Footprints on the Sands of Time: RAF Bomber Command Prisoners of War in Germany 1939-45 by Oliver Clutton-Brock

Author:Oliver Clutton-Brock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / Aviation
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
Published: 2003-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

French prisoners, the most numerous and the longest in residence, did little to help. The rumour was that they had up to six American Red Cross parcels per man, but refused to give any to the airmen. It was well known that the French had stolen the parcels anyway.

The plight of the sick was brought to the notice of the IRCC when they made one of their periodic visits to the camp. As a result, at the end of their second week at Luckenwalde, each new prisoner received one Red Cross food parcel.

The scales were now tipped in favour of survival but then, with the Red Army closing in from the east, the Germans attempted to evacuate the camp on 12 April. A number of RAF PoWs were marched to the railway station and put aboard the usual wagons, having been told that they were heading for Stalag VIIA (Moosburg) and that they were being transferred on the Führer’s orders to be held as hostages. At least the PoWs were allowed to paint ‘RAF POW’ in yellow on the tops of the wagons as a warning to roaming Allied aircraft, though on one of them they painted GOONS.

The move was cancelled, however, when it was found that the railway to the south had been cut by repeated air strikes. On 14 April the PoWs were unexpectedly returned to the camp, only to discover that their quarters had been reallocated ‘Also, when leaving the compound on the way to the station we had each been relieved of one of the two blankets in our possession, but these were not returned to us, leaving us colder than ever on the still wintry nights.’25

Flying Officer P.B. Crosswell RCAF and another airman (name not known) were shot on 13 April whilst trying to escape. Crosswell died the following day. His companion was badly wounded.26

A few days later, when the wind blew from the east, the sound of battle carried to the ears of prisoner and guard alike. Flight Sergeant Norman Oates:

‘One morning I was awoken by a commotion and heard men saying that the Germans appeared to be leaving. I went out of the hut in time to see them all lined up outside one of the gates and, as I watched, they marched off down the road and soon disappeared from sight. The P.O. W.s milled around and talked about what to make of this.’27

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