Gunner Charles Henry Lawrenson Royal Artillery

WOW!!!
I am absolutely flabbergasted at the amount of information you have all given to me....as a newbie to this forum and tracing my families military history, I am so damn thankfull. I never expected to be given as much information as I have xxxx

 

Hi Cheekychops

As a matter of further interest, do you happen to know anything around what happened with Gunner Lawrenson from around 22nd January 1945 to what would be highly likely a date in April 1945.

If at the moment you do not understand the question. I will explain in brief as to why I ask it. On and around the 22nd January 1945 POW's in Stalag V111 B / 344 and its sub camps ( As were Stalags and sub camps that were in other areas of the Eastern front.) were begun to be forcibly evacuated in the face of the advance of the Russian Army. - there were some that were left in the lazarets / hospitals. Various routes were taken from the various camps.

These forced evacuations / marches were to be known as the Long Marches, Death Marches, Horror Marches - there are also other names used, but the first two names are the commonest. It was a time when there was a vast number of people on the move westward away from the advancing Russians. These numbers also included prisoners in concentration camps and also civilians.

The early months of 1945 were some of the harshest of the twentieth century, and many POW's set out already in a state of poor health, with inadequate clothing and little food. Many accounts attest to the sufferings and the deaths of the marchers along the way, due to exposure, frostbite, disease and starvation, and deaths from Allied air attacks. There are recorded instances where distances of between 500 and 1000 miles were covered - some of these marches took meandering routes. Very often the end of the march happened because they met with the Allied advance from the west. ( It also must be noted that some POW's ended up being liberated by the Russian Army, especially those left behind in the Lazarets.) Many of the survivors required hospitalisation on their return to Britain, where subsequent deaths followed.

I hope you find this of interest, as it could quite likely be what Gunner Lawrenson experienced. I feel I have given an accurate outline of things, and served to put over the terrible experiences that most would have endured.

 

Apart from what I have already mentioned and his complete and utter contempt & hatred to the ‘Gerry’s’ not much more is known. His son could remember as a child being woken in the night by his screams and shouting, from his night terrors, these stayed with him. It must of been harrowing for his wife.