Prisoner of War Questionnaires

The following information has been taken from questionnaires completed by liberated Prisoners of War. The collection is held by the National Archives, catalogue reference WO 344, and it can be viewed on the Ancestry website, https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62114/

218782 Driver Norman Abbot

        Unit: 312 Company RASC, 2nd Armoured Division

        Work Camp: Steindorf, Austria (Railway line laying, 6th November 1941 to 7th August 1942)

        Sabotage: Yes, by burying and destroying tools and material whilst working on the railway line.

33843 Private David Abel

        Unit: 19th Battalion, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force

        Work Camp: Lavamund (Manual labour, 11th July 1941 to 6th May 1945)

        Sabotage: Put picks & shovels all sorts of tools in the river. Burst cement bags refused to work.

        Notes: I joined up with the 8th Army 8th May 1945. We were taken to Klagenfurt by lorry & from there to Naples by plane. Arrived at Naples 18th May 1945.

3468 Driver David Adams

        Unit: New Zealand Army Service Corps.

        Captured: Kalamata, Greece, 29th April 1943.

        Camps: Stalag XVIIIA (13th June 1941 to 30th April 1945).

        Work Camps: Tieschen, Steiermark (Farming, 13th June 1941 to 30th April 1945).

        Illnesses: Broken finger in the hand. Cause: Crushed by cows horn against cement wall. Duration: Six weeks. Did you receive adequate medical treatment? Yes.

        Escapes: When being marched inland by the Germans myself, John Ashworth, Ewen Wood, Wilfred Ball and Ernest Walker, made our escape at Deutsche [Gasily?] and returned to the people we worked with where we laid low for 8 days and gave ourselves up to the Russians when they [arrived?].

        War Crimes: Yes, my comrade Corporal John Tray of 4 Henry St, Kilbirnie E3 Wellington, N.Z. was shot dead by an Austrian guard [from?] for saying that he would not speak to him but to the German Corporal. This occurred at Windburg Steiermark, Austria.

36643 Signalman David Maxwell Adams

        Unit: Divisional Signals, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

        Captured: Megara, Greece, 26th April 1941.

        Camps: Corinth, Greece (26th April 1941 to 2nd June 1941), Salonika, Greece (4th June 1941 to 12th June 1941), Stalag XVIIIA (20th to 27th June 1941)

        Work Camps: [Flachan] (Road work, 1st July 1941 to 28th February 1942), Mittendorf (Building, 12th March to 20th June 1942), Klagenfurt (Labouring, 28th July 1942 to 3rd May 1945).

        Sabotage: Breaking tools, doing slow work on railways, thereby holding up transport.

T/35930 Driver Vincent Abraitis

        Unit: No.1 Res. Royal Army Service Corps, 8th Army.

        Captured: Kalamata, Greece, 29th April 1941.

        Camps: Stalag XVIIIA (6th June to 6th August 1941, 16th December 1943 to 6th October 1944), Stalag XVIIIC (11th to 12th May 1945).

        Work Camps: Weisenbach - St Gallen (Railway work, 6th August 1941 to 6th August 1942), Gross Veitch (Magnaceet quarry, 6th August to 16th December 1942), Gross Riefling (Railway work, 16th December 1942 to 16th December 1943), Malnitz (Railway work, 6th October 1944 to 12th March 1945), Moltzbich (Railway work. 13th March to 11th May 1945).

        Escapes: Escaped from Working Camp Osiack Jun 41 with J. Beckett P.O.W. No. 2498. Just walked off job. Recaptured in Villach by Railway Police 10 days later. Handed over to Milday. Escaped from Working Camp Lassing Moss Oct 43 with A. Start, Cassidy and H. Gibb cut wire picked up by land watch at Idming with A. Start 3 days later. Our destination was Castle in Idming where we were to be given clothes and passports. Lost Cassidy and Gibb who might have made Castle.

        Notes: Was in Spittal Camp. Stalag XVIIIC. 11.5.45 drove down by lorry to Klagenfort 13.5.45. Taken by plane from Klagenfort to Naples 13 May 45. Arrived Naples 14.5.45.