The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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252128 Bmbdr. Edward Manaton Farrier British Army Royal Artillery from:Swinton S. Yorkshire I was lucky to get away from Dunkirk, but unlucky when I became a Prisoner of War in Greece, 1914. In the first seven weeks of captivity I was put in a camp at Corinth. and it was not long before I got body lice, and got dizzy spells when I stood up from hunger. Himmler once came to look at us and I remember that one man next to me had a large Union Jack tattooed on his chest. As Himmler went by some of the German officers spat on this man's chest. After seven weeks we were sent to Austria. but we had to walk for the first 20 miles. I had no boots. because a German Officer had confiscated them beforehand, so someone gave me a pair of gaiters which I wrapped around my feet. I managed to walk the 20 miles even though my feet were blistered and bleeding. We then had to get in some railway cattle trucks. I was so stiff I could not get in an Australian had to lift me in. Each truck was loaded with fifty two men, and each man was given one loaf of bread, and this loaf of bread had to last them five days. We were given a drink of water after thirty two hours and were allowed out onto the railway bank to attend to nature. In Austria, at Stalag XVIIIA (18A), Wolfsburg. we were interviewed on what work we did in England. Many men said they were clerks, but I said I was a horse trainer, but we all finished up with long handled shovels. Before we got Red Cross parcels we were always hungry. After being a prisoner of war for four years and one month I was freed by the Eight Army and flown back to England. My feet and legs still trouble me at times. but when 1 think how the P.O.Ws were treated in Burma. I say to myself, Lucky Me. Gemma Lawrence Add to this record.  Related Content: Royal Artillery Operation Dynamo - The Evacuation from Dunkirk and nearby Beaches Stalag 18A Prisoner of War Camp Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. Hosted by: The Wartime Memories Project Website is archived for preservation by the British Library Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV - All Rights Reserved We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.