the sprints. Then in the distance events a sensation was caused by a young chap from the West Coast, a shy lad named Clarrie Furness. He just romped away with the mile and the three miles. Then an Aussie, named McKay, 42 years old, got us up a few points in the jumps — a very good effort in view of his age, and then we came to the final event; 1500 metres relay, two points behind the South Africans. In this race young Clarrie Furness gave us a lead of 200 yards and we won hands down.” The New Zealand team, who were the winners, were: Parsons, D. Thompson, Private Clarence John Furness of the 20th Infantry Battalion, and A. Cook. Peter Dillon Add to this record. Pte. George Tait 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders (Queens Own) George Tait was my grandfather. He served with the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders 1931 until 1938. He joined 1st Battalion, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders in 1939 and was captured at Beauvais in 1940. He spent the remainder of the war in Stalag 8A at Lamsdorf. Michelle Chapman Add to this record. Sgt. Laurie Noel Price 3rd Echelon 2nd New Zealand Division I was about 16 years of age when my uncle, Laurie Price returned to New Zealand after the war. As far as I know this information is correct and is written from memory of conversations within the family. He was my mother's younger brother, one of four who went to the war. Luckily all returned, as did my brother. Sgt. Laurie Price, was with the 3rd Echelon from New Zealand, was sent to Egypt. His next of kin was his mother, Charlotte Maude Price. He was captured in Greece and shipped to Bari, Italy. In Italy he had surgery possibly an appendectomy? Then he was sent to Udine before being moved to Stalag 8A. My uncle was one of the many men who walked across Germany. I understand he spent time at Bournemouth to recover before being shipped back to his home in New Zealand. He said very little about his experiences, except that his surgery was painful, the injection for the surgery didn't work, but the one they gave him afterwards behind the knee allowed him to pull hair out for years later without any pain. The prevalence of lice was mentioned and how his finger nails became V-shaped because it was better to stroke them away rather than scratch and break the skin. On the march across Germany, he and his mates found a cellar with potatoes, they boiled the first lot, dirt and all, the second lot they washed, and the third they peeled before eating them. Unfortunately, I do not know where he met up with the Allied forces. However, he did comment that the American POWs struggled more than most on the long march. He was a very quiet man who never married and died approximately in the 1960-1970s. Add to this record. Pte. Arthur Aldridge 1st Btn. Welch Regiment Arthur Aldridge was held as a POW in Camps 65 and 66 in Italy, and Stalags 8A, 8B, and 13D in Germany and Poland. He escaped twice in Italy and then on four occasions after being transferred to Germany and Poland. In Germany, he worked in coal mines. Add to this record. Sgt. Pieter DeValck 7th Infanterie Divisie I have written a book about his long march. Christopher Add to this record. Pte. Wilfred Donner Basham Wilfred Basham was captured at Tobruk and taken to Stalag 8A as POW number 81028. He worked as a miner. Colin Gates Add to this record. Pte. John Airy No. 3 Commando John Airy was a private in No. 3 Commando. His landing craft came ashore at Sword beach ten minutes behind Lovat and Millen. He didn't hear any pipes and his memories of landing was just the horrific scenes of carnage. Fifty years after D-Day he recounted his recollections of the landing: "There was spasmodic shelling on the beach as we arrived. Many bodies lay sprawled all over the beach, as young men of the East Yorkshire Regiment who had been in the first wave of the landing, now lay mutilated or dying". No. 3 Commando landed and marched inland to join up with Lovat's beloved No. 4 Commando. Before they had even spotted Lovat and his men, they could hear the bagpipes playing in front of them. Airy has pleasant memories of hearing 'Millin's cheerful playing' in the middle of the invasion. Our next task was to meet up with the 6th Airbourne Division who were holding the bridgehead over the River Orme. By 2 p.m. with Lord Lovatt at our head, his piper playing a cheerful tune, we then crossed the bridge under heavy sniper fire. Across the bridges, Airy volunteered for a stretcher party to move the wounded back down the line for safety. He came across a German patrol and was surrounded by Germans in a wood. Captured, Airy was transported across Germany into Poland, Stalag VIIIA. As a commando, the young private was interrogated and put into solitary confinement. He was then marched further across Poland, in ˜near artic conditions" and put to work in a Polish sugar factory for 12 hours a day. He laboured at the work camp for over a year and he received a ladle of soup and 1/5th of a loaf of bread per day. In February 1945, the Russians freed the POWs and Airy made his way to the River Ebve where he was finally rescued by the Americans. Add to this record. James R Warrilow 3rd Hussars James R Warrilow served with the 3rd Hussars British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan RF James 3/4th Sqd. County Of London Yeomanry RF James served with the 3/4th Sqd. County Of London Yeomanry British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below. Dan