A tranquil scene on South Pond, although some of the fishermen are not amused by some of the antics of the geese.
Hearing and seeing news recently about the catastrophic plight of migrants crossing the Med from Libya to Italy, I find it almost impossible to imagine arriving in a foreign country with just the clothes on one's back.
It has brought to mind my dad's journey as a PoW, from Tripoli to Naples. Captured at Tobruk, he had already spent time in PoW camps, including Benghazi.
From his diaries:
"Around the dock area were signs of bombing by the R.A.F. I was surprised at the large number of ships in the harbour. We went aboard a ship which I learnt later on was called Baltimore. She may have been 8,000 tons or 12,000 tons - I have no idea of her size at all. All day long prisoners came aboard and I think there must have been over 2,000 on board when we sailed. We eventually left Tripoli at 5 p.m., the day being Wed 18-11-42.
We were packed in the holds of the ship with very little room to sit. In the hold I was in, there were over 400 men and we had to sleep as we sat. We were well out to sea when darkness came and it was dreadful down there. I used to dread the nights on that ship, little sleep and the darkness was terrible.
During the early hours of the morning, I developed severe sea-sickness. Having had little to eat, my stomach became very sore. The next day, rations were biscuits and bully but I could not even bear to look at food feeling as I did. We were allowed on deck only to get drinking water or to use the latrine. The sanitation on board that ship was really ghastly and the whole affair was something I can never forget. As night approached, one would attempt to seek the same space as the night previous only to find a pair of legs or something in the way.
The next day, Fri 20-11-42, I felt very weak. The rations were the same and I managed to eat half a biscuit and some bully. I obtained a few smokes for 2 biscuits from some chap near me. I did not worry about eating at that time but a smoke meant quite a lot to me. The weather had turned colder and this added to our discomforts. I had only my overcoat and what I was dressed in and my bed was a piece of iron on the floor of the hold. We spent another night aboard that hell ship and the next day saw us still sailing along. We received extra rations. I believe it amounted to an extra biscuit each and 1/3 of a tin of bully. My appetite had returned and that day I ate all of my rations and was still hungry. There was a short air raid alarm in the afternoon and we heard men scrambling about on deck. About 6 p.m. we docked at Naples and felt relieved to think that on the morrow we would leave the ship. It was not so, however.
The next day, Sun 22-11-42, I got my first glimpse of Vesuvius. All I could see was a huge mountain with a wisp of smoke rising from the top. In the foreground was Naples, or, as the Italians call it, Napoli. The place was very large and must cover quite a wide area. My view from the ship was only of a mass of house tops and one building I remember was very tall and conspicuous. As the day wore on, no signs of moving off the ship appeared. We stayed aboard that day and night and received no rations.
The following day the usual biscuits and bully arrived but we remained on board. I was feeling the cold terribly and in general felt very weak. Everyone was the same and we all needed clothing badly. The last time I had had anything hot to eat or drink was six days ago. Another night to be spent aboard ship. Everyone was asking, ‘When shall we get off this ………ship?’ The next day, Tues 4-11-42, there were signs of moving off.
When our turn arrived to leave the ship I had the strength to stagger up the steps and down the gangway. We ‘marched’ a short distance to a building where we received a hot shower-bath whilst our clothing was being fumigated. We returned to the docks and boarded a train. Soon after, we received 2 small loaves and a tin of bully each. The bread was good after so many days of biscuits and it was not long before mine had vanished. After this, we settled down to await the train’s departure from Naples. At about 7 p.m. we pulled out and started on a journey into Italy to start life afresh in a pukka P.O.W. camp."
from the diaries of
Bertram Haig Martin, Gunner 943454 - Royal Artillery - 67th Medium Regiment - Prisoner of War 229846
How amazing you have his diaries and he has written so much detail. I hope we get to read more. Your photo captures the reality of what may be. Terrific Hazel :) Fav
Bep, thank you. It's a disappointment to me that we never were able to have them published - so much interesting info but I think they are a bit mundane and not exciting enough for pubishers!
Nice shot- such the opposite of what your father endured. I wouldn't give up on publishing your father's diaries. You might want to look into self-publishing/epublishing. My daughter-in-law has suggested it for some of my work. I will try to remind myself to share what I've learned with you. If I don't remember- ask me!
Sandy, I have but healthwise I don't think I could do it. Transcribing them put me in hospital with one of my bipolar episodes and I don't want to risk that again. It's quite hard putting them on here but do-able as it's small chunks. Thanks for the suggestion.
Beautiful shot and love the framing. Also love reading about your Dad's very moving stories. It is a very apt time of year with Anzac Day on the 25 April.
With our recent power outage people were complaining left right and centre about it and I said "Suck it up, there are people a lot worse off than us". Perhaps I should have got them to read your Dad's diaries.
He carried on for about a month and it's strange to see how in a very short timespan he went from all the 'trappings' of war to visiting relatives, and mundane stuff like giving the dog a worming powder etc. Must have seemed very strange.
April 28th, 2015
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Bep, thank you. It's a disappointment to me that we never were able to have them published - so much interesting info but I think they are a bit mundane and not exciting enough for pubishers!
Thank you for the tale.
Thanks, Ann. By coincidence I read recently in my U3A mag of somebody who published a soldier's diary online.
Tenuous links maybe - still/calm waters?!
Sandy, I have but healthwise I don't think I could do it. Transcribing them put me in hospital with one of my bipolar episodes and I don't want to risk that again. It's quite hard putting them on here but do-able as it's small chunks. Thanks for the suggestion.
With our recent power outage people were complaining left right and centre about it and I said "Suck it up, there are people a lot worse off than us". Perhaps I should have got them to read your Dad's diaries.
He carried on for about a month and it's strange to see how in a very short timespan he went from all the 'trappings' of war to visiting relatives, and mundane stuff like giving the dog a worming powder etc. Must have seemed very strange.