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Corporal Ernest Albert White
Unit : 5th Battalion The Hampshire Regiment.
Served : Crete (captured)
Army No. : 550918
POW No. : 80047
Camps : PG 66, 82, 82/XV, Stalags VIIIA, XIB.
Born at Ormskirk, near Liverpool, on 11 October 1918, his family moved to Bournemouth in Hampshire when he was two as his father came from that area. Although not born in Hampshire he still considered himself a "Hampshire Hog". He had two younger sisters. Ernie left school at 14 and worked for the Southern Railway Company until he was called up for military service in 1939. He did his basic training at Albany Barracks on the Isle of Wight and was posted to the 5th Battalion, the Hampshire Regiment, a Territorial Battalion composed of weekend and part-time enthusiasts drawn from the Southampton and New Forest areas. Ernie was promoted to Corporal, probably because his C.S.M. was keen on soccer and Ernie admitted to playing a bit. After waiting in the south of England for the German invasion that never came, in October 1941 the Battalion was posted to Sittingbourne in Kent and it was there that Ernie met Iris, his wife to be. They were married in June 1942.
In January 1943 the Battalion sailed from Gourock in the Clyde in a former Belgian passenger liner, the S.S. Leopoldville, to join the 1st Army in Tunisia. They disembarked in Algiers, boarded a destroyer and sailed to Bone, 300 miles further east, to relieve the East Surrey Regiment at Sidi Nsir. After a series of night patrols Ernie's platoon moved up 3 miles to a high point, Hill 609, to support and protect an artillery O.P. and, in this position, they were surrounded and attacked by German troops who had been pushed west by the 8th Army. Of 8 men in Ernie's section 4 were killed and the other 4 taken prisoner. Ernie and the artillery officer evaded capture but the following day, at a dry water hole, they were seen by unfriendly Arabs who gave them away to the Germans. Ernie's combatant service in Tunisia had lasted for exactly 6 weeks
The next stop was a POW cage in Bizerte (he said it was very cold there) where the Germans handed over their prisoners to the Italians. From Bizerte they were shipped to Naples and railed north to Campo 66, the Italian transit camp at Capua. He was then moved to Campo 82 at Laterina near Florence and then northeast to a working camp at P.G. 82/XV at Borgo San Lorenzo, where a sugar refinery was being built. In September 1943 the Italian Armistice with the Allies gave some men hope of freedom after they heard (false) reports of allied landings at Ancona and Leghorn. The Italians deserted the camp and the POWs roamed the countryside, but after 3 days of liberty the Germans gathered in many of the loose POWs in the area (including Ernie) and took them to Bologna. It was here that many future inmates of Stalag VIIIA met each other. After a 4 day rail journey in the usual cattle trucks via the Brenner Pass, Innsbruck and Regensberg, they arrived in Gorlitz on the river Neisse in Lower Silesia.
He was a prisoner there until 1945. Ernie never spoke much about his time in the camp but took part in soccer matches, playing for his hut (Hut 35) and for the England team. His hut housed English, New Zealand and Australian POWs. He was always known as `Chalky` - never Ernie. (At the end of the war he would have liked to emigrate to New Zealand as he'd heard so much about it but being an only child his wife wouldn't leave her parents in the UK.)
In February 1945 the Russians had 180 divisions in Poland and East Prussia, and in face of the speed of their westward advance from the River Oder, Stalag VIIIA was evacuated. The inmates were put on the road in columns of 500, marching west away fro the advancing Russians in the depth of the mid-European winter. Ernie, at this time, was (luckily) a patient in the Stalag Krankenrevier (infirmary) with a skin complaint and he, with other sick, was evacuated by train to Stalag XIB at Fallingbostel. Strafed by Allied aircraft en route it was reported that 35 British POWs had been killed in the train, but Ernie escaped injury. Germany was falling apart and consideration for POWs was not a high priority. Every prisoner was trying to stick it out to the end and Ernie recalled, with great joy, that marvellous day at Fallingbostel, 16 April, 1945, when tanks from a British armoured division released him from captivity.
He returned to England to his wife, Iris, and their two year old daughter, Susan, who he was seeing for the first time. In the 1980's Ernie eventually managed to make contact with some of his New Zealand and Australian hut-mates and kept in touch with them for years. He was a fundraiser and stalwart of his local British Legion in Sittingbourne, Kent where he met up with Bill Pledger, whose harrowing story is in the Pegasus Archive, and they and their wives remained friends for the rest of their lives. Ernie died in 2008, just short of his 90th birthday.
The following diary of events is from one of Ernie's notebooks, found after his death.
