deptfordboy

Joe, thanks for showing that cross, I thought it looked familiar! Absolutely STUNNING - I must say - do these come up for sale from time to time? Cheers Gilbert

On the reverse, is this note (I think the researcher has traced over in Biro to make it legible). Cheers G

here is the bottom half of the same scan...

More scans, not too much paperwork this time...

Hi Gents, Haven't had much time to myself recently, but managed to pop this research on the scanner which came in on a Glory 3rd I bought in cheltenham a few years back. The chap in question seems to have been awarded just this medal (or do campaign medals often get left out?). Issue number is 677891. I haven't got a translation and my learning Russian is going very slowly, so as ever any help from the members here would be much appreciated. Cheers Gilbert

Hi Humber, Your friend's Dad may well have had an interesting war if he picked up the MM. This would have been announced in the London Gazette, archives of which can be searched here: http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/index.asp?webType=0 That will confirm this entitlement, but if you want more detailed info you could try asking for help from a collector who specialises in the Y&L regiment, or try getting in touch with the regimental museum, if they have one. Good luck and please share some photos if you have them! Cheers Gilbert

Nice one Gerd, a well-decorated chap who saw a lot of action, no doubt! Cheers Gilbert

I believe it stands for Dix, Noonan & Web, Doc. Cheers Gilbert

Nice to see renewed interest in this thread. Rick, I don't think our man was 'blue-blooded': his parents seem to have lived up North in Southport, Lancashire, and appear to be firmly middle class. They weren't hard up, however: in one of his letters he mentions the wedding of a relative due to take place back home and asks them to give ?25 on his behalf - that was quite a sum back then, compared to the average working man's wage of a few quid/week. Hi Peter - I didn't know this was fallout from the Dieppe raid. Thorpe Woods states that he was shackled for a year in his letters, however! Cheers Gilbert

Thanks for the review Ed, I have been considering this as a purchase for a while but will now definitely take the plunge and add it to my list for Santa! Gilbert

Hi RA, It's possible this may be of help http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2251&hl= ? What specific period are you interested in? Let me know and, if it's relevant, I'll be happy to look up for you. Cheers Gilbert

Thanks Rick, it's much appreciated! Good to see you back again BTW - have you been on hols? Cheers Gilbert

Here's the thread were my particular Russian KIA was posted. As Dave mentions, it has now found a new home , but perhaps Dave will be able to add to what we know so far about the brave KIA tanker. http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=9065&hl= Your thread is a great idea Chris, I'll try and post some of my relevant stuff when I get home tonight. Cheers Gilbert

Thanks Ed, all crystal clear now. I will keep an eye out and see if 'Santa' can get me one for Xmas. I also still fancy my plan of thumbing through the relevant copies of the Queen's Own Gazette at the regimental museum in Maidstone - I'll post any findings here. Cheers Gilbert

Thanks Ed, I'm not sure I quite understand you however. Are you saying that the British POW lists are available at Kew, or can be purchased? I did a few google searches and couldn't find any references. It would be great to find out where and when he was captured. Cheers Gilbert

Hi Sam, No the medal isn't named it's standard issue - the seller insisted it was his but of course you never can tell. My next task is to find out when and where he was captured. I'm not aware of any publicly accessible POW lists for the second world war, is that an option? Otherwise, I'm pretty sure he would have been listed as captured in the Queen's Own Gazette, so when I get a chance I'll drive down the road to Maidstone and do some delving there. Cheers, Gilbert

Hi Kevin, good to hear from you. Doh! Thanks for spotting that, it was rather late when I posted (that's my excuse anyway)

Yes, there is at least one numpty on Ebay who spends their time 're-creating' groups to famous fighter aces (Jonnie Johnson etc) right up to the likes of Monty. I personally treat mini groups with great caution, even when named. Cheers Gilbert

Finally, our man is released from service and bumped up a rank for his trouble - I understand this was quite a common practice - does anyone else have a similar document? Anyway, no heroics whatsoever but probaby the most interesting group I have owned in a while - thanks for looking. Cheers Gilbert

Eventually however, our man is released and seems to have rather a nice time in Hamburg - he seems much joliier in this posed picture, and there are numerous 'reportage' shots of him and chums relaxing with pretty German girls and tasty German lagers:

In addition to such diversions, Thorpe-Woods was also allowed to study for accountancy exams whilst in the camp, and understandably a lot of the content of his letters and the camp mag concerns the future after the war. There is a palpable sense of disappointment in the prisoners' realisation in 1944 that the war will not be over by Xmas which ties in nicely with 'greater' events (Arnhem etc).

What is probably quite rare, and shows the diiferences in the way the Germans treated 'gentleman' English officers and, say, Russian enlisted men is this camp magazine, which the prisoners were allowed to produce and was then sent off for printing by a local firm. T hey produced at least 15 of these - I have certainly never seen anything of its type before. Here's the back page with crossword for those who enjoy a puzzle:

There are quite a few candid snaps of captives and captors, most of them inscribed to the reverse. Here are a few: the first, a 'caravan' of guards taking a pause in snowy woodland the second, German guards undergoing training in skiiing by being dragged behind horses (reminds me of a budget trip I did to Andorra a few winters ago) the third, a snap of what he calls the camp 'Quartemasters de Luxe'

It's possible that Thorpe-Woods spent the early part of the war elsewhere, as his letters from Oflag VIIB which I have only start in 1942. There are too many of these to post here, and they are obviously censored (you can see the thick pencil scrubbing out various sentences), but here's a summary of the 'highlights': His first letter home is in October 1942. He mentions that his ankle is still weak, which got me all excited about war wounds, until he revelas in a later letter that he bust it playing soccer! In his letter of November 1943 he says that, after a year, handcuffing has ceased. Handcuffing is something that is also referred to in the Red Cross report on the (excellent) site I just posted a link to - apparently this was in 'retaliation' for Canadians handcuffing German POW's on their way back to the UK. In his letter of February 1944, he gives a few insights into camp life: apparently, he is the cook at camp, it has been very cold and they have been grateful to be allowed cinema visits into the nearby town and to collect pine cones for their stoves , and he has busted his ankle again skating on their home-made ice rink! He says that the cinema in particular is a great way to forget the last 3 and a half years of captivity, tieing in with the Dunkirk theory.

Our man was interned for at least part of the war in Oflag VIIB, near Eichstatt, which I believe is in Southern Germany, and a quick google search revealed the following picture of him: http://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/frames.htm