Georges Pieltani My great grandfather, Georges Pieltani, from Pepinster, Belgium was held in Stalag 8A. My grandmother told me stories how he and some of the others would kill a pig and have a barbecue or ruin the laundry on purpose. It was sort of their little ways of fighting the Germans discretely. I know he saw some really horrible things during the five years he was there and I have a letter from Red Cross telling my great grandmother where her husband was. Crystal Geron Tpr. Andrew Jeffrey Evinou 4th Btn. Royal Tank Regiment My father, Andrew Jeffrey Evinou, served as a tank driver with the Fourth Royal Tank Regiment during WW2. He served with the British Eighth army in France and was one of the soldiers rescued off the beaches at Dunkirk. He told of how the ship he was on was hit by Messerschmitz and many were killed on deck. He was saved because he went below deck where tea was being served. After a very short leave during which time he married my mum, he was sent to North Africa. He fought with the Fourth armoured division at Tobruk where he was captured when his tank was hit. Dad lost a finger in that incident. He was a POW with the Italians for a year and a half then handed over to the Germans. He was a POW at stalag V111b and stalag V111a. He worked in the mines fourteen hours a day. He participated in the great march, but luckily survived it. He was ninety pounds in weight when he got home. I will always be my dad's proud daughter. He was eighty seven when he died in October of 2005. LEST WE FORGET. Janet Thompson Bernard Berco Iticovici We are searching for any information about Bernard (Berco) Iticovici or his relatives. Bernard (Berco) Iticovici was a French POW at Stalag VIII A, Gorlitz, Germany in 1941. He was a Romanian Jew who lived in Paris in the 1930’s. He was inducted into the French Army in 1940 and in June 1940 was captured during the Battle for France and sent as a French POW to Stalag VIIIA at Gorlitz, in Germany. Bernard was at the Stalag in 1941 as prisoner #29347. It is possible that Bernard was present at Messaien’s first performance of his “Quartet for the End of Time” at Stalag VIIIA on a cold January day in 1941. The archives at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC contain a German deportation list showing that two men with the surname Iticovici were deported from Paris to Auschwitz in 1942: Itic Iticovici, born in Iasi, Romania, in 1905, and Joseph Iticovici who was listed as a French national It is possible that these victims may have been relatives of Bernard. We seek anyone who many know the fate of Bernard in the camp and after the war, or may know of any relatives of his that have survived. David Lewin John Cecil Banfield My father John Cecil Banfield was captured in Libya and was sent to C.C.N.52 P.M.3100 in Italy. He was then sent to Stalag VIII A in Germany on 13/03/1944. He was later sent to Hospital Stalag XI B on 23/02/1945. He did not talk much about his time as a POW, but what I did get out of him was not very good. He passed away in 1991, but I am still trying to find out what happened to him as a POW. G. Banfield Bernard Berco Iticovici We are searching for any information about Bernard (Berco) Iticovici or his relatives. Bernard (Berco) Iticovici was a French POW at Stalag VIII A, Gorlitz, Germany in 1941. He was a Romanian Jew who lived in Paris in the 1930’s. He was inducted into the French Army in 1940 and in June 1940 was captured during the Battle for France and sent as a French POW to Stalag VIIIA at Gorlitz, in Germany. Bernard was at the Stalag in 1941 as prisoner #29347. It is possible that Bernard was present at Messaien’s first performance of his “Quartet for the End of Time” at Stalag VIIIA on a cold January day in 1941. The archives at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC contain a German deportation list showing that two men with the surname Iticovici were deported from Paris to Auschwitz in 1942: Itic Iticovici, born in Iasi, Romania, in 1905, and Joseph Iticovici who was listed as a French national It is possible that these victims may have been relatives of Bernard. We seek anyone who many know the fate of Bernard in the camp and after the war, or may know of any relatives of his that have survived. David Lewin Pte. Leslie Stephen Thresher Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry My Dad Leslie Thresher fought in Italy and was captured at Monte Casino. He was transported as a prisoner of war to Stalag 8A. He was liberated at the end of the war and returned to Shenley. He married his long term girlfriend and had a son. He died at the age of 74. Stephen Thresher Pte. Clarence John Furness C Company 20th Battalion Clarence Furness known as Clarrie, was my mother's first cousin. Son of George Samuel Furness and Mary Edith Williams known as Edie. Born in 1920 at Blaketown, Greymouth, New Zealand, he died in 1991 at Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand Press, Volume LXXXI, Issue 24464, 13th January 1945, p.6 reported: Private C. J. Furness, No. 14247 C Company, 20th Battalion, Middle East Forces West Coast Prisoner of War Outstanding on Athletic Field. Private Clarence John Furness, eldest son of Mr and Mrs George Furness. Blake Street, Blaketown, Greymouth, prisoner of war at Stalag 8A, Germany. After serving in Greece, he was wounded in Crete, and subsequently taken prisoner. Last year he participated in a sports meeting held at Stalag 8A, where 20,000 