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Charles Edward Stevens . Royal Marines HMS Copra from Homerton, London My father, Charles Edward Stevens, served on HMS Copra as a marine from November 1943 to February 1945 according to his demob papers. Although he never spoke about his wartime service I did hear rumours through the family that he was at the D-day landing. If anybody recognises the name it would be nice to know a little of where he was and what he did during his wartime service.
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Cpl. Cornelius Stevens . British Army 3rd Bn Tower Hamlets Rifles from Millwall, London (d.21st April 1945) Corporal Cornelius Stevens died age 32 on 21 April 1945, was the husband of C. Stevens, of Millwall, London. He is buried in Becklingen War Cemetery. I'm looking for information regarding my daugther-in-law's father who died in action so close to the end of the war. I believe he died saving others from his battalion but am looking for hard facts. I appreciate any information
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Gnr. Daniel Stevens . British Army 23rd Field Regiment Royal Artillery from Denmere, Liswerry Road, Newport, Monmouthshire
Account of the retreat to St Valery and surrender of British troops on 12th of June 1940 and the movement of the prisoners of war from St Valery to Thorn in Poland, by Gunner Daniel Stevens
Daniel Stevens 15990 P.O.W Germany 1940-1942
Dan Stevens, Denmere, Liswerry Road, Newport, Monmouthshire
Rank Specialist 89/90 Field Battalion Royal Artillery, 23rd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
was Recalled to the Colours on 15th of August 1939 and went to France on 1st of October 1939.
First leave 5th of April 1940 to 15th.
L-A.A.L.A Serv OPac GPOAC
First joined army 14th of November 1928 served with 5th Light Brigade, 1st Light Brigade, 4th Medium Brigade and 89/90 Field Battalion, 23rd Field Regiment, Rank Specialist
18th of January 1940. My birthday. It has been my intention since I left my darling wife and son on April 15th or 14th rather (A Black Sunday that) to keep a diary but I was unable to procure one until now so having nothing better to do I propose to set down a few of my experiences not that this diary will benefit any one but will help to pass a few moments away during these trying days in the prison camp; dates and places are rather obscure now so my effort will be sketchy and brief.
Well after leaving England on the morning of the 15th April I arrived at Boulogne sometime during the afternoon. Three days later I've joined my unit at Merville by Amentieres. Four days later again 21st we the 51st Division left for the Maginot with a French Cal (cavalry?) Division under Weygand taking up a position in Lorraine just south of Luxemburg seven kilometres in front of the Maginot.
Here we engaged the enemy (I being O.P.AC at the time.) About the 27th of April 1940 the battle raged incessantly day and night here I found the mistake of under estimating Jerry's Artillery was very good and the Siegfried was going to be a tough nut to crack. Still the Maginot was impregnable so I had no fear that we should get the worst of this skirmish. Well May the 10th came with Jerries advance through Holland and Belgium.
This although expected was something different so moving our front north of Verdun we again held the enemy on the right flank of the French 7th Army. They, after a few days of heavy fighting, were forced to retire leaving us in rather a precarious position anyway. May the 24th the channel ports had been taken. What a shock that was. The French had let us down very badly no doubt about that. Further, our Air Force had entirely disappeared leaving us at the mercy of the German bombers. How were we to get back now? Still fighting a rear guard action we retired across France south of the Bresle. Jerry, moving south had reached the Somme. It was now or never it seemed obvious to me that they must be held on the Somme or France was lost scraping together all available men Base details (21 thousand men) and so forth we helped fill our depleted ranks and with half of the 101st Armoured Division we advanced into action along the Somme South of Abbieville. Here the most terrific battle followed we opened up with a 36 hour barrage crossed the Somme and retook Abbeville. Our success was short lived, no reinforcements, no air support and Jerry slamming in fresh Divisions outnumbered by many, many thousands we were forced back. I cannot speak too highly of the Gordons and the Black Watch, Seaforths and Argyles whom we fought with and supported in these terrific engagements. They certainly made history these days. The French by now had packed in completely broken and retiring in disorder they definitely were a nuisance. We retiring and still fighting for the second time a rear guard action day and night inflicting heavy damage on the enemy. We were drawing nearer to the coast. Rumour has it that our Division Commander was ordered to make for Le Havre and get out but this in his opinion was un-English and decided to fight on anyway. The enemy