Private Percy Edward Norreys

Unit : 306th Fighter Control Squadron, attached 1st British Airborne Division.

Served : North Africa (captured)

Army No. : 221608

POW No. : 223028

Camps : Stalags IVB, IVG, IVD/Z

The Journey of Private Percy Edward Norreys: The Journey of a Dixie

Private Percy Edward Norreys was a soldier in the South African Army who fought alongside the British. He was born on April 9, 1884, in London. He had service number 221608 (The National Archives reference WO 416/273/396).

Private Percy Edward Norreys was registered as British in Stalag IV-b and received the prisoner of war number 223028. On 2 October 1943 he was transferred to an Arbeitskommando of Stalag IV-g Oschatz, namely Firma Schmieder in Coswig , Lager L 756. He worked there until 17 November 1943. On May 4, 1944, he returned to Mühlberg, where he served in the Reserve Hospital. He was 60 years old at the time. On 11 May 1944 he was sent to Stalag IV-g Oschatz where he was deployed in the Postüberwachung from 1 July 1944. On 25 July 1944 he was transferred to Stalag IV-d/ z Heillag Annaburg gaan.

It's certain that he was in "Group 6" at some point, but it's not yet clear what that refers to. It's also certain that he fought in the Libyan desert in North Africa against the German Afrika Korps and played a role in the defense of Tobruk.

"Dixie" is the general term used by the English for a mess tin or mess kettle. The term "Dixie" therefore has nothing to do with modern portable toilet units. On the dixie includes the words P.E. Norreys . This should almost certainly be read as P(ercy ) E(dward ) Norreys .

Lance-Bombardier 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment Royden Henry Halse (1898-1970), gave an account of those last days in Tobruk, which must also have been attended by PE Norreys (see: http://samilitaryhistory.org/diaries/halse.html).

Will we ever forget Sunday, June 21, 1942? Rommel demanded the surrender of Tobruk at 7:00 PM, after breaking through the eastern perimeter and capturing the port on Saturday, June 20, 1942, at 4:00 AM. The first information we received, that all was lost, was at 8:30 PM. Orders went out that all vehicles, tools, and weapons were to be destroyed. Hundreds of armored personnel carriers and vehicles were driven over the cliff edge, their drivers jumped out, and the vehicles eventually disappeared into the sea. Thousands of vehicles were doused with gasoline and set alight. Mobile workshops, ammunition trucks, anti-tank positions, and service trucks went up in smoke. Weapons and ammunition were destroyed. Around 10 a.m., visibility in Tobruk was reduced to near zero. Gasoline barrels and tanks were blown up. One would have thought the war was still in full swing.

We were terribly dazed and depressed. Everything seemed like a bad dream. Most of us helped ourselves to cigarettes and beer from the canteen car and another store. Even the natives managed to get some beer and cigarettes. Before we could destroy our canteen car, Germans arrived in armored cars and ordered us to raise our hands. The Germans systematically filled us with cold efficiency. We marched in groups about fifteen miles to the port of Tobruk . We had marched from close to the western perimeter.

...About two thousand of us stopped. He told us in fluent English that there would be a fifteen-minute rest. "Men, the war is over for you! You are now prisoners of war. Obey orders, and we'll treat you well." A bright young South African asked if we could take a bath. To our surprise, he said, "Okay! Ten minutes!" We quickly undressed and ran into the sea. The bath was wonderful after the hot, dusty trek across the desert sand. It didn't seem like ten minutes when the German officer blew his whistle. As we were dressing, he remarked, "You'd think this was a spa and not POWs on their way to a concentration camp." He then added that the Germans would be in Cairo in five days. Some of the men had the nerve to say, "Oh no, sir... you'll be stopped." I personally thought he was right. We were very close to the main paved road. The mighty armored division, which then roared past, seemed to emphasize what the German officer had just said. The massive 105mm guns, Mark IV tanks, armored cars and other vehicles, motorcycles, and personnel carriers... We saw part of the large German Afrika Korps, with the Swastika at the forefront. The rumbling continued throughout the night. We thought about the hard work we'd spent the past month defending that defensive line at El Alamein, which was finally supposed to stop that seemingly invincible steel Armada.

