November 2014 - Stalag 383 PoW Camp
Horndean U3A members were given an interesting and light hearted talk on life in a prisoner of war camp by one of our own members, Jeff Thomas, at our meeting on Friday 7th November at Merchistoun Hall, Horndean. Jeff told us about his Father-in-law S/Sgt Harry Brett RAOC/REME who signed up as a reservist in the Second World War.
Jeff’s Father-in-law became a POW having been wounded at the fall of Crete to the Germans in 1941 (having previously been one of the last out of Dunkirk in 1940) and spent the rest of the war in Stalag 383 a large camp situated NE of Munich. At the end of the war he returned home with an interesting photo album (much of its contents having been taken ‘illegally’) showing a selection of activities which took place during his incarceration.
Until 1943 the prisoners in Stalag 383 endured bad conditions but once the Swiss Red Cross became involved, life improved. They supplied many extras, one of which was watch making equipment which Harry became proficient at. He did work for the German guards and was secretly able to make compasses incorporated into metal buttons which assisted several successful escapes.
The young fit Germans were fighting on the Russian front so as a result the guards at the camp were mainly older easy going fellas! They called the prisoners “Kriegies” and were easily bribed and happily supplied them with cameras, books for the library, printing press etc. Bribes were paid for with the Deutsche Marks they supplied in the camp.
The biggest problem in the camp became boredom but they overcame this by setting up lots of activities - gardening club, dance band, theatre group, library, rugby team, display team et al. The Red Cross supplied a gramophone in which was housed a hidden radio for daily news bulletins. Jeff showed a photo of the Mikado “leading lady” in a beautiful dress made entirely out of Red Cross bandages!
S/Sgt Harry Brett had a long happy life after his incarceration and demob and died aged 92 years. A book “Barbed Wire” was published after the war about Stalag 383 but is now extremely rare.