had now taken Paris and proceeding along the Seine through Rouen had reached Le Havre. We now had them behind us St Valery being the only port left, we at this time were fighting around Beauvois also at this time a Naval Command was attached to the Division. The navy were coming into St Valery to help us and save what men they could. Hope soared once again, although we knew some men must be left behind. Reaching St Valery on the night of 10th of June 1940 we or what was left of this famous Division some six thousand formed a ring around the town: the last stand. It never occurred to me that I should be taken prisoner. I had or at least I thought I might get killed. I had been extraordinarily lucky up till now. Well our last stand was a gallant affair but on the advice of the International Red Cross and order from England (after scrapping our guns and fighting side by side with the Infantry) that Command surrendered. This was the biggest blow of all. My mind was a riot. Better fight on I thought although I knew we must eventually be wiped out, we were in the forward position West of the town when cease fire went later the Divisional Commander General Fortune came and spoke to us. I felt like knocking him down. Why the hell didn't he get out sooner, him and his Knight Errant wasn't going to help us now. My dear wife and son had been foremost in my mind since I went into action. I cannot describe my feelings now, anyway I was now a prisoner much against my will and the worst experience of my life was yet to come, I have left out the hundreds of little incidents that happened during these weeks a few exciting trips into the enemy country (a day was twenty four hours excitement then) because my untrained mind could not do justice or at least record them well enough, still this is the first chapter and I shall write more later. I intend to try and write any thoughts and dreams of my dear ones at home who are my whole life.
Now my only logical thoughts are of my son and wife with whom I long day and night to be reunited with once again. I always thought I was so hard boiled. The very thoughts of how shall I put it when sentimental thoughts come in my head it nauseated me made me blush I could not even bring myself to get mushy with my wife but oh how many times since I have been a prisoner have I wished to be again with her whom I love more than anything in the world, perhaps I am getting mushy or realizing my true feelings for the first time, anyway I must put these bursts of thoughts away until I finish my Tale of the War, but I don’t seem to be able to start the tale of that terrible 21 day march through France, Belgium and Holland. Those three days on the barge could the Black Hole of Calcutta been any worse or the three days in the cattle trucks across Germany to Poland!
Easter 1942 I have just wrote a card to my sweet wife. What an empty and utterly miserable weekend this has been, memories of two years ago fill my mind this holiday, when I spent ten days leave with my loved ones and to add to this we received no Red Cross parcels for weeks and no smokes which makes life unbearable. Still the day will come when all this misery will become just a memory like that terrific march through France, Belgium and Holland – it is this hunger that we are again experiencing now that brings it back to my mind so I'll carry on with my little story.
Well after unharnessing and destroying everything of any value we march out to meet the enemy K Division SS under Rommel who after giving us an hour or so to destroy our letters and pamphlets (they knew more about us than we did) we set off on the march about 40 kilos arriving dead beat and very hungry we hadn't had a decent meal for days, anyhow still we just sank down and slept. The nights were pretty cold although the days were very hot this sort of thing carried on for some nine days long marches no food little water except what we could forage dogs, cats and the most horrible filth was eaten by the men. On this march we passed column on column of German transport coming in to man the coast would they invade the Old Country still we had no fear England wasn't France we had gone under but that wasn't England. I've often thought perhaps the people at home thought we put up a poor show on the face of it we did but actually we done exceedingly well holding far superior force with so much sabotage around us as long as we did. Well I may as well put down the names of the towns we passed through on this never to be forgotten march from St Valery on 12th of June 1940.
Fontaine Le Dun 13th
- Forges 14th
- Le Chatelain 16th
- Fouliroy 18th
- Aumale 19th
- Frevant 20th
- Doulons 21-22nd
- St Pol 23rd
- Bethune 24th
- Seclin 25th
Now Belgium
Tournai 26th
- Renaix 27th
- Ninove 28th
- Aalst 29th
- Lockeran 30th
Holland 336 walk
Zyder Zee 1, 2, 3 July
- Moerbeke
Here we went aboard a barge some thousand men I now have some idea what a slave must have been like. Rem to Dordrecht and Emerich then Emer in the Rhur. From here we were transported in cattle trucks to Poland (Thorn) 72 men being in cow trucks for some 52 hours.
