These are pictures of some of the items related to Stalag 18A which I have
received.
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Posted Missing Letter: This letter was received by the
wife of Driver Maurice Robinson, RASC, on 18 July 1941, almost three
months after he was reported 'missing' on 28 April 1941. |
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Notification from The New Zealand Red Cross
that Gnr William Fountain, 2NZEF was a POW in Greece. |
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Notification dated 3 October 1941 from the New Zealand Military
Forces that Pte David O'Connor, 2NZEF was a POW in Stalag XVIIIA. |
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A letter sent from the Regimental Pay Office
to the wife of Spr Jim Sanderson, RE, informing her of the allowances
available. |
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A postcard sent by Gnr Ian Houston, RA, in
May 1941 from a POW holding camp in Greece (probably Salonika), to his
mother, informing her that he was a Prisoner of War. |
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A postcard sent by Cpl Patrick Fury, 8th
Hussars, in 1941, indicating that he was a Prisoner of War. |
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A clipping from the Natal Daily News showing
the photographs of several Servicemen from Natal who had been captured
or wounded. It includes the picture of Gunner Douglas Hill who ended up
in Stalag 18A. |
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POW Identity plate of CSM F.W. McLaren, RE. |
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POW Identity plate of Pte David Hooker, R
Sussex. |
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Red Cross Letter: Sent to the wife of Trooper
David Fulton of 4th Queens Own Hussars on 9 July 1941, noting that he
was missing in action and asking for personal details so that the Red
Cross could trace his location. |
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POW Record Card: The Record Card of Signalman Jack Newport of the Royal Corps of Signals.
At the time that this card was completed, he was located in Stalag
XVIIID at Marburg. |
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POW Record Card of Gnr Herbert Goodchild, RA, from Stalag XVIIIA. |
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POWs were issued with 'Lagergeld', a currency to be used in the
camps to buy small items. This is a 2 Mark note brought back by Roy
Kingsley of the 2/4 Inf. Bn., AIF. |
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A Ration Card for soap issued in August 1941 to Sgt William Francis,
RA. |
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The ID Card of Pte Leslie Bullard, 2/6 Inf. Bn., from Australia,
issued from Work Camp 924/GW at Niklasdorf. |
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The Lager Pass from Stalag XVIIIA of L/Cpl
Bill Jardine, 4th Hussars. |
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The Lager Pass from Work Camp 11017/GW
of Pte Robert Heares, 24 Bn., 2NZEF |
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A Travel Warrant brought back by
French POW Charles Moreau, 506eme Rgt de
Chars de Combat (Tank Rgt) |
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A Travel Pass for the Graz Tramway Company, issued to Pte Walter
Betts, 2/2 Fld. Wkshps, AIF. It covers the period either side of the end
of the war. |
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S/Sgt Eugene Schwerdtfeger was a Gunner on a
B24 bomber, shot down over Italy in October 1944. He ended up in Stalag
18C. This is his POW Identity Card. |
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In late 1943, the Italians ceased fighting and many Italian
servicemen ended up as POWs of the Germans. This is the ID card of 2nd
Capt Angelo Pini, Italian Marines. |
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A Medical Chart from a POW hospital for Gnr
William Fountain, 2NZEF following an appendix operation. |
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An Eye Test Form for S/Sgt Percy Green, 22
Bn., 2NZEF, carried out at Stalag 18A/Z in 1943. |
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A bill for 3 Reichsmarks for a tooth
extraction given to Dvr William Campbell, RASC by an Austrian dentist. |
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A Discharge Certificate from Stalag 18A
Hospital for Gnr William Fountain, 2NZEF, sending him back to Work Camp
13048/L. Unfortunately, the Doctor's diagnosis is unreadable but
according to the Certificate, he recovered! |
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A chest X-ray of 2nd Capt Angelo Pini, Italian Marines, taken whilst
a POW in Stalag 18A. |
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A watercolour created by Lt Karel Ballaux, Belgian Infantry, showing
Wolfsberg Castle and church as seen from inside Stalag 18A. At this time
(1940) the lager was designated Oflag 18B. It became Stalag 18A in 1941. |
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This picture was sent to me by Bill Godwin-Toby, an ex-patriate Canadian working in Austria.
While he was staying in a small hotel near Graz in Austria, he noticed this cushion in the lounge. The owners of the hotel
had no knowledge of its origins. Presumably it was made by a POW in Stalag 18A. |
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4th Hussars badge drawn by Corporal Pat Fury. |
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The interior and exterior of a hand-engraved cigarette case brought
back by Pte John Leonard, DLI. The regimental crest is for the Royal
Army Service Corps, so John must have obtained it from another POW. |
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This imposing document is, in fact, the cover
for a Driving Licence, brought back by Sapper Alan
Glass, Royal
Engineers. |
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The cover of a photo album brought back by
Spr P.J.W. (Lofty) Elford. The title translates as 'My Military Career'.
