Evacuation of Stalag Luft III

Just found this photo of it.
http://www.pegasus-one.org/pow/SL3/PicSL_3_LongMarch1.htm

 

This from fleetairarm archive
THE LONG MARCH
In late January 1945, the entire camp was rousted late at night and ordered to start marching. They marched near Nuremberg to a temporary camp. From there they were marched on foot to Stalag VIIA in Mooseburg. There they remained until liberated by General Patton's Army on 29 April, 1945. While marching to Mooseburg, they frequently were stopped at farmhouses along the way and given soups and other hot dishes by the occupants of the farm, as the Germans were low on food themselves and certainly did not want to "waste" it on Prisoners of War.

 

Veteran's (Wg Cdr HK Rees) memoirs here,scroll down for Long Marchhttp://www.ateal.co.uk/greatescape/

The Long March from SaganI was still in two minds about the merits of making another escape attempt after the murders of my friends when in October, 1944 Joe Noble and I were asked to help dig another tunnel. The camp was now short of experienced diggers and so we agreed. The tunnel, called George, was to run from the theatre, which was ideal as it offered ample space beneath the stage for sand disposal and was only 150 ft. from the wire. By the middle of January the tunnel was almost ready when we received an order from the Germans to evacuate the camp within a couple of hours. The Russians were fast approaching from the east and we were to march in the opposite direction towards the more distant western Allies.

Of course, the immediate concern was for food and other supplies during the march and so the prisoners started to make sledges out of timber from the huts, in order to carry as much as possible with us over the snow covered ground. Joe Noble, who was very good at doing such things, created a sledge out of hockey sticks (the runners) with a large box on top, the result of which was that we managed to take much more with us than most of the others - 3 or 4 red cross parcels as well as cigarettes and other useful items.
As the march started we found ourselves towards the rear of the column and we walked on and on in terrible weather. Time passed and the weather gradually warmed a little, melting the snow and so our sledges were abandoned and we had to carry as much as we could manage, rationing our supplies as we could not be sure of finding any food on the march. Whilst the local people were on the whole very friendly they too were short of supplies and so it wasn't even possible to trade coffee, etc... for food although we could sometimes get a little hot water this way. As more of the prisoners dropped out with frostbite, dysentry and other illnesses we were locked into overcrowded cattle trucks and taken by train. The journey lasted for three days and we were hungry and thirsty but were only allowed out on a couple of occasions to try and find some water.
Finally arriving at our destination we were marched to a camp where there were only bare wooden bunk beds, so we collapsed on straw, with the odd rat crawling over us. More than half the prisoners were by now suffering from dysentry, flu and frostbite. It was a terrible time and we knew that we were now being considered as hostages. We were now ordered to march back in the opposite direction again, but having heard that the Allies were making good progress we deliberately went as slowly as possible, hoping that the war would soon end. Concerns over our safety were so great that our senior officer warned the German commander that he would be held personally responsible for our wellbeing and that only humane guards should accompany us on the march. It really was a low time for us - at one point we were even fired at by one of our own aircraft, killing four naval officers at the rear of the column. By late April it was clear that the war was won and the guards even openly let us listen to the news on a wireless owned by some locals, who had kindly let myself and another prisoner eat with them - it was odd, us having a sit down meal with Schnapps whilst our guards sat on the floor eating their less than appetising looking rations. They knew the end was nigh.

 

A son and grandson of one of the men revisited the area in 2005.
http://www.heatherington.plus.com/LongMarch/Index.cfm

 

David,this chap was with your Dad then.
Update 5, 6th March 2004 - Flt.Lt. Tony Bethell R.I.P.
Flt. Lt. Bethell has died in Canada, 17 Feb 04. His obituary, Daily Telegraph, 6 Mar. '04, records that he and 'Cookie' Long left the tunnel together. In the event, there was a delay due to one man being stuck and having to be pulled back while repairs were carried out. Their group eventually assembled outside the wire but their plans were disrupted by the discovery of the tunnel and the group broke up, Bethell and Long intending to make for the Czech border. They were forced to change plans and made instead for Frankfurt, intending to try for a freight train and escape to Sweden. However, they were caught, only three of the escapers made it to freedom. Long became one of the tragic 'Fifty' and Flt. Lt. Bethell returned to captivity in Stalag Luft 3, eventually gaining freedom at Lubeck three days before the war ended following the prisoners' long march ahead of the advancing Russian army.
Found that here http://www.richuish.ac.uk/oldhuish/escape.htm

 

Also found this about Canadian John Weir with interviews.He finished up at Lubeck.
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/hrp/spitfire/spitfire_html/SF_1/SF_101/SF_101_03

 

Another stalag Luft III man here Sqn Ldr Douglas Cooper it says marched toward Lubeck.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A3615095

 

David,
Don't know if I'm helping much but hopefully there ought to be some leads in there somewhere.
Maybe someone else will have some more info.