I hope to go into this thousand mile journey in so much detail was the trail of 49 or Kabul to Kandahar anything like this, I have now been three years a prisoner but misery and hardship of that period still lingers in mind and body. My wife sometimes writes that I'm so cheerful in my letters I'm afraid I don't always feel that way still when I see her I shall tell her everything. What a relief that will be then I think I shall be able in some measure to forget it well enough for now, tomorrow I'll write some more. Got some snaps of my son last week must mention them as they are of so great an impact he's nearly 5 years old now and he’s a great kid. I'm very proud of him.
8th of May 1944, time has passed, a rather empty miserable period but now things seem to be coming to a head. I have followed the war closely. The allied advance on Europe the state of Germany, Russia's effect, and now the impending invasion we have a sweep (cigs) on the date of this onslaught. I pray that it will be soon and end this ghastly war, it's been a scourge to mankind, I could write so much but well I'll as I say tell her soon. It amazes me how these people have carried on just indomitable courage, a worthy foe, I hope that we may soon all be friends a much better state I fancy for the likes of me.
Footnote: This journal was well known to the family, but not read until after Dan's wife died in 2001. It has taken a further 19 years to be transcribed.
Daniel (Dan or Danny) Stevens was born in 1910 in Wolverhampton, the son of a farrier/steelworker of the same name. A gunner himself, his father fought throughout WW1 at both Gallipoli and on the Western Front, where he won the Military Medal. His mother and infant brother died in the great Flu epidemic in 1919 and his father (apparently from the effects of being gassed on the Western Front) in 1928, leaving Dan as the breadwinner for his stepmother and three young sisters. As he had lost his job in the depression, he joined the Artillery, serving for three years to 1931, requiring him to be in the army reserve for another ten years. So he was called up in 1939, before war was declared.
He returned in 1945, four stone (25Kg) lighter than when his wife last saw him in 1940. He may, as he said in his journal, have recounted his experiences to her, but he never talked about the war, apart from anecdotes to amuse his children; only becoming angry when they refused food "you should try eating mangy dogs" a comment which they never believed. He did say that he survived the march because the man in front had an enamel mug and metal teaspoon hanging from his pack. As he walked, the spoon clinked rhythmically against the mug, and Dan marched on, concentrated on the mesmerising tempo. With three of his mates they carried an injured soldier from the Black Watch in a blanket for the whole journey
He was a serial escapee, once getting to The Baltic Sea and stealing a rowing boat to get to Sweden, they were picked up by a German submarine, which is probably just as well, and once escaping to the East but stopped by a German tank whose Commander stopped to offer them a lift back West as the Russians were advancing. He said that getting out was easy, staying out was another matter. They did have a tunnel to the cookhouse, which formed the corner of the camp and had a window facing the road. They would steal food and take it down to the local village to exchange for coal, returning before morning. He respected the Germans, but was contemptuous of the French who deserted them in the fight and never washed, and had nothing good to say of the British army hierarchy. He did escape to the Russians eventually and was interned. Then he somehow got back to France before he was eventually returned to England.
He had numerous wounds and carried pieces of shrapnel in his legs for the whole of his life, dying prematurely in 1973.
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Daphne "Steve" Stevens . Womens Auxiliary Air Force from London
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Flt.Sgt. Douglas Edward John Stevens . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve 582 Squadron from Yardley, Birmingham (d.29th Aug 1944) Flight Sergeant (Air Gunner) Douglas Stevens was the Son of John Richard and Sarah Stevens, of Yardley, Birmingham; husband of Winifred Stevens.
He was 20 when he died and is buried in a collective grave in the Norre Vorupor Cemetery in Denmark.
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P/O. Elwood Leroy Stevens . Royal Canadian Air Force 102 Squadron from Saint Johns, New Brunswick (d.5th January 1945)
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Pte. Frederick Stevens . British Army 12th General Hospital Royal Medical Army Corps from Manchester My Granddad, Frederick Stevens now 92 years old can clearly remember his time as a Prisoner of War. Having read some of the accounts on here, I hope that some people might be interested to see the similarities between his memories of Stalag IV-B with those of their relatives. He certainly recognised some of the stories recounted on this site.