prisoners of war are confined. After a few events had been decided it became apparent that the championship would be between a hut of South Africans and a hut comprising New Zealanders and Australians. “The South Africans,” to quote from a letter from F. H. Fraser-Smith, of Wellington, “got a good lead of points in the field events, but our chaps notched a few points in the sprints. Then in the distance events a sensation was caused by a young chap from the West Coast, a shy lad named Clarrie Furness. He just romped away with the mile and the three miles. Then an Aussie, named McKay, 42 years old, got us up a few points in the jumps — a very good effort in view of his age, and then we came to the final event; 1500 metres relay, two points behind the South Africans. In this race young Clarrie Furness gave us a lead of 200 yards and we won hands down.” The New Zealand team, who were the winners, were: Parsons, D. Thompson, Private Clarence John Furness of the 20th Infantry Battalion, and A. Cook. Peter Dillon Pte. George Tait 1st Battalion Cameron Highlanders (Queens Own) George Tait was my grandfather. He served with the 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders 1931 until 1938. He joined 1st Battalion, Queens Own Cameron Highlanders in 1939 and was captured at Beauvais in 1940. He spent the remainder of the war in Stalag 8A at Lamsdorf. Michelle Chapman Sgt. Laurie Noel Price 3rd Echelon 2nd New Zealand Division I was about 16 years of age when my uncle, Laurie Price returned to New Zealand after the war. As far as I know this information is correct and is written from memory of conversations within the family. He was my mother's younger brother, one of four who went to the war. Luckily all returned, as did my brother. Sgt. Laurie Price, was with the 3rd Echelon from New Zealand, was sent to Egypt. His next of kin was his mother, Charlotte Maude Price. He was captured in Greece and shipped to Bari, Italy. In Italy he had surgery possibly an appendectomy? Then he was sent to Udine before being moved to Stalag 8A. My uncle was one of the many men who walked across Germany. I understand he spent time at Bournemouth to recover before being shipped back to his home in New Zealand. He said very little about his experiences, except that his surgery was painful, the injection for the surgery didn't work, but the one they gave him afterwards behind the knee allowed him to pull hair out for years later without any pain. The prevalence of lice was mentioned and how his finger nails became V-shaped because it was better to stroke them away rather than scratch and break the skin. On the march across Germany, he and his mates found a cellar with potatoes, they boiled the first lot, dirt and all, the second lot they washed, and the third they peeled before eating them. Unfortunately, I do not know where he met up with the Allied forces. However, he did comment that the American POWs struggled more than most on the long march. He was a very quiet man who never married and died approximately in the 1960-1970s. Pte. Arthur Aldridge 1st Btn. Welch Regiment Arthur Aldridge was held as a POW in Camps 65 and 66 in Italy, and Stalags 8A, 8B, and 13D in Germany and Poland. He escaped twice in Italy and then on four occasions after being transferred to Germany and Poland. In Germany, he worked in coal mines. Sgt. Pieter DeValck 7th Infanterie Divisie I have written a book about his long march. Christopher Pte. Wilfred Donner Basham Wilfred Basham was captured at Tobruk and taken to Stalag 8A as POW number 81028. He worked as a miner. Colin Gates Pte. John Airy No. 3 Commando John Airy was a private in No. 3 Commando. His landing craft came ashore at Sword beach ten minutes behind Lovat and Millen. He didn't hear any pipes and his memories of landing was just the horrific scenes of carnage. Fifty years after D-Day he recounted his recollections of the landing: "There was spasmodic shelling on the beach as we arrived. Many bodies lay sprawled all over the beach, as young men of the East Yorkshire Regiment who had been in the first wave of the landing, now lay mutilated or dying". No. 3 Commando landed and marched inland to join up with Lovat's beloved No. 4 Commando. Before they had even spotted Lovat and his men, they could hear the bagpipes playing in front of them. Airy has pleasant memories of hearing 'Millin's cheerful playing' in the middle of the invasion. Our next task was to meet up with the 6th Airbourne Division who were holding the bridgehead over the River Orme. By 2 p.m. with Lord Lovatt at our head, his piper playing a cheerful tune, we then crossed the bridge under heavy sniper fire. Across the bridges, Airy volunteered for a stretcher party to move the wounded back down the line for safety. He came across a German patrol and was surrounded by Germans in a wood. Captured, Airy was transported across Germany into Poland, Stalag VIIIA. As a commando, the young private was interrogated and put into solitary confinement. He was then marched further across Poland, in ˜near artic conditions" and put to work in a Polish sugar factory for 12 hours a day. He laboured at the work camp for over a year and he received a ladle of soup and 1/5th of a loaf of bread per day. In February 1945, the Russians freed the POWs and Airy made his way to the River Ebve where he was finally rescued by the Americans. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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