14 Legacy

A few weeks ago, at the time of writing (Oct 2009), Alan’s cousin, the last blood relative of the Bateman line died in a nursing home on the south coast of England.

With each passing generation, the memories of such events as described in this blog, die out. The historical facts of such events remain, in textbooks and documents, but the association with individuals, their first hand memories and experiences, and the little, personal things that are not recorded in the National narrative are lost, and die with the individual.

I really hope that in this blog, I have managed to convey a personal narrative of this “Great Escape” story, and that Alan’s bravery, fortitude and spirit of character shines through. It needs to be remembered, however, that there were thousands of “Alan’s” of all nationalities and on both sides of the conflict, and that they all had their own stories and narratives of their shared experience of war, although we may not have a record now.

Alan never claimed any war medals that he was entitled to, and this is something Margaret and I are looking into claiming, posthumously, on his behalf. Margaret maintains that once home, Alan decided to “get on with life” and put his war years behind him to focus on his future. We are sure this is why he never claimed his medals. Alan was always reluctant to talk about his war years and I am sure that he would  be more than a little bemused that his years of incarceration were still attracting interest and research today. I am sure the same could be said for the technology that is available today, and that has made this blog possible!

Thank you for reading.

Alan Birley Bateman’s Ex prisoner of War questionaire, part 1

Below is Alan Bateman’s Ex Prisoner-of War questionaire, completed by Alan upon his release, detailing the POW camps and hospitals he was held captive in, and information that could be used to bring War Crimes prosecutions against the enemy. Until recently, these documents were Top Secret, and the originals are held in the National Archives at Kew, London.

Many, many thanks to Soren Flenstead who hosts an excellent site, Airwar over Denmark ;

http://www.flensted.eu.com/

This site has a vast amount of information cataloguing the crews of British and American airmen that flew over Denmark during World War 2 and in many cases lost their lives in Denmark and the surrounding seas. Soren’s site is certainly worth a look.

Alan Birley Bateman’s Ex prisoner of War questionaire, part 1

Alan Birley Bateman’s ex prisoner of war questionaire, part 2

Below is Alan Bateman’s Ex Prisoner-of War questionaire, completed by Alan upon his release, detailing the POW camps and hospitals he was held captive in, and information that could be used to bring War Crimes prosecutions against the enemy. Until recently, these documents were Top Secret, and the originals are held in the National Archives at Kew, London.

Many, many thanks to Soren Flenstead who hosts an excellent site, Airwar over Denmark ;

http://www.flensted.eu.com/

This site has a vast amount of information cataloguing the crews of British and American airmen that flew over Denmark during World War 2 and in many cases lost their lives in Denmark and the surrounding seas. Soren’s site is certainly worth a look.

Alan Birley Bateman’s ex prisoner of war questionaire, part 2

Alan Birley Bateman’s ex prisoner of war questionaire, part 3

Below is Alan Bateman’s Ex Prisoner-of War questionaire, completed by Alan upon his release, detailing the POW camps and hospitals he was held captive in, and information that could be used to bring War Crimes prosecutions against the enemy. Until recently, these documents were Top Secret, and the originals are held in the National Archives at Kew, London.

Many, many thanks to Soren Flenstead who hosts an excellent site, Airwar over Denmark ;

http://www.flensted.eu.com/

This site has a vast amount of information cataloguing the crews of British and American airmen that flew over Denmark during World War 2 and in many cases lost their lives in Denmark and the surrounding seas. Soren’s site is certainly worth a look.

Alan Birley Bateman’s ex prisoner of war questionaire, part 3

The Long March

By January 1945, Russian forces were rapidly approaching from the East, as part of the allied liberation of Europe. As was common in many camps at the time, Stalagluft 3 was disbanded, and its occupants started on a “Long March” hundreds of miles westwards towards Spremberg partly to avoid the approaching Russian liberators, and partly as moveable hostages for the Germans. From January to April 1945, Alan and the inmates of Stalagluft 3 were marched westwards through Germany by their captors, in sub zero temperatures, with little food or supplies, and slept rough in deserted barns, and various buildings including a cinema. On Alan’s ex prisoner of war questionaire, he states that he was sent to Stalagluft Tamstadt between January and April 1945, herded into cattle trucks without windows, 70 to a truck, for a three day journey to Bremen, and then finally onto Marlag Milag Nord camp, Lubeck, near Westertimke, a camp for Merchant Seaman and Royal Navy personnel, that had already been condemned as unfit and unsanitary by the Red Cross.

Margaret remembers Alan telling her that he had foreseen this evacuation, and had stored up rations, for the journey, made a sledge from boards from bunk beds to carry his possessions on throught the snow, and had saved an old hessian sack, which he wore over the upper half of his body to protect his head and upper body during this long cold march.