Frederick Stevens was 22 years old when he was captured in October 1943 on the Island of Kos. He says that he was cooking breakfast one day with fellow members of his regiment when they saw German paratroopers dropping from the sky. They were soon captured and transported to Athens before continuing on to Germany in a cattle wagon. He remembers that it was around 35 men to each wagon and the journey lasted for a gruelling 6 days.
Eventually they reached the transit camp Stalag VII-A in Moosburg. He was held there for several days before being moved on to Stalag IV-B. It was here that he was to see out the rest of the war.
After 70 years, Fred can recall several incidences, all of a dramatic nature, from during his time in the camp:
He says that on one particular day, Luftwaffe planes were flying over the camp. RAF personnel within the camp encouraged the pilots to fly lower. They waved their hands as a gesture for the planes to descend; it was a show of bravado to test the pilots. The planes responded to the challenge and plummeted but the propellers of one plane caught several of the RAF men who had been waving to the planes and Fred remembers that at least 3 of them were killed. That evening, the Luftwaffe commander came to the camp to apologise, and informed the POWs that the pilots involved in the incident had been relieved of their duties and would be dispensed into the army.
The camp contained many Russian soldiers. Russia had not signed the Geneva Convention so they could not receive the extra sustenance that the other allied soldiers received through the Red Cross parcels. They even resorted to making their own sort of Ersatz coffee from Pine tree bark. Fred remembers that many prisoners of other nationalities would group together and donate whatever they could spare to the Russians. He says it wasn’t a lot, because both Russian and other inmates were always hungry.
The prisoners were subject to curfews. After a certain time they would all have to retreat to the cramped huts where they would sleep on 3-storey beds. A very effective morale boost in such restrictive circumstances was the fact that some prisoners had managed to procure radios, which had to kept secret of course, through which they could keep up to date with the war's progress.
On one occasion he broke his curfew, just stepping outside the hut to get some air. He spotted a fellow Dutch prisoner across the camp that evidently felt the same about the cramped conditions in the huts. Fred could see that the inmate was being harassed to return in to the hut. A guard was pushing him and knocked him in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. The Dutch prisoner turned and struck the guard and another nearby guard witnessed this and shot the Dutchman dead. Naturally, after seeing this shocking act he made a hasty retreat into the hut and didn’t break his curfew again.
On another occasion, during a circuit of the camp, an allied aircraft flew low over their heads. It was shooting at a railway line just outside the premises of the camp and destroyed a goods-train that was being held there. Fred instinctively threw himself to the ground, and has said he had never been more in fear for his life than that moment – quite ironic that his scariest moment was the fault of an Allied aircraft!
One evening in February 1945 a Pathfinder plane, (target marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command that located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at), dropped a flare over the camp. Granddad said the sky lit up and in a panic, fearing that the camp was about to be bombed, he jumped from his 3rd story bed and landed on his knee, which has caused him problems to this day. The bombers must have somehow realised that it was a not the intended target because no bombs were dropped. Instead, the planes were heading further east, as part of what history would remember as the cataclysmic bombing raids on Dresden. The morning after the raid, the POWs who had been members of the Royal Army Medical Core (which included Fred) were asked by the guards to go down to Dresden and help with injured victims of the devastation. However, the Infantry Regiment Sergeant refused to go and wouldn’t allow the others to leave the camp for their own safety; he feared that the survivors would lynch them.
Fred also remembers a few moments of comic relief. For example on one occasion an American pilot, bailing out of his stricken plane, landed quite conveniently right in the centre of the camp! He also remembers the concerts, performed by the inmates. He remembers these being very popular, particularly amongst the Americans. During one ‘season’, the camp commandant was invited to open the Theatre for the first performance. However, whilst he was inside the theatre, his driver was distracted with the offer of free cigarettes by the prisoners and a group of RAF prisoners stole the vehicles tools. The theatre was subsequently shut (temporarily)!
