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221909L/Sgt. William Albert Charles Matterface MID
British Army Royal Artillery
from:Chelsea, London
My dad, Bill Matterface was a soldier through and through, he was captured at Dunkirk and was on the long march to the concentration camp. He, from what he told us, was involved in the sport, getting the men involved in all sports and inter camp contests. He was MID for distinguished service, he never wanted the laurel leaf or his medals as he believed he was fighting to save the country and should not be rewarded for it. He was in Stalag XXA BAB 20 and captured for a good amount if the war, he never really spoke about the time before he was captured but told us stories of life inside the camp, how they entertained themselves with stage plays, baking cakes, making clothes, sport and much much more, he never did say where anything came from that was used in the making of the items they used. They suffered severe winters and many froze to death, they had rags on their feet when their boots fell apart and had to scrounge around for food and wood for a fire. He died on 11.11.1995 a very appropriate day.
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