The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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261974 Pte. Colin Lewis "Jock" Wilson British Army 2nd Btn. Seaforth Highlanders from:143b High Street, Forres, Morayshire In 1933, at age 18, Colin Wilson (1915-1983), a farmhand, enlisted at Fort George. He met Rita Saunders whilst on manoeuvres in Ashdown Forest before WW11 and they wed in May 1945, 2 weeks after his return from captivity. He had been captured at St. Valery-en-Caux and sent to Stalag XX-B, where he was put to work on local farms. When POW camp order broke down in 1945, he left driving a horse and cart for the fleeing farm owner, Ma Fleur. At some point, he went on foot, hitched rides etc. with one or two other soldiers and eventually reached Odessa, where after a fortnight's wait he got a lift on a Danish troop ship back to the UK in April/May. As he was on deck he acquired a good tan. He was very thin, and could speak but not write German. He had a cheap set of cutlery which he had found on his journey which he used daily ever after, even when the fork handle had broken off. He brought back a mess tin in which Mother would make cakes. He would never drink soup or coffee after his POW experience. He was a quiet, gentle man possibly suffering from PTSD as he was somewhat monosyllabic once wed, leading Mother to issue him with, if you don't talk and buck your ideas up, we're finished. They remained married until his death from lung cancer in 1983. He did not speak of his experiences. He was a dairy herdsman, working with pedigree herds of Jersey and Guernsey cows during which for a period of 7 years he did not take any days off for illness. He had 14 siblings and one child of his own. He lived in England and hence was called Jock. Ann Whitwell Add to this record.  Related Content: 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders 51st (Highland) Division Battle of France and The Low Countries 1940 St Valery Stalag 20b 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.

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