Private Gordon G. Jerrett
Unit : 1/5th Battalion The Welch Regiment
Served : Normandy (captured)
Service No. : 14437050
POW No. : 83173
Camps : Stalags XIIA, VIIIB
I served with the 1/5th Battalion of the WELCH regiment. Landing in Normandy about two weeks after the invasion. After action around Evrecy and Esquay, suffering heavy casualties. Then on to Hill 112 near the Bon Repas Cross roads. Here we relieved the Gordons near Baron. The company I was with, relieved all that was left of a company of the Gordons, about 24 I think. Three of us were taken about 400 yard in front of the company lines and told to keep watch to our front. We saw nothing. Heard plenty of mortars, artillery and machine guns some distance to our right. Although we had some nasty moments with missiles dropping around us. We managed to get through the 23rd July O.K. About two o'clock in the morning, I left my two comrades, and went to collect our rations. I approached where our lines were supposed to be. I heard Germans talking. I headed back to my mates, and we wondered what we should do.
We decided to wait until dawn and then get into the ditch alongside the road and hope to get back to friends. But Jerry thought otherwise. Six privates were having a search for us. They spotted us. Threw a grenade - no damage. Then one of them fired with his Schmeisser. Hit Colin in the cheek, and put 2 through my helmet. Ray was unhurt. So we packed in. Taken back to German H.Q. We were interrogated by an officer who threatened to shoot us. If he wanted to frighten us he certainly succeeded.
Our first [holding?] camps were at Falaise, Allencon and Chartres. At Chartres we were now in a camp of thousands, British and Americans. We were then marched to the Rail sidings, and put into box carts. Fifty to each cart. Given four gallons of water, and some bread. I can tell you we suffered badly in the July and early August heat. We were in the train for four days. Given four gallons of water every morning. We arrived at Stalag 12A where we were finally registered as P.O.Ws.
Stalag 12A was in the Black Forest. But here again overcrowding was more than a problem. Water was only turned for about two hours a day. So thirst was still a problem. We could not mix with any long time prisoners. But, we did at least have half a Red Cross parcel each which really helped, as our bread ration was one loaf of bread to six men plus about half a litre of soup (sometimes).
After about ten days, we were on the move again. Back on the train 50 to a box cart again, 4 gallons of water per day to share, and the same ration of bread. After five days of travel going through places like Cologne, and Hamm, after a thousand bomber raid, we arrived at Teschen and Stalag 8B at the end of August.
Now we mixed with older P.O.W. who could give us the low down on how things were.
By this time we had lost Colin, he had been taken to hospital at Falaise. But Ray was still with me, and we became life long friends.
After a couple of weeks there was an outbreak of diphtheria in the camp. Ray was taken to hospital, and a couple of days later, I had a sore throat. The doctor diagnosed diphtheria so I ended up in hospital for three weeks. I didn't tell them I had diphtheria when I was a child. The Germans did not come near the diphtheria ward.
After that a group of us were taken on working parties in Teschen, picking up and cleaning bricks.
But, nothing lasts very long. In mid October, I and several others were sent to Arbeits Kommando E902. A coal mine with many common men and Russian P.O.W. working.
I was kitted out with rough working clothes, and made my trip down a mine. Now I have to be honest and though I'm a Welshman, I don't know whether I was most frightened down the mine, or in the front line.
I was working with a civilian miner, as were all P.O.Ws. Hard work, and, if I remember correctly 5 small potatoes and half a litre of thin soup and one loaf of bread amongst six.
The showers when we came to the surface, were often cold and the fires in the Barrack rooms were often out through lack of coal. So we used to put coal in our pockets to light a small fire to at least get a little warm. Sleep was a wonderful thing. Dreams mostly about food. Talk about food we thought up the most glorious of feasts.
5am on 22nd January 1945, we were rausted out of our barrack rooms and lined up for roll call. Told to take one blanket and what clothes we had. This done we were paraded again. Given half a Canadian Red Cross parcel each. Then in bitter cold (according to the guards, temperatures had dropped to 40° below freezing) we started the march. Over frozen ice and snow. Sliding and slipping, taking short steps to help keep on our feet. These steps gave us a great deal of pain, a real agony, in our groins, that lasted a couple of days.
At Ratibor I saw partisans being shot by a German officer and further shooting of political prisoners (Poles) by I think the SS who arrived on motor cycles and side cars. The bodies of Russian P.O.W. shot through the head, and left to lie on the road with whatever clothing they had pulled over their heads. One of the guards told us that over 120 Russians had been shot, in the first twenty four hours.
After about 18 hrs, we had our first halt. Only for 15 minutes. Some sat on a fallen tree. But I knew once I sat that would be it. I would not move again, most of the men done the same stood just stamping our feet. After the break we started the march again. But six of those who had sat on the tree, had died in those few minutes.
I lost count of time. But after the second day on the road, I learned afterwards that we had marched for 36 hrs. We crossed the Oder, and were allowed into a large factory, with a covering of straw on the floor. We had been given at our first stop a can of frozen vegetables, mine was peas. But at this warehouse, we had nothing to eat so we fell back on what was left of our Red Cross parcel. Water was in short supply. So we stuffed snow in our mouths.
What do I remember of the march after that? Many more days of walking up hill, and down dale. At times, in a sort of trance. Seeing frost settling of the shoulder of those in front of me, like fine diamond dust. Being shouted at for not getting in to a farm or warehouse fast enough. On one occasion me another, being shown into a snow drift, for disagreeing with a bully of a Feldwebel. In Czechoslovakia, the long drag up a mountain, started well before first light, and ending long into the following night. From the top of the hill a view across a long valley covered of course in snow, and three villages connected by a black ribbon of road. That is where we stopped. Some days we had soup some days a little bread. Most days only what we could steal from where ever we stopped. Cattle cake, and sugar beet were good. On one occasion a few of us managed to get into a cow shed. After getting some milk, I went t sleep leaning on a cow it was the first time I'd been warm for weeks. The Czech people were very kind. At the risk of being shot they would throw bread to us as we passed through the towns and they had little enough themselves.
We carried on across Czechoslovakia and got within 15 kilometres of the Austrian town of Vienna. We seemed to be going every which way. Even the guards had no idea what was happening. Eventually we arrived in Bavaria. March had arrived and the weather warming of course we all infested with lice. But we arrived just outside a Bavarian village outside the village was a stream of melted snow. So we all stripped off into the cold water had a good if quick wash. Then started trying to de-louse our clothes with burning sticks run up and down the seems of our clothes. The relief was only for a short time.
On with the march, crossing the Danube at Regansburg. A week or so later we were stopped by the American air force. But fortunately after the first plane fired on us, they realised who we were. A couple of our guards were wounded but no P.O.Ws.
On 24th May 1945, we were finally released by General Patton's Army. Flying home from [?] via Reims.
Getting back to my family 6th June 1945.