67835 Major Benjamin Brian HOSFORD, RAMC: POW, allowed to visit Occupied Paris

67835 Major Benjamin Brian HOSFORD Royal Army Medical Corps
6th June 1904 Islington, London - 8th July 1989 Tunbridge Wells, Kent aged 85

Captured Boulogne May 1940

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LIFE AS A PRISONER OF WAR


MAJOR BRIAN HOSFORD’S FOUR YEARS OF CAPTIVITY


ONLY OFFICER ON PAROLE IN PARIS


Ambulances Fired On By Tanks


A draw to decide who should remain behind to care for the wounded, the evacuation of a hospital as the Germans were fast approaching, ambulances fired on by tanks, a seven kilometre walk by severely wounded men and filthy conditions while a prisoner of war at Posen. These and other sidelines of life as a prisoner of war have been described to a “Courier” reporter by Major Brian Hosford, who until the outbreak of war was a partner with Dr. P.L. Richardson, practising at Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells. At the time of the great liberation on August 25, Major Hosford was the only Army medical man on duty at a civilian internee camp at St. Denys, near Paris. He had also been probably the only British officer granted parole in Paris for a period of seven months.


The Germans knew that their number was up some days before the liberation. The German Commandant was asked to stay behind and hand over the camp to Allied Forces, and the Swiss Counsel gave him a written guarantee that if he did so he and his men would be sent back to their own lines, but he refused.


Whenever a German appeared outside the camp there were shots from snipers at the street windows. There was constant street fighting with the Maquis. Two nights before the Allies entered Paris the Germans left like thieves in the night, but they had to fight to get away. There was much rejoicing when the Americans marched int to bring freedom for the French people and those interred.


It was early January 1940 that Major Hosford left these shores with many other doctors and a complete nursing personnel to take up duties at the 17th General Hospital in the neighbourhood of Boulogne, which had accommodation for 1200 beds. Their work for the wounded went on unceasingly night and day when suddenly the news broke that the Germans were threatening to engulf our forces and were fast approaching Boulogne. By May 20 the situation began to look dangerous and on May 21 the nursing staff was sent home. On the following day the evacuation of the wounded began but the fighting grew fiercer, more and more wounded were being brought in. It became evident that the doctors would have to remain behind to look after those who could not get away. A draw of numbers from a hat was instituted and Major Horsford found himself among the 13 doctors who were to remain at their posts.

At three o’clock the next morning every ambulance and vehicle was brough into use to remove the wounded, but some 300 had to be left behind. Then at the last moment it was decided that only six doctors should remain, and Major Hosford once again found himself included. It was promised then that if it was at all possible an ambulance train would be sent to them from Boulogne, and although a few ambulances were returning, it was decided to wait for the train. At one o’clock, it steamed into the station about half a mile away, and then, for some unknown reason drew out again. As the ambulances continued to be loaded up with the wounded there was still a hope that they might make a complete get-away. They were despatched along the road to Boulogne with one officer, but presently those behind saw them returning, while an officer on a cycle came rushing in ahead with the news that they had run into enemy tanks along the road.


OPENED FIRE ON AMBULANCES


The tanks opened fire, the first ambulance was set alight. The driver’s clothes caught fire and he had to roll himself in the ditch to extinguish the flames. Another R.A.M.C. sergeant was shot through the chest. However, they managed to get all the wounded out and put them in the other ambulances which by the time had turned around to retreat to the hospital. They now knew that there was no way out. The Germans had cut off their retreat to the coast. They were able to make for the hospital, and a short time afterwards they saw the Germans going towards Boulogne, they were about 800 yards away, and at that time they left us alone. On the previous day there was an air raid as we were unloading an ambulance train. Planes swooped down and machine gunned us and the village, at the same time unloading bombs which killed and wounded a number of civilians. The wounded had to remain in the hospital for medical aid.


Two days went by and then a couple of German officers came walking through the grounds to the hospital. They saluted and said that the hospital would be taken over by the Germans. There was nothing to complain of for a short time until a group of Hitler Youths turned up and held everybody up at the point of revolvers. There were some German wounded in the hospital, and they too were facing the revolver barrels. One German officer cursed them and told them they had no right to interfere, whereupon they left. For seven weeks they remained in our own hospital and some 1500 British wounded were sent in. With them were 50 doctors and about 200 R.A.M.C. orderlies. At last they decided to move them, but not before and interesting episode had taken place.