Eventually, the day arrived when the camp was liberated. Fred recalls that the Americans first liberated the camp until the Russians arrived, at which point they returned to their lines. The Russians transported the now ex-POWs to another camp further east. However he decided enough was enough of being told where to go and what to do, so he ‘escaped’, along with several others who had been in the camp and they travelled westward to the River Elbe, beyond which the Americans were in authority and there was a better chance of being sent home sooner. He travelled on foot and on his way he was welcomed into the home of an old German farmer to take food and rest.
He reached the US lines and was eventually transported to northern France. It was from here he was finally brought back to the UK on a Lancaster Bomber. He says he can remember looking out to see the White Cliffs of Dover greet his return. Some time afterwards, he discovered that his fellow POWs who had remained with the Russians had waited another 6 weeks to be transported home.
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Able Sea. Fredrick Charles William Stevens . Royal Navy from Southall, Middlesex
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Gilbert Jack Stevens . British Army Royal Eletrical and Mechanical Engineers Although he would not talk about it, my father Gilbert Stevens, was involved in the clean up at Bergen-Belsen.
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H Stevens . British Army Gloucestershire Regiment H Stevens served with the Gloucestershire Regiment 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.
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HCW Stevens . British Army Royal Armoured Corps HCW Stevens served with the Royal Armoured Corps 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.
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HD Stevens . British Army Northamptonshire Regiment HD Stevens served with the Northamptonshire Regiment 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.
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CPO Stoker. John Walter "Wally" Stevens . Royal Navy HMS Nigeria from Hayes, Middlesex My father, Wally Stephens served on HMS Nigeria (I believe he was on Arethusa before that). We know that he went in as Ordinary Seaman and came out Chief Petty Officer (Stoker). He rarely spoke of the war but did mention a couple of funny things like getting so drunk (on board) ending up on the poop deck with no recollection of how they got there. One time they were in the Med and were told they were going for a swim - one chap dived in before order given and he was put on jankers for 'jumping ship'.
It was only a couple of years before his death in 1994 that he told us of the story of being torpedoed and having to go to Charleston for repairs and the Captain asking for volunteers to help the shipmates who had perished during that terrible time. They worked 12 hour shifts and lived on a tumbler of whisky and not much else until the grim task was completed. We now knew the reason he hated the smell of whisky.
I would love to hear from others who knew or knew of my father.
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W/O. John Stevens . Royal Air Force 78 Squadron W/O John Stevens RAF 78 Squadron was a pilot
of Halifax W1180. He and his crew crashed on 6th of August 1942
at Posterholt in The Netherlands, a small village on the Dutch/German border.
He and two another crew members became POW's and were send to Stalag 344:
- John Stevens 25119. Pilot
- A Greenacre 25631 Flight Engineer
- D Willoughby 25123 Airbomber
If you can remember this airmen or have pictures please let me know.
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W/O John Stevens . RAF 78 Squadron Who can remember W/O John Stevens RAF 78 Squadron? He was a pilot of a Halifax Bomber W1180. He and his crew crashed on 6th August 1942 at Posterholt in The Netherlands (a small village on the Dutch/German border).
He and two another crew members became POW's and were sent to Stalag 344
- John Stevens Nr. 25119. Pilot
- A Greenacre nr. 25631 Flight/Engineer
- D Willoughby Nr 25123 Airbomber
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L/Bdr. John Henry "Stevie" Stevens . British Army Royal Artillery from Belfast My dad, John Stevens joined the regular army in 1935. He was a Gunner in a Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery. He served in Egypt, the Middle East including Greece and Crete where he was captured and sent to a German Stalag POW camp in June 1941.
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L/Bdr. John Henry Stevens MM.. British Army Royal Artillery from Belfast My father John Stevens who served in a Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery in WW2. Recently I came across this photo of him on William John Stainthorpe's entry. I am very interested in any info or anyone who has a similar story.
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John Peter Hamilton Stevens . Royal Navy HMS Europa from Mansfield I have been going through the extensive family tree left by my late mother and found some outline details about my father's war time service. He, John Stevens served on HMS Europa, HMS Turquoise and HMS Bamabara, the latter during a posting in Ceylon. I have some photos of my father in naval uniform but nothing that ties directly to the ships themselves.
