Oddities at Odessa - 1945

Discussion in 'Prisoners of War' started by Tricky Dicky, Feb 14, 2017.

  1. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    I have been looking through some documents and in them were a couple of oddities which I hope our antipodian members could help explain if they can find any more detail

    Firstly there is the case of:

    LINDLEY, WILLIAM JOHN
    Rank:Private
    Service No:NX5009
    Date of Death:30/05/1942
    Age:31
    Regiment/Service:Australian Infantry A.I.F. 2/3 Bn.
    Grave Reference: 2A. C. 5. Cemetery:KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY
    Additional Information:Husband of Elizabeth Lindley, of Dulwich Hill, New South Wales, Australia.

    Now the document I have just read states:
    NX5009 LINDLEY William John 2/3 Bn 30 May 1942 DOAS Krakow 2A.C.5 Shot at Odessa

    What was he doing in Odessa in 1942??


    The second one is:
    MATHESON, JOHN ARCHIBALD GEORGE

    Rank:Private
    Service No:17415
    Date of Death:09/02/1945
    Age:29
    Regiment/Service:New Zealand Infantry 26th Bn.
    Panel Reference: Column 104. Memorial:ALAMEIN MEMORIAL
    Additional Information:Son of Catherine E. Matheson, of Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand.

    The same document states for him:
    17415 MATHESON John Archibald George 26 Bn 9 February 1945 DOAS Alamein Mem Col 104 57 Killed during fighting near Odessa

    I am not aware of any fighting happening in the Odessa area in Feb 1945 - so what was it??

    Document link is - http://www.anzacpow.com/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/22740/3853_Anzac_European_Freemen_10-4-14.pdf


    Thanks for any help
    TD
     
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  2. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    Regarding Private Lindley - he was shot while trying to escape at a camp near Kurnow. No idea on the Odessa reference.

    His file has been digitized by the NAA


    I would say he was shot following escaping from a work camp near Knurów in Poland - there are vast coal reserves in the area.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Feb 14, 2017
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  3. RCG

    RCG Senior Member, Deceased

    TD. This can only be an error or shortage of information by whoever filled in the document.

    NX5009 LINDLEY William John 2/3 Bn 30 May 1942 DOAS Krakow 2A.C.5 Shot at Odessa
    Died on active service, buried at Krakow. So I expect he was a POW.
    Just confirmed by Dave B

    17415 MATHESON John Archibald George 26 Bn 9 February 1945 DOAS Alamein Mem Col 104 57 Killed during fighting near Odessa
    Again died on active service. As on Alamein Memorial no body was recovered. So I suspect it was accident in N Africa.

    If there was a body then I am sure he would have been buried in Odessa with this chap.
    RABEY, JOHN ALWYN Private 3909314 24/05/1945 25 South Wales Borderers United Kingdom Plot 127. Row 7. Grave 7. ODESSA 2ND CHRISTIAN CEMETERY
     
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  4. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    Nothing yet on Matheson - the Auckland virtual war memorial just has the same info as the CWGC & the NZETC shows him on the roll of honour for the 26th Battalion

    Being killed in North Africa in Feb 1945 doesn't make sense though - and why would he even be on the AIF Freemen site then unless he was an ex-POW in Europe?
     
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  5. DaveB

    DaveB Very Senior Member

    The answer might be here:

    IV: Evacuation of Prisoners released by Russian Forces | NZETC

    Evacuation of Prisoners released by Russian Forces

    The speed of the Russian advance in January 1945 did not allow the Germans time to move all the prisoners from camps on their eastern borders or in Poland. A good number of sick men remained in hospitals, together with the medical personnel attending them, and some of the smaller outlying working camps were overtaken by the Russian spearhead. One such camp came under Russian fire while being evacuated. Of its 40 men five were killed, including two New Zealanders, and 19 were released by the Russians. Men who had escaped either from camps or from marching columns were also able to make their way back to the Russian lines.