SHOT A PIGEON

For some months a pigeon had made its home on the roof of the hospital. One day it was spotted by a German Sergeant-Major who shot it. He then examined ut with the result that German staff cars were soon on the scene. The officers ordered a through search as they alleged that we had been sending carrier pigeons to England. Two days later they moved them, dividing us into two parties and one of which went to Lille and the other to Malines. I went Malines where there was a camp for ordinary French prisoners of war and wounded. We also found a few British there as well. In a few days a German officer came to inspect us. He said to me “You know why we have moved you from your hospital? You’ve been sending carrier pigeons to England.” The more severely wounded were put in a civilian hospital at Malines and we went down to treat them. Major Hosford paused to pay tribute to the Belgians. “The Belgians were very good to us.” He said. “especially the women. They sent in a large amount of food. After about four months we were sent by ambulance train to a hospital in Western Germany near Darmstadt. I shall never forget that move. Our move arrived at two o’clock in the morning and we found that there was no transport for the wounded. They had to walk seven kilometres, many of them in a serious condition. Those who had luggage had to dump it by the wayside and of course they never saw it again. The hospital was a converted school and contained British and French wounded. At first we were short of food. The German rations were meagre, but from March 1941 the Red Cross parcels began to reach us, and from then onwards we were never short. Believe me we were very grateful.

A little later a Swiss Commission passed a number of wounded for repatriation, and in September, a party was collected, and I was included. Altogether there were about 1400 wounded, several doctors, R.A.M.C. orderlies and padres and we were sent to Rouen. But a disappointment was in store for us. When we got there we were told that there was a hitch in the arrangements. We were put In a camp on the race course and there we remained for three months without heating or fuel except what we could gather ourselves. Before long some of the orderlies and the less seriously wounded made their escape. Some were even lucky enough to reach England.


STROLLED ABOUT PARIS


With a party of less severely wounded I was moved two days before Christmas 1941 to Posen in Poland. That camp was very dirty. After three months of much discomfort officers in the party were moved to an officers’ camp, Oflag IXa, but soon they were called up agin for work as medical officers in various camps. My turn came in August when I was sent to St. Denis near Paris and there I stayed until liberated by the Maquis and afterwards by the Americans. The camp was a so called British camp but the internees came from all over the British Empire and some of them could not speak English. There were some German Jews who had been in Palestine and who had British passports, a number of Roman Catholce priests, as well as Maltese, Cypriots, Greeks, Armenians and Mauritians. I was the only army man there and they treated me correctly. The Commandant said as I was a British office and a doctor I was entitled to go into Paris twice a week for five hours or three times a weeks for three hours. I said I preferred twice a week for five hours.


“I used to go out in uniform and I was allowed to go anywhere I liked, but I was told to make myself conspicuous and I had to sign a statement that I would not so anything against German interest while on parole. I had a number of friends in Paris who were as friendly as the dared be. But after six months that priviledge was stopped. The commando of the camp was changed and a new Commandant came. The excuse was that someone had written me to say that some friends were coming to see me and that the letter had been opened by the censor. The Gestapo stopped me from going out. That was in February 1943 and since that time I have never been out until we were liberated. All the time the camp was over crowded and we were over run with bedbugs.


LIBERATION WAS NEAR


Finally Major Hosford spoke of the great day when liberation came. It actually took place on August 25. The Germans knew that they would have to go and the German camp Commandant was asked to stay behind and hand over the camp to the Allied forces. The Swiss, the protecting power, gave him a written guarantee that if he did so he and his men would be sent back to their own lines. He refused, however, and the camp was used by the Germans as a base for their operations in fighting the Maquis. There was actually no fighting in the camp but on one occasion I was called on to attend to two wounded Germans, went on Major Hosford.


“The F.F.I. made it warm for the Germans. For some days before the liberartion whenever a German put their nose outside the camp there were shots and they were picked off by snipers from the windows. There was also some fighting in the streets. The Germans began clearing out two days before the Allied armies arrived. They left late at night and in their flight the camp gates were left open. The internees streamed out and there was chaos and confusion, with fighting going on in the streets. Then the F.F.I. came to the camp and wanted to use it was a base for operations. After they had left the Germans shelled us for mere spite but once again we were lucky and only had one casualty. There was fighting in the neighbourhood right up until the Allies poured in. “It was a great moment when we made direct contact with the Americans who lived in Paris. We were taken home by the French Red Cross. The rest remained in the camp.


For a fortnight after the arrival of the Allied Forces Major Hosford was quartered in camp barracks and he found the Americans anxious to do anything in their power for them. A special bureau for civil affairs was put into immediate operation and the camp was taken over. Everywhere he went Major Hosford met kindness and enthusiasm from the British as we as the Americans. The French people seemed to want to contact the English to shower their thanks on them as well.

BACK TO FREEDOM

A fortnight later with sixteen others, Major Hosford was flown back in an American transport plane to England and freedom. His sixteen companions were British soldiers in civilian attire who had escaped from captivity and had been helped by the Maquis, Touching down, after their years of captivity, England seemed to them a very solid looking place after all, despite the fact that at one time the Germans openly boasted that she was Kaput (finished). Like the braggarts they were when everything seemed to be going right for them, they were boastfully asserted in 1940 that was only a matter of a few weeks before they would be landing in England to sweep British off their feet and dominate the country with diabolical methods they had used elsewhere. But the tables have been turned.

The Courier 29th September 1944


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