Note from the Editor:

In March 1984 Bill wrote "After a forced march from various camps in Poland and Eastern Germany in January 1945, many thousands of allied POW were held in Stalag III A at Luckenwalde, South of Berlin. Together with my close friends - Ted Walker, Ray Hartwell & Johnny Sutton - I was put into one of the compounds at Luckenwalde which housed a large number of Air Force personnel from Stalag Luft III at Sagan and it must be said that conditions in the compound were deplorable.
By early April 1945 food was very scarce and no red Cross parcels had reached us for many weeks but we were encouraged by the news - by clandestine radio - which made it clear that the war would soon be over. Nevertheless there was some anxiety as to German intentions towards us, because in March an attempt was made to evacuate us to South Germany but this was abandoned owing to their inability to provide rail transport and in particular a locomotive.
The period between the arrival of Russian troops and our eventual journey to American lines was fraught with uncertainty and apprehension. During that period I kept a diary at intervals but this is now in poor condition so I have decided to rewrite it in order to preserve a memento of a somewhat remarkable but little known story. My copy is a true replica of the original and nothing has been altered from the account which I wrote in 1945."

Wednesday, 18 April 1945. About 9pm the German doctor called on the SBO (Senior British
Officer) in our barracks and it was obvious that he had brought some information of importance. Soon after his visit the SBO went to all barracks and announced that, according to information which he could not ignore, the Camp Commandant intended to march the whole Stalag of 12000 men Westwards tomorrow morning; the reason for this was that the Russians had broken through and were about 20 miles away in an arc from NE to S. The SBO stated that he would resist the move as far as safety permitted and that we were to delay as much as possible should the order be given.
Most Officers were in bed by this time but the news caused a buzz of speculation as we had not realised that the Russians were so near and our hopes began to rise. No preparations were made or evacuation and most fellows slowly got to sleep.

Thursday, 19 April 1945. Life went on as usual in the morning but an air of tension was apparent everywhere and sounds of battle to the East became distinct. All day the SBO was busy putting previously prepared plans into a state of readiness and he announced in the evening that he had been unable to get any definite information about the move but it was clear that the Commandant had orders to prevent the RAF contingent being liberated by the Russians.

Friday, 20 April 1945. Another day of tension with camp life apparently normal but all this time the Russians were getting closer and we knew that the Germans could not delay if they intended to march us out of camp. In the early evening there was a considerable fire to the SW which indicated that Juterbog, about 10 miles away, had been taken by the Russians or fired by retreating Germans. At night the SBO again addressed us to the effect that an evacuation was unlikely and indications pointed to a German withdrawal from the Camp in the near future; he stressed the importance of strict discipline and warned those on defence duty to stand by all night.