    There was at first little organisation for the evacuation and eventual repatriation of these men, and they had for the most part to make their own way back, living as best they could while doing so. A New Zealander who reached the Russian front-line troops in December 1944, near Prague, stayed for a week with them, was quite well treated, and was then told to make his way back to Lublin. On the way he was picked up by some other Russian troops, who did not believe his story nor recognise his Army pay-book. He was put into a civilian jail and kept there for three to four weeks with very little food and under very bad conditions. He was then taken under guard by train to Brest-Litovsk, where there was a second New Zealander in the same circumstances. Eventually, when a train came through containing other ex-prisoners of war, these two were put on it. The second New Zealander picked up at Brest-Litovsk was shortly afterwards shot dead by a Russian guard on the train.
     
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  6. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Re Lindley - thats quite an error as the two places are quite a distance apart -

    DaveB your last post obviously could well the Matheson - wonder if we will ever know?

    The 'facts' as written aroused my curiousity
    Thanks guys
    TD
     
  7. RCG

    RCG Senior Member, Deceased

    Where was he buried?
    Is he one of these?

    These New Zealanders died in or around Poland between 1st Jan and 1st June 45.
    FRAZERHURST, CONAN WILLIAM Staff Serjeant 31154 10/03/1945 34 New Zealand Medical Corps New Zealand 2. A. 2. KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY [​IMG]
    GILLICE, MICHAEL ALFRED Private 30649 11/02/1945 53 New Zealand Infantry New Zealand 2A. A. 1. KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY [​IMG]
    GOLLAN, LESLIE Corporal 31614 10/03/1945 35 New Zealand Medical Corps New Zealand 2. A. 4. KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY [​IMG]
    McBETH, BERNARD Gunner 26493 26/01/1945 37 New Zealand Artillery New Zealand 1A. A. 12. KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY [​IMG]
    MILTON, JOHN PHILIP Driver 41912 10/03/1945 34 New Zealand Medical Corps New Zealand 2. A. 7. KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY [​IMG]
    MURRAY, LESLIE LEWIS Private 43924 13/03/1945 28 New Zealand Infantry New Zealand 2. A. 1. KRAKOW RAKOWICKI CEMETERY [​IMG]
    LOVETT, CHARLES STEWART Private 6976 12/02/1945 45 New Zealand Infantry New Zealand 8. B. 3. POZNAN OLD GARRISON CEMETERY [​IMG]

    Can find no New Zealanders buried in Ukraine or Russian Federation.
    26th Bn of NZs were in Italy 8th Oct 43 to the end of the war.

    John Matheson died 9th Feb 45. Whether he was POW or not, it seems odd that he is only on the Alamein Memorial.
     
  8. alieneyes

    alieneyes Senior Member

  9. apteryx

    apteryx New Member

    Hi

    I'm researching John Archibald George Matheson for a forthcoming article on the website on the Clan Matheson Society New Zealand website. We know he was with 26 Battalion in the Western Desert in late 1941. From reports published in newspapers he was posted progressively as missing, believed taken prisoner; POW, previously believed prisoner; then on 7 April 1945 killed on active service, previously reported POW. A long three years and more for the family. He is commemorated on his parents' grave in Invercargill in New Zealand as "17415 Pt Archie Matheson killed while prisoner of war in Germany 9 February 1945 aged 29 years".

    I'm intrigued by suggestions in this thread that this could have happened during or soon after the liberation of camps. The NZETC item about evacuation of POWs liberated by the Soviets, and the role of the Odessa transit camp, is interesting.

    I presume he is commemorated at Alamein as that was where he was captured, and he has no known grave.

    I'll post anything I find on this forum, and would be grateful for any further information.

    Cheers,
    Andrew
     
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  10. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Hi Andrew

    Welcome to the forum

    TD
     
  11. vitellino

    vitellino Senior Member

    Hello everybody,

    A man who was a POW with no known grave, or who was missing, was often remembered on the memorial near to where he was last in action, which was of course, usually near to where he was captured.

    Regards

    Vitellino
     
    Last edited: Nov 20, 2020
  12. JAH1

    JAH1 New Member

    Hi,
    I have information on Matheson as my father was a fellow POW . Let me know if you require more information .

    Regards John .
     

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