Page 3: September 1944 to December 1944
1st September, Friday
Canadian parcels.
4th September, Monday.
Fine weather returned.
8th September, Friday.
Canadian parcels. Wet weekend.
11th September, Monday, - 13th September, Wednesday
Fine; cool east wind. Everyone expecting war to end very soon.
15th September, Friday.
Canadian parcel issue of 1 between 2 should have started, but we are one half in arrears.
Great shortage of definite news or rumours last week or so. Many flimsy rumours of advances into Germany at various points: Stuttgart, Trier, Köln, Düsseldorf.
16th September, Saturday - 18th September, Monday.
Fine.
22nd September, Friday.
Half English parcel (Bermondsey).* Alternating fine and wet days.
26th September, Tuesday - 27th September, Wednesday
Very cold.
29th September, Friday.
Half English parcel (Tutbury). *
* Editor's Note:We assume these names are those of the despatch offices in UK.
29th September - 1st October
Find.
2nd October, Monday - 3rd October, Tuesday.
Cold
4th October, Tuesday
Fine.
6th Octoberr, Friday
To Moosach with Ted and Northey with 1000 Yanks working on the railway. [The American prisoners were being employed in replacing the railway in the outskirts of Munich as it had been badly damaged by Allied bombing. Going with them as medical orderlies represented one of the very rare opportunities for medical personnel to have an outing from the camp]. Half a Canadian parcel. Weekend wet and cold. Several very fine days in the week.
13th October, Friday.
Half a Scottish parcel.
14th October, Saturday. .
Ted Coping went to work in 3 and 4 MI Room.* Fine weekend.
Editor's Note:*Medical
Room.
18th October, Wednesday.
Working in spud fields : wet.
19th October, Thursday
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
performed afternoon.
20th October, Friday.
Put into a different hut and section to Ted Copling and the others. Searched again morning. Had our first Red Cross Parcel (Canadian parcel, 1 between 2) afternoon. See appendix 1. Rations: coffee morning; good soup (only 1 pint) midday; spuds in their jackets and margarine.
24th October, Tuesday
Into Munich with a working party. [Working on the railway in Munich we used to see squads of emaciated people, completely grey in the face, dressed in blue-striped pyjamas. After the war we learned that these were inmates of the Dachau concentration camp].
Had a letter from Ken Bumstead.
27th October, Friday]
No parcels.
1st November, Wednesday.
To North Lager (with 500 others) [North Lager was the transit compound of Stalag V111A]. .
2nd November, Thursday. .
Left Moosburg. [By train, i.e. cattle trucks, as on all POW railway journeys. Via Regensburg, Markttredwitz, Chemnitz, Dresden, Görlitz].
6th November, Monday. .
Arrived Stalag 344 [formerly known as Stalag V111B], [Lamsdorf, Silecia]. In Hut 6A. Met Eric Dilworth again, also Johnny Flood, Bert Levy, Arthur. (I in syndicate with Renouf, Pearce and Kelly).
8th November, Wednesday. .
Fine day. Washed trousers, blouse collar, brassard. Cyril brought round a blower and we had breakfast of spam and eggs [i.e. reconstituted dried egg powder].
24th November, Friday.
Moved to Hut 19A afternoon.
25th November, Saturday.
No parcels. Started to muck in with Eric, Johnny and Bert, to Bert's displeasure.
4th December, Monday.
Someone at the Door
; performed. Moved to top bed (Jonny's old one).
8th December, Friday.
Received a letter from home (dated 5/10/44).
14th December, Thursday.
Received another letter from home (dated 12/8/44).
19th December, Tuesday.
Yeomen of the Guard
; performed.
20th December, Wednesday.
Elaborate check roll-call.
23rd December, Saturday.
Made Christmas pudding [essentially based on bread in lieu of flour, with additional ingredients concocted from Red Cross parcels. Bert Levy made it].
24th December, Sunday.
Part of Messiah
; performed evening..
25th December, Monday.
Very good Christmas.
31st December, Sunday.
Celebration dinner again.