Thirst was our biggest mistake in the first 48 hours after the fall of Tobruk. On Tuesday morning (June 23, 1942), we were handed over to the Italians. What a contrast to the German organization and efficiency. The Italians' lack of organization was appalling... noisy, irritable, and unreliable. We were transported by enormous diesel trucks, each with a single trailer. We were so crammed together that most of us could only stand.

Derna

We were placed inside a walled cemetery that had been used as a restroom. It was so crowded that most of us had to sit down to sleep. I was one of the lucky ones who left for Benghazi the next morning. Some poor fellows endured this "hellhole" for four days.

Benghazi

We were given small bivouac tents, which we set up. We stayed in these tents for three weeks in Benghazi. Quite a few of my comrades were suffering from constipation and dysentery. I suffered from the latter, but managed to recover, which allowed me to join my friends. We were all members of the 2nd Anti-Tank Regiment.

About a week before we left Benghazi, we had the great excitement of seeing five Boston bombers. They were bombing the harbor at a high level. Judging by the amount of debris thrown sky-high, one bomb had scored a direct hit. We cheered wildly. We were promptly stopped; the Italians threatened to shoot us down if we shouted with such enthusiasm again. Their anti-aircraft guns around the harbor went into action, but the bombers didn't even break formation. What a thrill it was to see our own planes!

We were crammed into the holds of a ship. We couldn't lie down, and we all went without sleep for two nights and a day. To relieve ourselves, we were allowed to go to the latrine on deck one by one. Imagine the queue at the bottom of the ladders.

Brindisi

We landed in Brindisi and were grateful that the ship hadn't sunk en route. A few hours after arriving, we were loaded into cattle trucks and taken to Bari.

Bari

Transit camp PG75 Bari, second half of July 1942 (Camp 57 housed English prisoners of war, many of whom came from British colonies such as India and South Africa and many prisoners of war from Australia and New Zealand (ANZACS). The camp contained about 20 officers and 4,570 lower ranks). We were herded into a large enclosure for two days and nights, without any shelter or shade. That evening, we received our first hot meal and coffee since our capture a month earlier. The next day, we were divided into groups, and barbers gave us a thorough dressing down. Afterward, we received a hot shower, a welcome treat. We were divided into groups of 50 men to make eating easier. We lived in small bivouac tents. We were allowed to speak to our officer through the barbed wire. We were also allowed to write letters home. We stayed in Bari for three weeks.

Fara in Sabina

Camp PG54, August 1942. This camp was located in the suburb of Passo The Korese of Fara in Sabina consisted of two sections, each 150 by 150 meters and each containing approximately 2,000 men. Each section contained four rows of tents, each housing 68 men.

Island of Sardinia Bacu Abis

Kamp PG110, arbeitskommando. From “Il Campo Prigionieri di Guerra 54”, by Janet Kinrade Dethick : On May 13, 1943, they told us that the war in Tunisia was over. At the end of May, persistent rumors circulated that the Arbeitskommando was about to be dismantled. A group left for San Gavino , which was in the center of the island, on June 5, 1943, and the following day.

Island of Sardinia San Gavino

After our air force bombed our commando, they sent us to a place called Surran, then on July 24, 1943, we headed to Bonifacio. On the morning of August 1943, we passed through the port of Palau (northeast Sardinia) and at 2:00 PM they put us on the ferry to Corsica. We arrived at Bonifacio (southern tip of Corsica) at 5:00 AM after a stormy crossing . We arrived in Bastria (probably Bastia ) at 1:00 AM and immediately continued on to La Spezia (a port city on mainland Italy), where we docked around 11:00 AM. On August 10, 1943, we were on the move again and around 8 p.m. that evening we arrived at a small town called Laterina. After a three-and-a-half-hour walk, we arrived at our new quarters, Campo PG82.

