Long March POW Casualty 1945: John Antony Ronald Coulthard, Stalag XXA, Thorn

Here is another image of the buildings, showing how it is set into the hillside.


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This image shows the standard issue "wardrobe" for each POW and some items collected from the Stalag post war.
These are now in a Museum in Torun which is voluntarily maintained by locals and Polish military.



The website for the Museum is at: Historical - War Museum in Toruń - News

 

This photo shows where our historian and the pastor at Quickborn think Antony's funeral group buried him. Though they lacked written records, an old grave digger had identified this part of the cemetery. It is called the "new" Quickborn cemetery to differentiate it from the cemetery that was once around the church itself.

 

As a final touch to this post about Lance Corporal Antony Coulthard, I have attached a short paper I have written about his life and the research that went into finding his grave. I decided to write this to ensure that the memory of this brave man, the hours of research that went into uncovering his story and the amazing facts discovered would not slip from our collective memories.

I have also added the letter which I have recently sent to the CWGC asking that the grave in Becklingen cemetery be acknowledged as that of L/Cpl Coulthard. The first hurdle has been passed in that Tim Brown from the CWGC has replied stating that the evidence was compelling enough for him to pass it to the MOD for their decision. Barbara and I wait with baited breath for their decision.

Steve Foster

View attachment ANTONY COULTHARD CV2.docx

View attachment Letter to CWGC 2.doc

 

From the map of their escape route my father, Sgt Foster, sketched after the war in a letter to Antony's parents, I have made up a couple of sheets of photographs. The photographs show shots of the key places of the route I took during our visit to XXA in May compared to his map. Quite amazingly, most of the buildings such as the Stalag HQ, Red Cross Parcel Store, German Sgt Major's house and the guards barrack block still exist.

I still get a shiver when I think they brassed it out right past the HQ, Sgt Major's house and guards accommodation and then walked down to the station between British working parties. They did this in civilian clothes assuming the role of high ranking officials receiving "Heil" salutes as they went. All the blokes in the two working parties knew who they were but did not bat an eyelid.


Steve

 

superb research, I hope you are fully successful in your mission

 

Your arrangement of images brings the event to life. They deserved to get away!
Thanks Steve, great work.

 

The CGWC have forwarded Steve Foster's Report on our search, to the Defence Department "Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) responsible for reviewing the status of British war graves marked unknown.

The Chairman of the British national Ex Prisoners of War Association, Mr Philip Chinnery believes the facts presented in Steve's Report are enough to warrant naming the grave at Becklingen as Antony's.

However we have received a letter from the JCCC, advising us to expect a long wait, maybe even a year or more because they don't have the staff needed to conduct a review of the Report. Very disappointing.

 

Yesterday, Dr Seumas Spark, an authority on this subject introduced me to the existence of the Unit diaries of the British Army Graves Services, which are available to read at the National Archives.
Since the CGWC was (and still is) very cautious in recording a person's name to a body, without being 100% sure it was them, this leaves the Unit Diaries written by the people "on the ground" as the best avenue for relatives.
I think it is a great pity no-one from the authorities even suggested we look at the unit diaries at the National Archives.

When Steve went back to the NLA to search for the Graves Concentration Report file, he couldn't find the information which I now attach. After some pleading, over the phone from Domitz, Tim Brown (CGWC) kindly emailed us the part of the file with reports of the 2 unknown soldiers exhumed from Quickborn New Cemetery in 1947. However, to our surprise, when we went to these grave locations in Becklingen, we found one of them was in fact named "Kershaw". Which left only one unknown grave - most likely Antony's.

 

Since Diane (Dbf) has left the site, the letter she posted on my behalf from Dad to MI9, written in 1945 after he was released, have been removed. They are posted again below and outline the escape that Dad and Antony Coulthard made from Stalag XXA to the Swiss border in Aug 42.







View attachment 86227

View attachment 86228



Steve

 

The letter Steve posted above was originally found on page 4, post number 32.

 

Whilst looking at L/Corporal Coulthard's Statement of Service Form B200B, I came across a couple of entries I couldn't understand:

On 4/4/40, whilst a member of the Field Security Police, he was promoted to "Appt Unpaid R/Cpl", yet when he was retrospectively transferred to the Intelligence Corps on 17/7/40, whilst a POW, he was in the rank of Lance Corporal.

On 14/12/41, in an entry about change of POW address, he was a P/L/Cpl which seems to be back dated to 4/4/40, the date of his original promotion. Copy of his Form B200B below:



My questions are:

What was an "R/Cpl" or was it a mistake by the clerk who made the entry and should read "L/Cpl"?

