eric e Posted 7 October , 2009 Share Posted 7 October , 2009 Going through my late father's effects recently I came across this notebook at the back of a cupboard. I was quite staggered when opening it to find my Grandfather had written in it, dates and places he had been to after becoming a pow. I am posting it on this site as I thought it may be of interest to some of the members. Also I'm hoping to find a few answers to some of the things Grandad has written down. Grandad writes his address as Friedrichsfeld, which I believe is in Germany, can anyone tell me when he was likely to be there from the dates he has noted down please. Can anyone make out what is written after Englander and on the 9th October was Grandad at a place called Wattanie. Kind regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 7 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2009 Thomas Edward Evans was grandads brother. Any clue as to what sort of walk Grandad was having when the King came to Brussells? Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 7 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2009 Kidder would be Kidderminster. Three days in Dover, I wonder where he stayed. Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 7 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2009 Pow card. Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 7 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2009 And the back. Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 7 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 7 October , 2009 This was in the wallet containing the notebook, along with a few calling cards. Thought I'd share it. Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Johnson Posted 8 October , 2009 Share Posted 8 October , 2009 Eric, He was never at Friedrichsfeld. Friedrichsfeld and Limburg are Stammlager which are head camps, registration camps etc. All PoWs were registered at a Stammlager but few actually spent any time there and many never saw it, being out at work locations either in a local camp attached to the stammlager or, if they were never transferred to Germany, were held "behind the lines". The head camp was his postal address and all parcels etc went there first to be redirected to where he was actually kept, sometimes bouncing back and forward as the prisoner was moved around, until the contents were ruined or stolen. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 8 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2009 Doug, Thanks for that, it would appear from the notebook that Grandad was in Fort Macdonald for a month. Do you know if work parties were sent out from there. One of the stories he told my Aunty was about having to leave his possessions in his hat on a long table with the rest of the pows as they filed out of camp. It seems he was impressed with the honesty of the German guards because his valuables were always there when he came back. Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotonmate Posted 8 October , 2009 Share Posted 8 October , 2009 Eric Had a read. Terveuren Park is where he walked,it's in Brussels. If you Google the name you will get some pictures,even webcams (though it's dark outside !!) as it's still there today ! Sotonmate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Johnson Posted 8 October , 2009 Share Posted 8 October , 2009 Eric, I am not entirely sure about Ft Macdonald but I would be surprised if they were there a month and not engaged in some sort of work. Ft Macdonald is the subject of this thread which is worth a read. Like the Citadel at Lille it was used as a collection point for PoWs before they were transported to Germany but it is entirely possible for the use to have changed or for it to be used for more than one purpose. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 8 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2009 Thanks Sotonmate, will have a look tomorrow. Grandad certainly spent some time in Brussels, a family there took him in and another soldier into their home and gave them food. I think he spent a few days with the family though he doesn't seem to record it in the book. The family had a daughter named Enid the name he gave his second daughter. Doug, thank you for the link, the entrance to Fort Macdonald looks a lot more inviting now than I imagine it did in 1918. One of grandads jobs was removing bottles of wine from a large cellar, and then putting them onto a lorry for some German officers, it must have been in the last days of the war. Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Johnson Posted 9 October , 2009 Share Posted 9 October , 2009 Eric, "The Lousier War" by W A Tucker (1974) is worth reading. He was captured in April 1918 and spent the rest of the war in Belgium/France. At the end of chapter XI he states that at the end of June they refused an order to go out to work because they had not been allowed to write home. After an enquiry they were given the address of Friedrichsfeld "None of us saw it, or any other place in Germany for that matter". They sent two postcards back which was about four months after capture. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 9 October , 2009 Author Share Posted 9 October , 2009 Doug, Thank you for telling me about the book, very much looking forward to reading it as I've just ordered it off Amazon. Regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Naylor Posted 5 May , 2010 Share Posted 5 May , 2010 Doug, Thank you for telling me about the book, very much looking forward to reading it as I've just ordered it off Amazon. Regards, Eric. Hello Eric Iam researching names on my local war memorial (Grosmont N Yorks) two of whom were pow s at Limburg with the eventuel aim of writing a small book on their lives. Would it be ok to useto use the pictures of the cards from Limburg in the book. Kind Regards Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric e Posted 5 May , 2010 Author Share Posted 5 May , 2010 Hello Eric Iam researching names on my local war memorial (Grosmont N Yorks) two of whom were pow s at Limburg with the eventuel aim of writing a small book on their lives. Would it be ok to useto use the pictures of the cards from Limburg in the book. Kind Regards Phil Hello Phil, Yes please feel free to use the pow card for your book, and good luck with its publication. Doug, I found Tuckers book 'The Lousier War' fascinating. How must the inmates have felt when the prison gates were opened and they were released. It must have felt very strange to wander behind enemy lines and meet the defeated German soldiers heading home. Kind regards, Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Johnson Posted 5 May , 2010 Share Posted 5 May , 2010 Eric, Pleased you enjoyed the book. I was amazed at how fast the lines were deserted and he was just free to walk through them. Phil, I would be wary about the validity of any prisoner being at Limburg. Registered there yes but actually being there is remote. As the card says "do not reply to Limburg" (as they are not there!). Further research may reveal if they were there or not. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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