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KGJ Stevens . British Army KGJ Stevens served with the 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.
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Sqd.Ldr. Peter "Steve" Stevens MC.. Royal Air Force 144 Squadron from Hannover, Germany Peter Stevens (born Georg Franz Hein) was the only German Jew known to have flown bombers in the RAF in World War 2. He was sent to safety in London by his widowed mother in early 1934 (aged 14), Hein learned English and graduated from Regent Street Polytechnic in 1936. After a year at the LSE, he began working, but immaturity and bad feelings towards his mother got in the way. Gambling away the remainder of his family fortune (which had been sent to England for his care, and that of his two siblings), Hein got into trouble with the law, and in July '39 was sentenced to 3 months for petty theft. Released from prison 6 weeks early on Sept 1 (the day the Nazis invaded Poland), Hein committed identity theft, taking the name of a dead Polytechnic classmate, Peter Stevens.
Rather than reporting to a police station as an enemy alien (which would have meant internment for the duration), the reincarnated Peter Stevens reported to an enlistment station and joined the Royal Air Force for training as a fighter pilot. Selected instead for bombers, he was the object of a Metropolitan Police manhunt during the 18 months he trained, and the 5 months he was flying combat operations as a Hampden pilot.
Joining 144 Squadron in April '41, Stevens flew 22 combat ops before his aircraft was damaged by flak over Berlin on Sept 7 '41. He order his crew to bail out, and one rear gunner, Sgt Ivor Roderick Fraser was killed when his parachute failed to open. The other air gunner, Sgt Thompson, was captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW. Stevens realized that the aircraft was marginally flyable, and made it back as far as Amsterdam before he ran out of fuel and force-landed in a farmer's field. He destroyed the secret bits and set fire to the wreckage before setting out cross-country with his Navigator, Sgt Alan Payne. They were captured by German troops within a day.
Stevens, as a POW in his own country, was without protection under the Geneva Convention (as he was still a German citizen). For 3 years and 8 months, he lived with the knowledge that the Nazis could take him out of the prison camp at any time and execute him legally. Nonetheless, he went on to become one of the most ardent escapers of the war. Stevens made 8 escape attempts, and got outside the wire 3 times, but was recaptured each time. In October '41, just a month after being captured, he and a Canadian pilot (W/C W. J. "Mike" Lewis) jumped off a Nazi prison train in a hail of bullets, and went to the home of Stevens' mother in Hannover. Looking for civilian clothing, food and money, they discovered instead that Stevens' mother had committed suicide 6 weeks before the outbreak of hostilities. On May 17, 1946, Stevens was awarded the Military Cross for his escape activities, one of only 69 members of the RAF to receive the medal for bravery on the ground. Another of his attempts was characterized in a London newspaper on May 18, 1946 as "The Boldest Escape Attempt of the War".
Stevens was naturalized as a British citizen in 1946, and was then recruited to MI6 in 1947. He served 5 years in MI6 as an operative against the Soviets in Germany. He emigrated to Canada in 1952, married in 1953 and had two sons. Stevens died of a heart attack brought on by chemotherapy in 1979 in Toronto. Sgt Fraser has no known grave, but is remembered on the Runnymede Memorial.
The biography of Peter Stevens, 'Escape, Evasion and Revenge', was published by Pen and Sword Aviation in 2009.
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R Stevens . British Army Royal Armoured Corps R Stevens served with the Royal Armoured Corps 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.
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Pte. Reginald Stevens . British Army 7th Btn. D Coy. Royal West Kent Regiment from Barking, Essex My father Reginald Stevens (known as Reg) was born in Barking, Essex on 23rd March 1919.
He was called up during the latter part of 1939 and reported to the Verne Citadel Barracks, Portland, Dorset on 1st December 1939. A good friend of his there, and later as a prisoner, was Reg Hamilton who came from Surbiton, Surrey.
Early in April 1940 he was transferred to Blandford Barracks, Dorset and assigned to the Queen's Own Royal West Kents, 7th Battalion. Later that month they moved to Gravesend and then to Southampton where, on 21st April, they embarked on the ship S.S. Bruges bound for Le Havre. Then by train to Elbeuf near Rouen where they spent about 3 weeks there. At this time there is mention of them being in Le Manoir near Alizay and Bailleul.
