Hi, I have just started to look into the life of my grandad as a POW and with the help of some amazing people on here I have been able to find out more than I could ever have imagined so far. He was part of the queens rifles and was trained as a motorcycle unit who were sent over to calais as a foot patrol at the very start of WW2, he fought apparently stopping trains coming into Calais, but from what I understand they didn't have much chance of success. He was captured and I believe was marched from France into poland where he ended up as a POW at lambinowice, Poland. I wanted to find out if anyone has any info either about the battle, or about why they might have sent men to the slaughter so to speak, by training them on bikes and then sending them without. Any info would be helpful to enable me to piece together more of his life. He is still alive by the way, just won't tell me anything, out of choice, I'm not going to push him, just will find out on my own! Thanks all. X
Suppose you have seen this link , which has a great photo of them on their motorcycles in 1939 and a little about Calais ;- The Green Jackets Museum Photos - Queen Victoria's Rifles motor cycle training Sam Kydd the well known actor was with the Queen Victoria Rifles , sent to Calais fought and was captured, he wrote a book about his experiences 'For You The War is Over ' which I though was excellent ( he then spent almost all his film career playing soldiers/sailors in black and white war films !) ;- For You, the War Is Over: Amazon.co.uk: Sam Kydd: Books
Hi DebbieMax, welcome to the forum. What is your grandfathers name? We should be able to get his service and POW numbers from that. You could then order his liberation report from KEW which will give you more detail if he filled it out. You can also contact the International Red Cross here, they have info on POW's from WW2 as they visited camps etc: ICRC Archives This link is to the form you fill out to request information. It is free but can take 12 months or more to get the info. You can also order his service records. He or Grandma (if she is still with us) can order them for free, they'd just have to sign the forms. Here's the link for the forms. They take about a year to get as well, if your lucky although it may be faster for living vets. Ministry of Defence | About Defence | What we do | Personnel | Service Records | Further information about Service Records held by MOD Cheers, Wayne
Hi JCB, thanks for the photo link, that puts another picture into my information. I will get a copy of the book, its always good to get the real story, not just the facts they wanted u to know. Hi Wayne, thanks for your links, I already have his service number, 6898383, and his POW number, 10150. I have looked into getting a copy of his questionnaire which I may well do in the near future (why does it take so long to get? Can I just go and search for myself?) thank you for the info, will let you know what I think of the book! X
I have looked into getting a copy of his questionnaire which I may well do in the near future (why does it take so long to get? Can I just go and search for myself?) thank you for the info, will let you know what I think of the book! X You can order the liberation questionnaire online from KEW, cost me about £16.50 and took about a week. Andy (Drew5233) can also get you a copy when he goes to KEW, he's cheaper and will verify what he is getting you is correct. Drop him a PM to see what his schedule is etc. The IRC in Switzerland I think has some archives open to the public, not sure if the POW info is included in that. The service records are from the Ministry of Defence, you must follow their procedures to get the records, they won't let you in to search yourself. Privacy protection and all that I guess. Cheers, Wayne
DebbieMax, this is his POW record. The Camp Location shown is the last camp he was in, which you know. The liberation report may tell you more. Camp 344 was a main camp with lots of work camps. He was likely in one of the work camps, not in camp 344 proper. Here is a link to a list of work camps I have been able to cobble together so far. Lamsdorf Work Camps | Powvets Rank: Rifleman Army Number: 6898383 Regiment: Kings Royal Rifle Corps POW Number: 10150 Camp Type: Stalag Camp Number: 344 Camp Location: Lambinowice, Poland Record Office: Rifle Corps Record Office, Winchester Record Office Number: 24 Wayne
Wayne, Thanks for that list, were they moved from work camps to different ones throught their time? I know he along with others refused to work down a mine, and refused to make ammunition. For this they were severely reprimanded as you can imagine! I also know he worked in the garden of an officer which he has said was one of his better times, although I think he means it was not hard physical labour so gave his body a rest! Debbie
Hello and welcome to the forum. Can I ask how you know he fought at Calais? Not all of the QVR's fought their - some of them were part of a special unit formed with men of the 12 Lancers. The QVR's were specifically chosen because of the motorcycling abilities. I would check the National Archives to see if he completed a POW questionnaire after the war - this may help ID where he was.
Hi, he told my mum that Calais was where he fought and was captured, so that is a fact I'm pretty positive about. I have just ordered what I hope is his questionnaire from the national archives, so fingers crossed that will help my investigation. I know that he was trained as a motorcycle unit, and that they went to war without them, which I have since found out a brief explanation as to why that happened, may have been so different if the cycles arrived!
Hi, I do believe they were moved around, probably on a whim or if there was a need for more labour elsewhere, security concerns etc. Also where you worked depended on what skills you told them you had when you initially arrived. The Geneva Convention prohibits POW's from doing certain kinds of work, I believe "making ammo" falls under one of those categories. Not sure about the mine work though. Wayne
If you get no joy from Kew I'll copy it for you for a smaller fee. Ref finding out about what happened at Calais do a search of the forum - A ex forum member (dbf) transcibed lots of personal files I copied about the battle and posted them on here. If you want a book I'd recommend Calais by Jon Cooksey, don't pay more than £7.50 for a copy: Cooksey - Calais - AbeBooks
Thanks I will get a copy of that, lucky that I am an avid reader as someone else has suggested 'for you the war is over' which I have ordered already. Thanks for the offer of copying the paperwork, I have no idea if I have even ordered the correct thing so may have to take you up on that. I will look up those files now, thanks for all your help on this.
I actually managed to confirm his service and Pow number with him tonight and was surprised by his reaction. He told me them with no hesitation, and said he will never forget them. He was also surprised that anybody would want to know anything about that time, I think for him it was something which he had to do, not a hero and nothing special! I think Matt that he may well one day open up about it to his family, but it will have to be when he was ready, until then I will carry on with my little investigations to understand what I can and wait for him to confirm my findings!! Nice idea though.
I didn't realise he was still alive, sorry. A couple of important questions worth asking him: 1. What Company and Platoon he was in? 2. Who was his officer and can he remember the names of any other officers. 3. Can he remember the name of the ship he travelled to France on. 4. What was the date and location of his capture. I would also fill out an application form for a copy of his service records for him, if he applies they are free. Finally - Can you ask him for me if he knows a Lance Corporal Leonard Frank Webber, 2nd Battalion, Queen Victoria's Rifles, King's Royal Rifle Corps.
Yep, 93 this year, and still got a full head of hair!! Hehe. Significance of webber, if you don't mind me asking? Good questions, I've got to go see him in the next few weeks, gardening duties! I will sit down and see if he is forthcoming with any info.
Webber was killed by the Germans at the end of May near Dunkirk - I believe he was murdered by the SS along with an officer. The officer is in the plot next to him and his grave is marked as 'Known Unto God'. I believe I have identified the officer but only have lots of circumstantial evidence (too much for a coincidence in my opinion) but not enough to prove it and have his name put on the headstone.
I know - not pleasant. Obviously what you say to him is upto you but I don't think there is any need for you to tell him how he died. Andy