On the evening of September 8, 1943, at about 9 o'clock, we heard about the armistice. On September 12, 1943, the Italians left their posts and we took possession of the camp. Many boys decided to escape, but we were advised to stay. There was sporadic news from the BBC, but nothing specific about what was happening. On the night of September 14, 1943, the German guards arrived. On September 17th, we walked to the station and then boarded cattle wagons without seats. Our destination was Germany, Stalag IV-b Mühlberg.

Stalag IV-b Mühlberg

In Mühlberg, Norreys was given the prisoner number 223028 . It was probably not until Stalag IV-b Mühlberg that this mess kettle (dixie) came into the possession of P.E. Norreys. See the book “I flew, I fell, I survived” by Wireless Operator Thomas L. Flieder (Stalag IV-b kgf. 270030), p. 181.

One day we noticed a large number of tents being erected at the end of our section of the camp grounds. Soon they were filled with thousands of Italian soldiers. It was their misfortune that they were despised by both the Germans and the British. They were overflowing with military equipment, and many of us were able to trade food and cigarettes for portable toilets… From that moment on, I had a nice portable toilet to boil water in and a flat one for cooking food.

This was in September 1943 (see also the diary of Goossen Doornewaard). On October 1, 1943 there were already 12,878 Italians in Stalag IV-b Mühlberg (see “Mühlberg 1939-1948, Ein Gefangenelager mitten in Deutschland”, by Achim Kilian).

PE Norreys's dixie most likely did not make its entire journey. The mess tank, which is of an Italian model and was originally painted green, was used by an unknown Italian soldier until it was found in Stalag around September 1943. IV-b ended up in Mühlberg. The boiler was probably exchanged in Mühlberg by this unknown Italian with RE Norreys for some food or cigarettes. PE Norreys then marked the boiler with his name and the designation "Group 6." Group 6 may refer to Stalag IV-b, but this is far from certain. He also added the names of the places and POW camps he had previously visited. This made the boiler a travelogue in itself. Many of these Italian mess tins (Italian: "gavetta," model 1930) have been preserved. A very small number are decorated with inscriptions and images. It is rare, however, for a POW to record not only their name but also their entire journey through the POW camps on such a mess tin.

Most of these British POWs, below the rank of non-commissioned officer, only stayed briefly at Stalag IV-b Mühlberg. Many of them left for a work commando before November 1943, and it's notable that many ended up in a command of the Stalag IV-g Oschatz treasure camp (Arolsen archive).

In Mühlberg, the mess kettle eventually became the property of the Dutch prisoner of war Private Nicolaas van der Lek, kgf. 96837, who, according to the Ab- und Zugangslisten in the National Archives (collection 2.13.98), came from an Arbeitskommando in Stalag IV-g to Stalag IV-b on 18-1-1944 and who must have taken over the mess kettle from P.E. Norreys at some point. Norreys 's departure, appropriated the mess kettle. Private van der Lek was the last to add his name to the existing inscriptions.

The mess hall also bears another partial inscription: “18-1-1944 Mühlb.”. This text undoubtedly refers to the date Private van der Lek arrived in Mühlberg, but it is applied in a significantly different manner. Therefore, it is questionable who and when applied this text. This inscription is the only one whose authenticity can be questioned.

The dinner kettle, along with a second one, was purchased by Leiden collector Mr. D. Bavelaar . He sold the dinner kettle, along with the second one, to the undersigned in September 2018. The dinner kettle's journey has thus come to a temporary halt, until a new owner can acquire it. The search for PE Norreys's descendants will continue. Hopefully, the portable toilet can one day be handed over to any surviving relatives, because the kettle, albeit a very schematic one, primarily tells his story.

E. van der Most Gouda, April 30, 2025

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