WAR PRISONER’S STORY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 305, 23 September 1942, Page 6

WAR PRISONER’S STORY

Wellington Soldier Back

From Italy

TORPEDOED AND STARVED

“For you the war is over. You are a lucky boy. You are going home.” "When these words were addressed to him by an Italian guard at the camp where he was held near Brindisi earlier this year, a New Zealand prisoner-of-war could hardly believe his ears. Today he is again settled down in civilian life in Wellington after a series of unenviable adventures in the Middle East, which preceded what he considers was the brightest spot in his life. This soldier was repatriated from Italy in the Italian ship which took a. number of British prisoners by arrangement to Smyrna, whence they were taken back to Egypt by the Llandovery Castle. "I will not forget tne day of my release,” he said. “It was a Sunday liight and after a dull day it began to rain. All of us had the blues. Suddenly a guard entered, calling me by name, and as I got off the straw and . the boys crowded round, he approached and spoke the words mentioned. I was the only New Zealander to come out of that camp and, in fact, only seven of 2000 men/were repatriated from there.” , Captured in the Western Desert and taken with 2000 other prisoners from Benghazi, this New Zealander was on a ship which was torpedoed off tlie coast of Greece in late afternoon. There were no lifeboats or lifebelts, and some 600 men were drowned or killed outright by the explosion. Many threw themselves overboard as the ship appeared to be sinking fast, but actually she stayed afloat for some time. The German engineer, who earned the three cheers given for him by those still on board, kept the engines going and the ship foundered that night on the rocks. The next morning a lifeline was put out and the men got ashore. Here another ordeal faced them. It was snowing, and they were rounded up to’be placed in an open compound, some standing naked except for a blanket. For a month they remained there in the snow with practically no shelter and little food. Disease and- frostbite were rife. There were many deaths and soon the prisoners learned that the conditions were as bad among the Greek population. It was estimated that 2500 died every month from starvation, and when the prisoners ’ were changed to another camp and saw the emaciated faces of Greeks, they had further evidence of the conditions. Transferred across the Adriatic to Italy, the New Zealander found that at one camp where he was interned his companions included former A.I.F. men and New Zealanders who had fought in Greece. Many of them had been guerrillas after the withdrawal and had lived as civilians in Athens for a year. They had been'well dressed and had learned the Greek language, but later had been captured and sent to Italy. Prisoners in Italy soon found that the guards looked on articles of clothing with envy. The New Zealander, who bad worked in a shoe store l>efore the war and prized good footwear, was given a fine pair of black boots on being repatriated, but the ownership was Brief. One of the guards could not take his eyes off the boots during the journey to the coast, and finally 14 loaves of bread (each loaf about the" size of a penny bun) changed hands for the boots. One of the guards had worked in the Queensland canefields, and another had been in a grocery store for 10 years in America. He retained his American accent and when the New Zealanders crowded round the cookhouse, hungry and cold, before mealtime, he would shout, “Scram, you fellows. Sure, there’s no future waiting for you here.”