2661433 Guardsman Albert CLARKE, 3 Coldstream Guards: POW, E&E

Date of Enlistment: 20 May 1940
Army Number: 2661433
Rank: Guardsman
Name: Albert CLARKE
Unit: 3 Coldstream Guards

Date of Birth: 23 May 1916
Place of Birth:

POW Number:
Date of Capture: 21 June 1942
Place of Capture: Tobruk

 

View Record via Ancestry

PART I.
GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE FOR BRITISH/AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR.

1. No. 2661433
RANK - GUARDSMAN
SURNAME - CLARKE
CHRISTIAN NAMES - ALBERT
DECORATIONS -

2. UNIT (ARMY) - 3rd BATTALION COLDSTREAM GUARDS

3. DIVISION (ARMY) - 1st ARMOURED DIV.

4. DATE OF BIRTH - MAY 23rd 1916

5. DATE OF ENLISTMENT - MAY 20th 1940

6. CIVILIAN TRADE OR PROFESSION - MACHINE KNITTER (HOSIERY)

7. PRIVATE ADDRESS - 3 WALK STREET, CHESTER-LE-STREET, DURHAM, ENGLAND

8. PLACE AND DATE OF ORIGINAL CAPTURE - TOBRUK AREA 21/6/42

9. WERE YOU WOUNDED WHEN CAPTURED? - NO

10. MAIN CAMPS OR HOSPITALS IN WHICH IMPRISONED
Camp No. / Location / From / Till
- BRINDISI 4/7/42 - 8/7/42
66 CAPUA 10/7/42 - 31/10/42
70 PORTO S. GIORGIO 2/11/42 - 10/4/42
55 BUSSETO 12/4/43 - 10/5/43


11. WERE YOU IN A WORKING CAMP?
Location / From/ Till / Nature of Work
S. ANTONIO NEGRI 10/5/43 - 6/9/43 FARM LABOURER


12. DID YOU SUFFER FROM ANY SERIOUS ILLNESSES WHILE A P/W?
Nature of Illness / Cause / Duration
GASTRITIS - 15/3/45 - 12/5/45
12 b. DID YOU RECEIVE ADEQUATE MEDICAL TREATMENT?
YES


GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE PART II TOP SECRET

1. No. 2661433
RANK - GUARDSMAN
SURNAME - CLARKE
CHRISTIAN NAMES - ALBERT


2. LECTURES before Capture:
( a ) Were you lectured in your unit on how to behave the event of capture? (State where, when and by whom).
NO
( b ) Were you lectured on escape and evasion? (State where, when and by whom.
NO

3. INTERROGATION after capture:
Were you specially interrogated by the enemy? (State where, when and methods employed by enemy).
NO

4. ESCAPES attempted:
Did you make any attempted or partly successful escapes? (Give details of each attempt accurately, stating where, when, method employed, names of your companions, wherein when recaptured and by whom. Were you physically fit? What happened to your companions?)
I and my companion H. LEE escaped from our camp at Sant' Antonio Negri on th night of 6/9/45. Beforehand LEE had obtained a hack saw blade from the farm worksheet and a pair of overalls
see continuation


5. SABOTAGE
Did you do any sabotage or destruction of enemy factory plant, war material, communications, etc, when employed on working-parties or during escape? (Give details, places and dates.)
Whilst on the farm my companions and I sabotaged whenever possible, bashing the wheat sheaves on the ground. Whilst in hiding after escape H. LEE and I cut the
see continuation


6. COLLABORATION with enemy:
Do you know of any British or American personnel who collaborated with the enemy or in any way helped the enemy agains other Allied Prisoners of War? (Give details, names of persons concerned, camps, dates and nature of collaboration or help given to enemy).
NO

7. WAR CRIMES
If you have any information or evidence of bad treatment by the enemy to yourself or to others, or knowledge of any enemy violation of Geneva Convention you should ask for a copy of "Form Q" on which to make your statement.
(NOTE: Form Q is a separate form inviting information on "War Crimes" and describes the kind of offences coning under this title.)



GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE PART II TOP SECRET
(continued)

8. Have you any other matter of any kind you wish to bring to notice?
-


SECURITY UNDERTAKING
I fully realise that all information relating the matters covered by the questions in Part II. are of a highly secret and official nature.

I have had explained to me and fully understand that under Defence Regulations or U.S.A.R. 380-5 I am forbidden to publish or communicate any information concerning these matters.

Date 13/6/45
Signature A. Clarke

No 4 Continued
and an old pair of boots, in exchange for his army ones from the mechanic in charge of the threshing machine. I obtained a pair of pliers also from the workshop. We had to saw through two iron bars which took us 3 or 4 days. On the night of 6/9/45 about 2 o'clock in the morning we bent the bars, got out, bent the bars back to normal, cut the barbed wire surrounding the camp just outside & we were free, the guards being rather slack there. We were physically fit.
We made our way towards BRESCIA but not being able to contact the Partisans, we returned to the vicinity of the farm again. Various people brought us food in the fields and we hid at times in the houses for a few days, finally settling down in CAPPELLA DI PICENARDI with the family LUCINI PIETRO, on the 2/11/43. We had clothes brought for us as friends were planning to get us to SWITZERLAND but it fell through so we stopped till 25/4/45 when we joined the Partisans. We reported at CREMONA but no transport being supplied for us we had to make our way hitch-hiking to MILAN, reporting there 7/6/45.
Conveyed to B. No2 Allied PW Repat. Camp by MT under arrangements by Repat ?

No. 5
telephone wires on the CREMONA - MANTOVA road and CREMONA - CASALMAGGIORE road in March 1944.

 

TOP SECRET
MI 9/Gen/

APPENDIX "A"
GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE
PART III

Number 2661435
Rank GUARDSMAN
Surname and Initials CLARKE, A.
Unit 3 COLDSTREAM GUARDS

Give such names and addresses as you can remember of those persons who helped you during your escape journey ( s ), with the approximate dates of their help to you and to your companions (if any), a very brief summary of service rendered, amount of money or approximate value of clothing supplied, (list of items of clothing and footgear to be stated if possible) and degree of risk incurred.

If you cannot remember the names of your individual helpers, state the place where you received help, and what details you can about such help. State also if you or your companions did or did not leave 'chits' with each helper, acknowledging assistance given by him, or her, or did these 'chits' take the form of merely your name and home address?

Dates and period of help. / Name and address of helper (put Christian name FIRST, and give Province if possible). / Type of Help given.

NOV 43 - MAY 45
PIETRO LUCINI
VIA VITTORIO EMMANUELE,
CAPPELLA DI PECNARDI
Prov. CREMAONA
Housed, fed & clothed me and SIGMN. H. LEE, (R. Sigs) at risk of their lives. Supplied everything and looked after me well when I was ill with Gastric trouble.

[NOV 43 - MAY 45]
3 separate weeks in above period
GUIDO GARAVELLI
VIGHIZZOLO
(near CAPPELLA DI PICENARDI)
Prov. CREMONA
Supplied me and H. LEE with 6 CWTs of wheat.

Source left 'CHITS' with both families acknowledging they help given.

 

See also:

• 2327968 Signalman Harry LEE, Royal Corps of Signals attached 201 Guards Brigade: POW, E&E - Escape companion, successful attempt