Belsen-April 1945. 618 Government Military Detachment

Discussion in 'The Holocaust' started by alan8376, Sep 12, 2009.

  1. AMWright

    AMWright Member

    Johnathan
    I would imagine units were told not to write any reports on their time at the camp because of the situation there.
    My fathers Arty Regt spent some time on guard duties there,but there is just a couple of lines in the diary saying what Bty Troops were on duty, nothing else.

    Rob

    That is quite interesting to me Rob as I am looking into my grandfathers service at the moment. He was with 107 Medium Regiment RA and was in N.W Europe at the time according to his service record.

    I cannot find any mention of them at Belsen but my grandmother is very much under the impression he was involved in some way with the camp. Unfortunately he passed away the year I was born.

    Ash
     
  2. bigmal

    bigmal Member

    I lived near Belsen for 9yrs,from the mid 70`s to the mid 80`s when i was in the Army, and whenever we had visitors they asked to visit the site.
    From looking at the pictures it seems not to have changed in all that time.
    I recall walking through the gates, along the paved path through the trees, it then seemed as if we had stepped into a bubble, the silence was deafening, it was very eerie on the site and any noise sounded muted.
    I`ve not been there since 1984 but i can still remember the place as if it were yesterday.
    I used to work with a bloke name of Sam Lake who told me he was among the first troops into Belsen but would say no more about it other than that he will never ever get what he saw out of his mind, and having seen the display in the entrance building i understand perfectly.
    In the early 80`s there was a new building planned for Hohne camp and a skeleton was found when the digging started, the authorities were called in and i think about 40 or so were found all together and were traced back to Belsen.
    It makes you think, are there any more Belsen victims to be found? :poppy:


    Malcolm
     
  3. Marco

    Marco Senior Member

    Sister O'Loughlin is buried in Celle, close to the Bergen-Belsen camp. Does anyone know more of her?

    Regards,

    Marco
     

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  4. trevor green

    trevor green Junior Member

    my father, sgt. frank green, was at belsen, though the actual day in april the wiltshires arrived is not clear. that said he was de-mobbed at hohne barracks in november 1945. he must have been there in the early days of liberation as when we went to belsen in 1982 he recalled the layout of the camp clearly, the head of the camp, kramer, being led out under close guard and the local population of belsen town being forced to visit the camp - they did so in their sunday best clothes! they were forced to see at first hand what belsen was and still denied any knowledge. he also described the torching of the wooden huts by 5th wilts owing to typhus.
    he had a walking stick carved there by a german nco for a packet of cigarettes - it details all the main 4th batt. wiltshires battles and ends "belsen horror camp 1945. it is now in the wardrobe museum in the belsen display; one of two carved at that time.
    he had 6 photos of gas chambers taken at belsen - he tore them up on our return to the uk - as if a ghost had been put to rest. he used to scream in his sleep, but after our visit this stopped. the only time he spoke of belsen was during our visit - it was almost a "closed" period of history. he died in october 1988 - proud to be a soldier to the end.
    anyone who can help with further info' about frank green and the wiltshires at belsen would be appreciated. thank you. trevor.:poppy:
     
  5. ossura

    ossura Member

    Hi All

    My grandfather A/Capt Christopher Slade ‘disembarked North East Europe’ on D-Day with 225 Company Pioneer Corp 21 Army Group and was moved to 71 Company Pioneer Corp, then 229 Detachment Military Government.

    6 sections of the company were moved to Belsen in May 1945. Christopher was then part of the British Army of the Rhine and part of the 618 Military Government ‘R’ Detachment.

    Christopher was at Belsen until around June 1946, and was awarded a papal medal by the Vatical Mission at Belsen in March1946. While at Belsen he met Marlene Dietrich in relation to Marlene’s sister Elizabeth.

    All comments appreciated!

    Paul
     
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  6. deedee4875

    deedee4875 New Member

    I would be interested to chat to anyone who can point me in the right direction on info about Belsen. As many members have said my grandfather would never say anything about it (understandably) I believe he was with one of the first units to enter and i am trying to find out which unit he was with.
     
  7. Paul Nicholls

    Paul Nicholls New Member

     

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