1943
3rd January. Left Fleet by train for Greenock. Left Greenock on troop ship, S.S. Leopoldville.
9th January. Arrived Algiers. Left immediately for Bone by destroyer (10th).
26th January. Moved to position at Sidi Nsir, Tunisia
26th February. Attacked by German troops. Overrun.
27th February. Captured at Sidi Nsir. To Ferryville, then in prison cage at Bizerte (very cold). Handed over to Italians and embarked on Italian ship (atrocious conditions - many died on the voyage). Landed at Naples. By train north to PG66 - Capua.
15th May. Received first letter from his wife, Iris.
18th June. Moved to PG 82 - Laterina. Address: Corporal E.A. White, 5501918, Hut 7, 1st Sector, PG82, P.M. 3200, Italy
23rd August. Moved to working camp 82/XV at Borgo san Lorenzo. Worked on building sugar factory.
8th September. Italy signed armistice.
9th September. Stopped working.
10th/11th/12th Sept. Italians deserted camp. Ernie roamed the countryside.
13th September. Recaptured by Germans.
14th September. Escorted to officers' camp (evacuated) at Bologna.
16th September. Started for Germany, in cattle trucks, via Bolzano - Brenner Pass - Innsbruck - Regesberg - Gorlitz, Silesia, Stalag VIIIA.
6th November. Fractured wrist playing football.
7th November. Admitted Lazarett.
10th December. Left hospital for main camp.
1944
23 March. Received first `Personal Paid` (letter) from Iris.
13th April. Received first tobacco parcel from Southern Railway Fund - 3 Nuns.
9th May. Received first cigarette parcel from Iris - redirected from Italy.
1945
10th January. Entered infirmary - skin disease.
7th February. Russian guns heard.
10th February. Camp started to evacuate.
14th February. Americans left
15th February. British start to leave.
16th February. Admin. - Germans leave.
17th February. Rest of camp evacuated; we go by train.
19th February. Train machine gunned by own planes at Holberstadt. 15 killed, 27 wounded.
20th February. Arrived at Stalag XIB - Fallingbostel.
28th February. Moved to Russian compound.
7th April. 1500 Americans move out.
8th April. More Americans and British moved out.
11th April. German guards go - leave skeleton staff.
14th April. Guns heard.
16th April. British troops arrive.
18th April. First men leave for home.
25th April. Left by truck for intermediate camp at Osnabruck.
28th April. Left Osnabruck - land at Brussels. Left Brussels by Lancaster. Landed at Amersham.
Questionnary for former POWs of Stalag VIII A Görlitz, or their relatives
European Centre Memory, Education, Culture
Meetingpoint Music Messiaen
Circumstances of captivity
In January 1943 the Battalion sailed from Gourock in the Clyde in a former Belgian passenger liner, the S.S. Leopoldville. to join the 1st Army in Tunisia. They disembarked in Algiers, boarded a destroyer and sailed to Bone, 300 miles further east, to relieve the East Surrey Regiment at Sidi Nsir. After a series of night patrols Ernie's platoon moved up 3 miles to a high point, Hill 609, to support and protect an artillery O.P. and, in this position, they were surrounded and attacked by German troops who had been pushed west by the 8th Army. Of 8 men in Ernie's section 4 were killed and the other 4 taken prisoner: Ernie and the Artillery officer evaded capture but the following day, at a dry water-hole, they were seen by unfriendly Arabs who gave them away to the Germans. Ernie's combatant service in Tunisia had lasted for exactly 6 weeks.
Place of capture, names of concentration points or other POW camps prior to arrival at Stalag VIII A
27.2.43 Captured (Hill 609) Sidi Nsir, Tunisia. Taken to Ferryville then in prison cage at Bizerte (very cold). Handed over to Italians and embarked on Italian ship (attrocious conditions - many died). Landed at Naples. By train to PG 66 - Capua.
16.6.43 Moved to PG 82 - Laterina (near Florence)
23.8.43 Moved to working camp No 82/XV at Borgo san Lorenzo. Worked on building sugar factory.
8.9.43 Italy signed armistice.
10-12.9.43 Italians deserted camp. Ernie roamed countryside.
13.9.43 Recaptured by Germans.
14.9.43 Escorted to officers' camp (evacuated) at Bologna.
16.9.43 Started for Germany. In cattle trucks via Bolzano - Brenner Pass - Innsbruck - Regensberg to Gorlitz - Silesia - Stalag VIIIA.