Alan and the other inmates ended their Long March on Luneberg Heath, in Lower Saxony on the 4th May 1945 … co-incidentally place and date of the unconditional surrender by German Forces to the Allied forces under Field Marshal Montgomery, marking the end of World War Two in Europe. It is also where the body of Heinrich Himmler is buried in an unmarked grave, following his suicide.

I have the original telegram from Alan, to his parents which says “Landed Safely in England Home Friday Love Alan. VE day was the 8th May 1945, a Tuesday, and Alan was transferred to England via Dunsfold, onto a hospital for de-briefing, and then allowed home. Working on his telegram, therefore, we can assume that he eventually reached home on 11thMay 1945.

Margaret remembers Alan telling her that he and his colleagues had been told that there would be a tea laid on for the returning prisoners at Dunsfold, and that they were warned not to eat too much, as after many years on a frugal diet in POW camps, the POW’s would be unable to physically eat much, and they could make themselves ill. Alan took no notice, however, as faced with a plentiful supply of tasty food for the first time in 3 years, he couldn’t resist eating all he could!

RAF list of lost Bomber aircraft during World War 2

Stirling W7514 Information

Type	Stirling
Serial Number	W7514
Squadron	15
X1D	LS-B
Operation	Rostock
Date 1	25th April 1942
Date 2	26th April 1942

stirling

Further Information

“Serial Range W7500 – W7539. 40 Stirling Mk.1. Part of a batch of 150 Short S.29 Stirling Mk.1. W7426-W7474; W7500- W7359; W7560-W7589; W7610-W7639. Delivered by Austin Motors Ltd between Feb42 and May42. Contract No.B982939/39. Delivered to No.15 Sqdn 28Mar42. Airborne 2150 25apr42 from Wyton. Abandoned after being attacked at 0105 be a Me110 from 5.NJG3. Sgt East was killed during the engagement and Sgt Surridge was mortally wounded in the stomach although he managed to bale out. He died from his injuries 28Apr42, while being treated in Tonder Hospital. Of those captured following the crash at Kravlund, 3 km SW of Tinglev, Denmark, Sgt Stephen was killed by a lightning strike in captivity 29Jul44 and he is buried in the Old Garrison Cemetery at Poznan in Poland. It is also reported that the night-fighter crew were obliged to force-land at Bylderup-Bov and although they escaped injury, their Me110 (Werk No.2276) was wrecked. F/O J.E.M.Conran PoW F/O A.B.Bateman PoW Sgt R.T.Stephen PoW P/O A.H.H.Young PoW Sgt R.R.Lawson PoW Sgt G.H.Surridge Inj Sgt R.A.J.Skinner PoW Sgt D.J.East KIA F/O A.B.Bateman was interned in Camp 9C/L3. PoW No.39647. F/O J.E.M.Conran in Camps L1/L3, PoW No.766. Sgt R.A.J.Skinner in Camps L3/L6/357, PoW No.274 with Sgt R.T.Stephen, PoW No.184. (See above). P/O A.H.H.Young in Camp L3, PoW No.217. “

The Great Escape

Alan was transferred to Stalagluft 3 at the end of 1942, and spent three years as prisoner of war in the camp. This camp had been set up to specifically receive Officers and was run and managed by the Luftwaffe, who had a degree of “respect” for the officers it held.

Unlike many other POW camps, Stalagluft 3 was run with a degree of civility, with the prisoners allowed to amuse themselves with the organisation of sports teams,gardening,  reading clubs, debating societies, and theatrical clubs, and many productions were put on in the “theatre” to keep the prisoners busy and amused. A “University behind bars” was created, with prisoners allowed to study, as Alan did, for his legal exams, with books and papers sent to him through the Red Cross. Whilst prisoner, Alan took his Law Intermediate exams, and subsequently qualified as a solicitor on his return to England. As can be read in Alan’s letters, films were sometimes shown, and a close and communal life and comradeship was forged among the detained prisoners.

I understand that all the above were encouraged to keep the prisoners engaged during their captivity, and their minds away from the task of escaping. However, Margaret informs me, that it was bred into every RAF officer from the start of their training, that it was their DUTY to try to escape from captivity, which explains the lengths the prisoners went to, to fulfill this end.

Alan was interred in hut 104, sharing the same hut as Roger Bushell (the mastermind of the Great Escape) and was a founder member of the North Compound. As well as creating tunnels, the prisoners were involved in many ingenious activities including the forging of official documents, the making of civilian clothes, the acquisition and storage of rations for those due to make the escape, and the research and creation of maps, essential for those who made it through the tunnels. Sharing hut 104, the nerve centre of these operations, Alan was involved in all aspects of the planning of the Great Escape.

In particular, I remember him telling me that on one occasion the plans for escape had been discovered by the “Goons” ( an affectionate term for the German guards) and that all rations that had been carefully acquired and stored by prisoners, for those due to escape to take with them, had to be eaten immediately! He told me of many occasions where “goons” had been offered chocolate or cigarettes as a friendly gesture by the prisoners, which had then “bought” the guard whom they could bribe for items they needed, as accepting gifts from prisoners could land the guard in deep trouble with his superiors.

