4192026 L?Cpl Leonard Brooks

[judyrhq]

I have been asked by Leonard's son to send a birthday card from RWF for his 100th birthday which is tomorrow. This I have done.

In addition son, Ken, is looking for info about his fathers service as he wont talk in detail.

Details given are: 4192026 2nd Bn RWF 1933 - 1946. He talks about BEF and a MiD but does not know where or when, also as a PoW in Poland. Can anyone help?

JG

[Baconwallah]

Judy, the MID was gazetted 27 November 1945, London Gazette Issue number 37368, page 5791. You'll have to look that up yourself as for some reason my computer refuses to show the LG pdf files.

I can't check the whereabouts of the 2nd Bn just now, but I'm sure you'll find it in That Astonishing Infantry.

John

[ap1]

Regarding his POW phase:

L Brooks
Rank:	Fusilier
Army Number:	4192026
Regiment:	Royal Welsh Fusiliers
POW Number:	6966
Camp Type:	Stalag
Camp Number:	XX-A
Camp Location:	Torun, Poland

I think he must have been 1st Bn with the BEF and probably captured at Dunkirk in 1940. The 2nd Bn's war service was in the far east at Madagascar, Burma and India.

Some info on Leonard's POW camp: http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/pow/stalag20a.html

[ap1]

Regarding his MID citation:

He was a LCpl with B Company 1st Bn. So as I suggested a Dunkirk Vet who was captured in 1940. The family (or RHQ!!) can pay a small fee on the link below and download his citation details from the National Archive. Judy, if you do go ahead, could re-post the details on here please. We do like to recognise their service and bravery.

http://discovery.nationalarchives.go...s?uri=D7376068

[ivor43]

hi all.
Reading the bit re the MID. my memory kicked in,(unusual). I think in may 1940 B co 1st(???) was holding Robecq.( the St Venant thread) so the details of the MID may be able to shed some light on the situation there. As you may recall on or about the 26th B Co was wiped out, either KIA or Captured.


ivor

[ap1]

That also crossed my mind Ivor, however it could also be as a result of actions whilst a POW.

[ivor43]

hi.
thanks Al. i had not thought of that. as a teenager i read the usual books about Colditz Castle and the Stalag's but that possibility comes as a bit of a surprise.
thanks


ivor

[ap1]

From a camp survivor:

STALAG XXA
TORUN (THORN), POLAND, 1940

When we arrived at Thorn, we were registered as prisoners of war, and after being fingerprinted, and photographed holding a piece of slate with our POW number on it, we were issued with a small metal tag, which was perforated in the middle. The camp number, and our POW number were stamped on both halves. This was so that, should we die, one piece went with the body for burial, whilst the other half was sent home.The camp itself covered a wide area, and the accommodation included several Prussian forts, constructed under the command of the Polish Marshall Pilsudski. They included a moat, drawbridge, and portcullis. Conditions inside them were terrible, with dank corridors, and water dripping continuously from the roof and down the walls. Low wattage bulbs were the only lighting. Our accommodation was a vault- like room with straw spread on the floor, and the only light came from a small window.Apart from the forts and a balloon hangar, the prisoners were housed in large tents around the hangar; again they slept on straw spread on the ground. I was held here for only a short period, perhaps four to five weeks, which was more than enough for me, as I was very weak with dysentery and general malnutrition, although I did not see a doctor, as there were men in far worse condition than me. I was keen to get out on a work party, as I understood that you stood a better chance of getting food outside. I also feared that if I stayed in the fort I would die.The food was grim, a ladle of thin potato soup at noon, and a loaf of black bread between four or six men, with a little spot of ersatz margarine. The only things plentiful at Thorn were lice. We spent most of our time trying to kill them and pick out the eggs from the seams of our shirts, or burn them with matches (if you could scrounge any).

[Baconwallah]

the details of the MID may be able to shed some light on the situation there

Don't expect too much, Ivor. There were no citations for MiDs, and the source, a General's despatch, would normally just give a list of names with some general remarks on bravery or summarise the reasons as "services rendered."

John

[ivor43]

morning all.
Thanks for the info John, and i am not expecting any divine guidance at the moment.
However.
This info does raise some interesting possibilities.
If it could be established that he was captured at Robecq, and i think it is very likely. Then what are the possibilities that others from the St Venant action also ended up there.I am thinking of other RWF men also RSM Goddard and the 2DLI men and the Royal Berks.

Ivor