(supplied by his nephew Phil Harrison) |
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A portrait in ink of William Ion (Work Camp 924/GW), created in July 1942 by
J Ward, another POW. |
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A portrait of Corporal Pat Fury, 4th Hussars
drawn by A Duggan, POW 1090 at a Work Camp in Flachau. |
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A sketch of Spr Dennis Parkinson, RE drawn by Eric Bardsley, POW
1037. |
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Self-portrait in 1944 by Signalman Eric Bardsley, Royal Corps of
Signals. |
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A birthday card created by Corporal Pat Fury
and sent to his wife and daughter. |
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A drawing brought back by Pte John Spence,
2/4 Inf. Bn., AIF. |
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A wry cartoon brought back by Tpr Frank Kenyon, RAC. |
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A small box made by Pte Robert Ragg, 2/6 Inf. Bn., from Victoria,
Australia. |
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A mat for playing the game of Crown and
Anchor, created by POWs in Stalag 18A. Over 300 POWs have written their
names on the mat. The original is now on display in the
Australian War Memorial. |
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A Christmas card created in 1942 from the
Greeting Card inserted with a Red Cross Parcel. |
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The reverse of the above card showing the
names and POW numbers of the members of Room 1/6, Lavamund Work Camp. |
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A Christmas card sent in 1943 by Gnr John
Braysher, RA. The original was drawn by POW Thomas Burke in Stalag XXA and
printed by the POW newspaper 'The Camp'. |
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A sketch of Spittal-an-der-Drau drawn by Sgt
Maj Allan Stockfeld, AIF, drawn during his short stay in Stalag 18B
before being transferred to Stalag 383 at Hohenfels. |
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During his time as a POW, Austen Deans of New
Zealand managed to paint several watercolours. This view of the paper
mill near Pöls, where he worked,
is the only one which he could bring home. The rest were lost at the end
of the war. |
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Postcard of Graz brought back by Pte
John McWilliams, 2/28 Inf. Bn.. AIF. |
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One of these two young girls is Nina, a
Russian slave worker. The picture was taken in October 1944 by Pte
Sidney Quick, 2/43 Inf. Bn. |
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An darkly ironic Christmas card from 1944
'celebrating' the bombing raid on Stalag 18A by the USAF on
18th December 1944. |
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The front cover of a letter written on a 'Feldpost'
form by Pte Donald Fetter to his mother in Norwood, New York, USA. |
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The front cover of a letter sent by Sgt
Reginald Dexter, RA to his wife on 31st December, 1944. The text can be
found here. |
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Tom
Donaldson, Corporal in 18 Bn. 2NZEF, was
Man of Confidence at Work Camp 100L. These are two postcards he received
from other camps as part of his duties. |
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The reverse of the above postcards. |
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The Service Record of Alfred Meyers which records his
movements from Sydney to England, North Africa and Greece and then to
Stalag 18A. He was posted as 'Killed in Action' in May 1941. |
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These two pages are from a diary created out
of Izal toilet paper (I always knew that stuff was tough!)by Charles
Thompson, Royal Artillery. They list the
contents of successive Red Cross parcels. |
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The inscription inside a Small Missal given to Sgt Charles Garvey,
RE, by Father Paul Juneau, the Roman Catholic Priest in Stalag 18A. |
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A copy of a telegram
sent by the Red Cross to Dvr Charles Bantick, RASC, in March 1944
informing him that his wife had died and that his two children were
being cared for by his sisters. Dvr Bantick had not known that his wife
was ill. |
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Whilst still a POW, Dvr Edward Dumbrell, R Sigs, was given the news
that his brother, sister and niece had been killed in the Blitz. Via the
Red Cross, he was able to send a telegram to his mother in London. |
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The British & Commonwealth POWs in Stalag 18A printed a newsletter,
POW WOW. This is the first edition, printed in December 1941. It was
brought home by L/Bdr Tom Watson, Northumberland Hussars. |
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The French POWs in Stalag 18A produced a
newsheet, 'L'Echo'. This edition lists the French and Belgian POWs
killed in the air-raid of 18th December 1944. |
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A notebook kept by Fred Wilson of 2/32
Infantry Battalion, Australia outlining his movements from his capture
at El Alamein in 1942, through Italy and Austria and then home via
Hungary, Romania, Russia, Italy and the UK. |
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A photo sent to Dvr Fred Balls, RASC of his daughter and her dog. |
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An ode to food, written by Sgmn Norman Perry, R. Sigs. After the
war, it would be recited before meals by his friend, Pte Joe Wishart,
2/6 Inf. Bn. AIF. |
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The Program of a Pantomime ('Babes in the Wood') presented
on Christmas Day, 1941. |
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A Volley Ball medal awarded to a French POW in Stalag 18A in 1942. |
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The program for the Panto 'Robin Hood' put on
at Niklasdorf Work Camp at Christmas, 1943. |
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A Diploma presented to Ken Childs as Manager of Rangers FC, Shield
Finalists, November 1944. |
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A Cinema program brought back by Dvr John Wolstenholme, RASC. |
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Pte Tom Burke of the Devonshire Regiment brough back this
banjo-ukelele which has been signed by the other POWs in his Work Camp
(probably 320/L) |
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Sheet music written by Sapper Charles Rayner of New Zealand whilst a
POW. |
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The cover of a Red Cross Parcel sent to
Sapper Alan Glass, Royal Engineers. |
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A bag from The NZ Red Cross Society sent to
S/Sgt Percy Green, 22 Bn., for Christmas, 1942 |
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The cover of a Red Cross box taken back to Australia by Pte Andy
Anderson, 2/6 Inf. Bn., AIF. |
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A letter sent from The Red Cross to Bdr Tom Watson, Northumberland
Hussars, thanking him for information about Gnr K. Murray, RA. |
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Instructions to Next-of-Kin for the
preparation of Red Cross parcels to be sent to a POW. (Cpl Pat Fury, 8th
Hussars) |
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List of typical contents of a Standard Food
Parcel prepared by the Red Cross. (Dvr Bernard Cross, RASC) |
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A list showing the contents of a Red Cross parcel sent
from New Zealand to Colin Ratcliffe of 19Bn, 2NZEF in November 1943. |
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Similar Red Cross parcel lists sent to Spr
Jim Sanderson, RE, in 1944 |
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A copy of Prisoners of War News, printed by
the Scottish Branch of the British Red Cross Society, brought back by
S/Sgt Percy Green, 22 Bn., 2NZEF. |