On 19th of May 1940 they were encamped in a small village about 4 miles from the town of Albert. A German attack took them completely by surprise and they dispersed into small groups. He was captured about 5 miles from Amiens on Tuesday 21st May and taken to Amiens civilian prison where he spent 2 or 3 nights. He was then set to work in a Red Cross Hospital cleaning and digging graves. There was an RAF air raid during this time and he assisted moving wounded soldiers to the cellars (a very harrowing job).
Not long after this they had to march to the Belgian frontier and finally boarded a train for Trier. On the 9th of June 1940 he entered Stalag XXA at Thorn (Torun) and was there until 1st of March 1941 when he was moved to Stalag XXB at Marienburg in Poland.
Five long years of manual labouring on farms and roads finally came to an end when he was liberated by American forces on Friday 13th April 1945 close to the town of Stendal in Germany. Towards the end of April he moved to New Brandenburg airport and after a week was flown home to Wing in Bedfordshire. He moved to barracks for rehabilitation including new clothes, 3 months double ration cards and travel passes. Finally in May 1945 he arrived back home in Barking and met his parents and sister after an absence of 5 years and 5 months.
At the end of July 1945 he reported to Colchester Barracks for ex-POW rehabilitation and weapons training with a view to being sent to the Far East where the Japanese were still fighting. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the conflict therefore his Far East adventure never took place.
He left the Army later in 1945 and returned to his old job in Holborn, London. After a long and mainly very happy life my father died in December 2000 aged 81.
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Richard Playne Stevens . Royal Air Force 253 Squadron (d.15th Dec 1941) Since reading, 'Johnnie' Johnson's book "Wing Leader", I have been fascinated by the story surrounding Flt. Lt. Richard Playne Stevens, 253 Squadron, RAF pilot. JJ speaks highly of him in his book and the great man himself, Dougie Bader, has referred to him, yet little is known of the man. I have found a few tidbits which reveal the death of his baby daughter in a house fire and that Stevens, for obvious reasons, took it very badly. Following this tragedy, it is said that he would scream like a man possessed when engaging the enemy during his time as a night fighter pilot and that he scored a very high tally against enemy aircraft without using any of the emerging technology at that time. One tale reveals that he got so close to an exploding Heinkel He 111 he was attacking, that ground crew found human remains and blood on the fuselage of his Hurricane after the sortie and he made them leave it on his aircraft. Whilst posted to 253 Squadron, Stevens set out to attack an airfield in Holland, Hulten near Grize- Rijen, on the 15th of December 1941, from Hibaldstow. He crashed near the Dutch airfield at 21:30 hrs that night and his remains were interred in the local cemetery at Bergen op Zoom and re-interred after the war at the CWWG site at Zuilen. If you know any more about this individual or the aircraft he flew I would appreciate it if you could forward information on to me. It is a tragic but fascinating story.
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F/Lt. Richard Playne "Cats Eye" Stevens DSO, DFC and bar. Royal Air Force No. 253 Squadron from Tunbridge Wells (d.15th Dec 1941) In addition to previous notes about Richard Playne Stevens on this website, an excellent and thoroughly researched book has now been released detailing his life, service and death in action. "Lone Wolf" (published by Grub Street in 2019) has been co-authored by the respected military researcher and historian Andy Saunders with Terry Thompson (sadly departed).
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Pte. Stanley Stevens MiD.. British Army 216th Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps from East Peckham Stanley Stevens was awarded the Oak Leaf for being Mentioned in Despatches while serving with 216th Field Ambulance, RAMC.
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TA Stevens . British Army Royal Armoured Corps TA Stevens served with the Royal Armoured Corps 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.
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WJ Stevens . British Army Royal Armoured Corps WJ Stevens served with the Royal Armoured Corps 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.
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WSG Stevens . British Army WSG Stevens served with the 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.
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Flt.Sgt. A Stevenson . Royal Air Force 115 Sqn.
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AE Stevenson . British Army AE Stevenson served with the 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.
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