BACK FROM GERMANY

Grey River Argus, 17 December 1943, Page 7

BACK FROM GERMANY

- THREE N.Z. AIRMEN ‘ EXPERIENCES IN PRISON CAMPS.' WELLINGTON. Dec. 16. The first New Zealand members of overseas air personnel to be repatriated from German hands have arrived back .in New Zealand. They are: Warrant Officers H. M. English (Pakatutu Station, Hastings). David C. Allen (Napier) and J. I. B. Walker (Auckland)l One member of’ the parity has gained two stone in weight since leaving Germany. They are fit and well, excent English, who sustained a leg injury when his aircraft crash-landed in enemy territory. He was a member of an R.A.F. bomber crew assigned to bomb Mannheim in December, 1940. He spent some time in hospital in Rouen before being removed to a German air, prisoners of war camp. Allen and Walker were taken prisoners, when their aircraft came down in enemy territory in the middle of 1941. During their stay in Germany the three prisoners were transferred to several different camps, but in all cases found that no part of Germany, was immune from R.A.F. visitations. Walker had a close-up experience of the thousand bomber raid on Kassal in October last year, and, while not able to see a rr reat deal of the damage, he said that the racket and disorder were terrific, and almost beyond imagination. During the February and March period .of this year when Berlin was receiving a heavy pasteing, Allen was in hospital in that shattered city, and said that, from his experience of the raids, they lived tin to all that he had subsequently read of them. Despite an internal endeavour to keep news from prisoners, the , airmen were of opinion that the Reich was being considerably rocked by the R.A.F. Of camp life the airmen said it was made tolerable only through the good offices of the Red Cross organisation, whose parcels were a veritable Godsend. Apart from parcels the brightest spot in camp life was news. Camp news was of two varieties — a doctored-up camp broadcast in English of what was alleged to be happening in the war and the world, and .a mouth-to-mouth and camp-to-camp "grape vine” underground news system, it was remarkable how news travelled among British prisoners in Germany and in common with other New Zealand prisoners who have returned, the airmen were able to tell their guards of the fall of Stalingrad and the Dieppe raid before Germans them selves knew of those events. "Why,” said Allen, “we even knew of our repatriation long before it came off. In the first instance we heard we were to be released through Ankara in Turkey. Actually we went through Marseilles and Barcelona, but we have subsequently learned that the first arrangements were for repatriation through Turkey.” Allen said the Germans had . arrangements for tracking down British bombers. In his own case, he was flying a Sterling which had two of its motors crippeld and all its gun turrets out of action. He said: “We were limping over Holland, at about 300 feet. Once on the ground We were smartly gathered up.” Theo spoke highly of Spanish hospitality during their repatriation. The three men were met by the Chief of Air Staff, Act-ing-Marshal Isitt, and Air Secretary T. A. Barrow, before leaving Wellington for a period of leave.