Period of time spent in Stalag VIII A (from - to)
20.09.1943 to 17.02.1945
Name and number of work unit during captivity at Stalag VIIIA (Kriegsgefangenen-Arbeitskommando)
Not applicable (though only a Corporal he wasn't expected to work)
Were there any escape attempts? yes/no
No, not by Ernie.
Memories from the camp
Ernie never spoke much about his time in the camp but took part in soccer matches, playing as inside forward for his hut (Hut 35) and for the England and British team. He was also referee for many soccer matches played in the camp. There were 10 different nationalities in his hut including New Zealanders, South Africaans, Australians, English, Scottish and Welsh, Belgian and Czech. The English speaking contingent used to have quizzes at night while lying on their bunks and Ernie was also a member of the Hut 35A Quiz Contest Team. He also used to take part in singing in harmony when the lights were out and he and other `Tommies` (soldiers from England) entertained those around them with jokes and stories. He took part in one of the variety shows. As Ernie didn't smoke he was able to swap cigarettes that were sent to him by Southern Railway (his pre-war employer) for something else; in this way he acquired a pair of surgical scissors (with curved blades) from a German guard and he took them back to England with him. Being a Corporal he wasn't expected to go on any work parties. He kept a log of all the post he sent and received from England and also neat lists of all the photos that he acquired in the camp. He also kept lists of the contents of the different Red Cross parcels sent to different nationalities. (I, his daughter, still have these).
Do you have any artefacts from the captivity (personal belongings, correspondence, photographs, memoirs, elements of uniforms, small tokens made in the camp etc.)
I (his daughter) have two albums of photographs (one contains photos of mainly sports activities and group photos and the other contains photos of arts events - bands, plays, art competitions etc.). I have photos and letters sent to Ernie by his wife and stamped on the back with the Stalag VIIIA stamp. Also a pair of khaki shorts sent, on request, by his wife and marked Stalag VIIIA. Also handwritten lists and diaries. There is also a pencil drawing of Ernie's wife and daughter, done by a Polish prisoner in the camp, that he managed to get back to England folded up.
Remembered names of comrades from Stalag VIII A
Bill Bickerstaff (Australia), Ainslie Cook (N.Z.), Joe Wallbanks (England), Stanley Fox (England), `Jacko` Jackson (England), Paddy Hatfield, `Ollie` Squirrel (England) + many more
Further stories after captivity in Stalag VIII A (other camps, evacuation, liberation, return etc.)
In February 1945 the Russians had 180 divisions in Poland and East Prussia, and in face of the speed of their westward advance from the river Oder, Stalag VIIIA was evacuated. The inmates were put on the road in columns of 500, marching west away from the advancing Russians, in the depth of the mid-European winter. Ernie, at this time, was (luckily) a patient in the Stalag Krankenrevier (infirmary) with a skin complaint and he, with other sick, was evacuated by train to Stalag XIB at Fallingbostel. Strafed by Allied aircraft en route at Holberstadt it was reported that 35 British POWs had been killed in the train, but Ernie escaped injury. Ernie recalled, with great joy, that marvellous day at Fallingbostel, 16 April 1945, when tanks from a British Armoured Division released him from captivity.25th April left by truck for intermediate camp at Osnabruck. 28th April Left Osnabruck - landed at Brussels. Left Brussels by Lancaster. Landed at Amersham.
Post-war stories
He returned to England to his wife, Iris, and their two year old daughter, Susan, who he was seeing for the first time. After leave he was posted to Movement Control on the docks at Hull, Yorkshire, where he remained until he was demobilized in January 1946. Daughter, Hilary, was born that year. He did not return to his former employment; his father-in-law was part-owner of a retail fish business in Sittingbourne and Ernie worked for him until 1948 when he and Iris moved to Bournemouth to set up their own fish business. After 5 years they sold the business and returned to Sittingbourne where Ernie joined the Post Office; he retired in 1983 after 31 years' service. In 1984 he started trying to track down some old mates from Hut 35A by writing to the New Zealand High Commission in London; they sent his letter to New Zealand who passed it to the editor of POW/WOW (NZ prisoner of war magazine). It was printed in the magazine and so began years of correspondence with some of his ex hut mates. In 1987 he went on an ex-POW Pilgrimage to Poland Tour by coach. (I have his handwritten account of this trip and some photographs). They visited many sites of prison camps and laid wreaths at many memorials and even took part in a remembrance ceremony at the Lamsdorf memorial on 1 September. Ernie had hoped they'd visit Gorlitz on the return journey but the tour operator was instructed to cross the border at Frankfurt-on-Oder which put 300 miles on the journey, so he was disappointed.