Hi, During a recent visit to TNA I found the returning POW questionnaire completed 18th May 1945 by my late father's close friend Guardsman 2655986 Kenneth Frederick (Dusty) Smith, 3rd Coldstream Guards - of Tadcaster, Yorkshire. He was captured with my father at Antelat, Libya 23rd December 1941. He emigrated to New Zealand about 1950 and my father corresponded with him for over 50 years. I continued the exchange of letters after my father died in 2002. Ken died in 2010 aged 95. I remember that he used to send my father the Far East Prisoner of War nmagazine "POW WOW" in the 1960's. Ken was detained in Italy at PG53 & PG59 (same as my father) until September 1942 when he was sent to Stalag 8B (Stalag 344) Lamsdorf in Upper Silesia, Germany. He was on the Long March westwards from January 1945. He mentions he was attached to work camp E711 - Reigersfeld near Hydebreck, Upper Silesia. There is mention on Wikipedia of this area being part of the IG Farben industrial complex near to Auschwitz. Ken completed the free text portion on P3 of the questionnaire - "MADE TO WORK IN FACTORY WHICH WAS BOMBED HEAVILY BY BOMBERS RESULTING IN LOSS OF LIFE OF ENGLISH POW'S. NOT SUFFICIENT WARNING GIVEN TO GET OUT OF FACTORY." Can anyone provide anymore information on work camp E711? Does anyone know of any specific POW air raid casualties there? Thanks Steve Y
Steve From the CWGC information it seems that any Polish Camp casualties would now be in Krakow Rakowicki Cemetery. Looking at the records for this cemetery there appear to be a number of mass graves dating from August 1944 -these may be the victims of air raids and, as such, may provide a clue. John
Hi Steve, I don't know if this is of any interest to you: WO 311/945 Ill-treatment of British prisoners of war at working camp, Reigersfeld, Germany (attached to Stalag VIII B, Lamsdorf), 31 August 1940 1944 Sep 01 - 1946 Nov 30
A local man to my area, Cpl Watson Crozier, Cameron Higlanders, had a similar experience, captured at Tobruk, his stay in Italy was short and he was transferred to Germany first to Stalag 8B, then to a work camp E711 in Upper Silesia where he was held along with 3000 mostly British prisoners, whilst there he was made to work in a factory manufacturing coal by products. He made no mention an air raid, but interview in paper was more homecoming type.