REMEMBERING THE POW'S
As Remembered By Connad Millard
During the two year period Sept.’45 to Dec ’47, I saw quite a lot of the many German POW’s still in Egypt. Whilst still in Alexandria with the Royal Irish Fusiliers, one company at a time – A.B.C.D. – went up the desert about 100 miles on manoeuvres to the area known as El-Daba, where there were three very large camps – 381 – 2 and 3. I went up with ‘C’ company in January ’46. These large contingents of POW’s were being reduced into smaller working parties and moved into the Canal Zone; a lot of them still west of Alexandria were being employed clearing debris of war out of the desert – also turning a lot of said debris into commerce using the light metal alloy and Perspex from aircraft to make cigarette cases and photo frames then trading them with us. We could not give them money for their products but exchanged whatever for cigarettes – I think the term ‘barter’ was better.
Much later in the Canal Zone, as an ambulance driver, I conveyed one or two of them to Fayid hospital. There was a resident party of them at the hospital Some time in the late summer of ’47 we, 111 MAC RASC ambulance company, over a period of days, undertook a major rehabilitation of both British and German ill and sickness cases to a hospital ship at Port Said. On the day of the main movement I was sent to the POW working party at the hospital. Arriving in their compound I was soon aware of a commotion – persons hurrying around, shouting a name:- “where are you Willy?” (translated from German!!) - “Come here Willy” Eventually a large group were conveying a struggling body! And said body in a straight-jacket was put in my ambulance! I moved outside onto the road as part of a very large convoy which moved on to Port Said and alongside the hospital ship – ‘Star of the Nile’. All the patients were moved, some walking, some on stretchers, but that one in his straight-jacket took about six persons to get on the ship!
The English newspaper, ‘Egyptian Mail’, always reported
shipping movement to or from Port Said. About a fortnight later it was reported
at Southampton and adjacent a newspaper report of it leaving Southampton water
for Hamburg where a person jumped overboard and was lost! Was my journey in
vain?