Alan also took on the role of “penguin” in the construction of the tunnels, a role which involved him inserting a bag with drawstrings attached into each trouser leg, filled up with the excavations from the tunnels. He would then casually walk around the compound, gently releasing the drawstring and therefore allowing the contents of the bags to be scuffed into the dirt as he walked. This was important, as the soil colour from the tunnels was different from that in the compound, and would have drawn attention if it had been found.

I am proud of Alan and the activities he undertook whilst in Stalagluft 3. Many might have found the strain of finding themselves a captive POW enough on its own to cope with, but to study and pass legal exams, to be part of the Great Escape team and to live successfully in reduced circumstances as prisoner in a war that was far from its conclusion, with the many hardships that brings, and still appear in good spirits, is a tribute to Alan’s character and fortitude.

On the 24th March 1944, the “Great Escape” took place. Alan was not one of the first to enter the tunnel, as the agreement about who was to go first was made on the likelihood each individual had about his ability to reach England. As Alan had had a toe amputated, he was not given priority. However, after many, many men had entered the tunnel, Alan’s turn came, but as he was descending into the tunnel, the other end of it was discovered, and so he was quickly pulled out, and the entrance hidden again.

Maybe it was just as well, as the prisoners later found out that of their comrades that had escaped, 50 were captured, rounded up and shot on the orders of Hitler, as a deterrent to other would-be escapers.

I remember Alan telling me, that as a direct result of that action, a further tunnel was started in defiance of the killings, but that the camp was disbanded and the prisoners sent on the “Long March” before it could be completed.

True bravery and determination in the face of cruel adversary.

The Great Escape

Much has been written since the end of the war, about the exceptional exploits of the prisoners of Stalagluft 3, and their attempts to escape by means of constructing three tunnels, “Tom”, “Dick” and “Harry”, which were dug from underneath the accommodation huts, to beyond the perimeter fence, to allow some 80 or so prisoners to escape and try to reach England.  A  full account of the exploits of the tunnelers can be found here at http://www.historyinfilm.com/escape/real5.html, but I wish to recount Alan’s personal experiences within this blog.

I wish to start with some drawings found within Alan’s personal effects, and with which he used to illustrate speeches he gave after the war, about “The Great Escape”

The first drawing above shows the elaborate ventilation machines that the tunnelers made out of everyday objects that they could obtain from around the compound, or from guards whom they bribed. The ventilation chimneys and shafts were made from KLIM tins (tinned milk) and slotted together to make a long tube.

The second drawing shows the cramped conditions the tunnelers worked in underground, as they dug away, and subsequently shored up the sides of the tunnels with wooden slats, often taken from bunk beds.

The drawing below shows the underground workshop that was constructed to allow the tunnelers to work away from the gaze of the German guards.

Alan and fellow RAF colleagues

Alan and fellow RAF colleagues

Back row ; Sgt Howland. Sgt Readhead. SGT Seabrook. Sgt Morris. Sgt Coleman

Front row ; P/O Mahoney P/O Coldwell P/O Bateman P/O Shoemaker P/O Newport-Tinley

I believe this photo was taken during training, and according to Margaret Bateman, all the gentlemen in this photo, apart from Alan, died during the war. I would dearly love to hear from anyone who may have any information on any of these individuals, as Alan mentions many of them by name in his letters and diaries.

Letter to Alan’s family from Major Charles Zweigbergic

Below is the transcript of a letter found amongst Alan’s personal documents.

Transcript of Letter to Mrs Bateman from Major Charles Zweigbergic

106 Wick Hall

Furze Hill

Hove 2

Sussex

20.11.43

Dear Mrs Bateman,

I have just recently returned from Germany as a repatriated prisoner-of-war. I met your son sometimes ago firstly at a hospital and then an Oflag, before he left to go to the big Air force camp.

It was in July 1942 when I arrived at Stadt Roda hospital that I first met your son who was undergoing treatment to his foot – nothing very serious, I can assure you. We soon became good friends. He was always most cheerful and was good company. The little hospital, run by British doctors, with a German medical administrative officer in charge was interesting in that its patients were drawn from all over the working camps in the district. We had French, Russians, Serbs, Poles besides British. Your son and the rest of the small group of officers derived much amusement and also real interest from this motley crowd.

We both arrived at Oflag 1XA/2 at the same time Dec 15^th of last year – but after a time your son together with the rest of the airforce officers left for the airforce camp, so that I lost touch with him – however we exchanged addresses and resolved to keep in touch after the war.

I know it is a worrying time for you. All I can say is that the British prisoners-of-war are fine examples of indeterminable courage and cheerfulness, and your son is an enthusiastic leader of this spirit.

Yours truly

Charles Zweigbergic

Major