What is a P/L/Cpl? Does the P stand for Probationary, Preliminary, Permanent, Paid or any other nomenclature?

Would be grateful for any help.

Regards

Steve

 

At the link below is the summer edition of the National Ex POW Association Newsletter. An article about our search for Antony Coulthard's grave is on pages 3 and 4. Just scroll down from the front page.

www.prisonerofwar.org.uk/summer%202012%20newsletter.pdf

The Autumn Newsletter will contain the second part.

Regards

Steve

 

The R/Cpl. notation looks to me like a handwritten capital "L" rather than an "R", so L/Cpl..

Wayne


Whilst looking at L/Corporal Coulthard's Statement of Service Form B200B, I came across a couple of entries I couldn't understand:

On 4/4/40, whilst a member of the Field Security Police, he was promoted to "Appt Unpaid R/Cpl", yet when he was retrospectively transferred to the Intelligence Corps on 17/7/40, whilst a POW, he was in the rank of Lance Corporal.

On 14/12/41, in an entry about change of POW address, he was a P/L/Cpl which seems to be back dated to 4/4/40, the date of his original promotion. Copy of his Form B200B below:

View attachment 91289

My questions are:

What was an "R/Cpl" or was it a mistake by the clerk who made the entry and should read "L/Cpl"?

What is a P/L/Cpl? Does the P stand for Probationary, Preliminary, Permanent, Paid or any other nomenclature?

Would be grateful for any help.

Regards

Steve

 

At the link below is the summer edition of the National Ex POW Association Newsletter. An article about our search for Antony Coulthard's grave is on pages 3 and 4. Just scroll down from the front page.

www.prisonerofwar.org.uk/summer%202012%20newsletter.pdf

The Autumn Newsletter will contain the second part.

Regards

Steve

George Kent saw the article in the ex -POW association Newsletter and wrote to Steve, describing how he walked all the way from Poland to Germany in Dutch clogs. It was great to receive this letter.

 

I think their logo deserves an award for being so memorable! The graphic says it all.

 

We have a new photo of Antony dated 1940. It was found by Andrew, Antony's nephew, while sorting some of his mother's papers. Not surprisingly, he is looking much healthier in this group photo than the later postcard of 1942. Antony is the furthest to the left in the front row.

 

For attention of Colin Fulcher

I found the attached printed statement in dad's old suitcase full of his wartime documents. It is not signed but was received by someone on 20 Oct 44. It details Antony's second escape from Stalag XXA in Nov 43 and believe it is the same escape attempt as detailed in Colin Fulcher's post about his Grandfather Sgt Neil McLellan. This would be the attempt from Gydinia on the baltic coast to Sweden.

I believe it was written by Sgt Wilf Gordon who dad mentions quite a lot in his letters, he was an RAMC Sgt working in Stalag XXA dispensery and was involved in helping with a lot of the escapes. The text states that Antony took a Sgt working in the photographic dept with him - I think that must be Sgt Neil McLellen, Colin's Grandfather. I have also attached a photo of Sgt Gordon , the author of the statement.

The amazing thing is that Antony undertook seven more escapes after this one, between Nov 43 and Jan 45, before starting the Long March.

Steve


View attachment 86042

View attachment 86043
Hi Steve,

Many thanks for posting this... This is great information and backs up the story as told in my Grandad's book...

I have just managed to get back online after and IT nightmare and look forward to catching up on the posts I have missed..

Many thanks,
Colin

 

View attachment 89454

View attachment 89455 Hi Steve,

Many thanks for posting this... This is great information and backs up the story as told in my Grandad's book...

I have just managed to get back online after and IT nightmare and look forward to catching up on the posts I have missed..

Many thanks,
Colin
Hi Colin,

A pleasure. I have found so many old documents in Dad's collection which may have a bearing on your Grandfather. I have attached to this post a paper written by MI9 after the war giving the escape organisation for Stalag XXA. Your grandfather is listed just under my father, Sgt Foster, as persistent escapers. Antony is just above them with a massive 9 escape attempts! They all must have known each other very well.

Regards
Steve

 

Dorothy Coulthard kept all her husband John's letters, sent whilst he was serving in WW1. Attached is (in his own words) "a nice letter written less than 24 hours after Antony was born". He had served mostly in Egypt and Gallipoli. By this stage (1918) he was back in England, working in the newly formed Air Force, in the Supplies Depot in London. He was allowed to travel to Windsor for the birth of Antony. In a note of April 10th (Antony's birthday) he says it was a "long birth struggle, agonising for me pacing the Windsor garden with her (!) in the night of 9th April and the early hours of the 10th when "A" was born".