PRISON LIFE IN ITALY

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24152, 11 January 1944, Page 3

PRISON LIFE IN ITALY

INVERCARGILL SOLDIER’S

ESCAPE HELP FROM PEASANTS “When word came through that we were to be moved on we smelt a rat and simply broke out. There was a good supply of Red Cross parcels in the camp at the time, so we took as many of these as we could carry and hid in the hills. It was pretty tough going, but with the help of the peasants —they were very good to us—we made the British lines after four weeks in the open over rough country,’* In this manner Sergeant I. L. Stott, of Invercargill, told of his escape from a prisoner of war camp in Italy, ... Sergeant Stott went overseas wim the 2nd Echelon, and he took part in most of the campaigns with the exception of Crete. He was among the last to get out of Greece. It was at El Alamein that he was taken prisoner. Describing his capture, Sergeant Stott said that he had gone out on a stunt at El Alamein and his party had been cut off by German paratroops, who were being used as infantry. These troops, incidentally, had taken part in the Crete campaign. After their capture they were handed over to the Italians and taken to Benghazi. They spent three months there and Sergeant Stott was in hospital when the Allied troops were only three or four days away. However, they were moved on, the British sick and wounded being taken in preference to the Italian wounded. From Benghazi the prisoners were taken to Tripoli, and three weeks later to Naples.

Conditions in Italy The prisoners were wearing light summer clothing at the time of their capture, and they found it very cold in Italy. This, together with the lack of food at the start, made conditions extremely trying. The treatment at the hands of the Italian guards was anything but good at the start, but they changed their attitude when it became apparent that they were losing. The prisoners were put into work camps in Italy and had to do eight hours a day on road construction. The food was very poor, and had it not been for the Red Cross parcels, which were received regularly, they would have all come out a lot of cripples. Food was so scarce at times that the prisoners were forced to scratch up newly-planted potatoes. Sergeant Stott laughed about this and said it was good fun. . After their escape the men broke up into small parties and worked south over rough, hilly country. They had many narrow escapes, and one day Sergeant Stott’s party, which consisted of four men—the others were two North Islanders and one Dunedin man, Jack McKnight—had to hide in a cave all day. This cave was within a few yards of where the Germans had to come for water but the fugitives were not discovered and continued their iourney that night. They travelled about 100 miles across country before they joined the British lines. Their main trouble was footwear. Sergeant Stott’s own boots were done at the time of the escape, and he had to make most of the journey with one boot. His foot swelled and he had a hard time of it for a period. The peasants were very good to them, and he rested with one family for a time. This family was very frightened of the Germans —they all were for that matter—and when the Germans were near Sergeant Stott was chased into the bush to hide.

Escaping Detection “We would not have got through had we not been wearing civilian clothes,” said Sergeant Stott. “Although we were running a risk—the Germans were shooting all prisoners thus clad—it was worth it. We often had to hide for a whole day, and many times we could see German transport on the roads. When we came to a main road we would hide for the day and continue our journey at night. We could not use the bridges. and_ this necessitated our fording .the rivers, some of which were very vide. I found this very tough going with my sore foot. When nearing the British lines we had to be very careful to see that we did not run into any of the German outposts. They had their artillery on all the hills, but we managed it all right.”