Behind The Barbed Wire
The story of the Second World War as experienced by
E.J.Lees
| In the early part of the second World War,
Ted Lees, my father in Law, was injured and captured by the Germans in
northern France. He kept a journal of his years of captivity in many camps
including Stalag 8B and then his eventual release and walk through enemy
lines from Vienna to Budapest.
The journal re emerged a couple of years ago when my
step daughter, Suzi, asked if she could take it to school as part of a
history project.
Subsequently, we typed it all up and had it
published, in a small way to family and friends. Now it is time to give it
a wider readership. You can download it by clicking on the links below.
Part
One
Part
Two
Part
Three
It is in Adobe Acrobat Form (pdf files)
If you haven't got Adobe Acrobat it is available free from:
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| May 2009 saw the BBC magazine 'Who do you think
you are?' include an article about this web site and about Ted's
contribution to the knowledge of camp life in those cold, dark days of
Stalag 8B. Alongside is a portion of that
article. Ted would be so proud to know that part of his legacy was a
small journal that he kept throughout those closing years of World War
II. |
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| Below are a few comments by e-mail. I post them in
the hope that shared experiences of captivity in World War 2 can come to
light. |
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Mr. Baker,
Hello. I just wanted
to take the opportunity to thank you for posting the remarkable story of
your father-in-law, “Through the Barbed Wire”. I stumbled across the
website while researching the Lamsdorf prisoner of war camp
(specifically looking for references to my grandfather, although not
really expecting to find any). While reading through the journal, I was
surprised to come across the name Jim Simpson. Although my interest was
piqued, I thought that it couldn’t possibly be the same one. It became
a bit more than a mere possibility when I saw the photographs
(particularly the picture in Budapest in part III). I can’t even begin
to put into words what amazement I felt when I saw these photos. I have
since been able to show my grandmother the pictures, and we have been
discussing her memories. When my mother first mentioned the journal to
my grandmother, and asked about Ted, she said that he was my Granda’s
best friend and that they had escaped together. Sadly, my grandfather
passed away in the late ‘80s. He did not talk much about his prisoner
of war days, but we do recall him talking about his good friend, Ted.
Again, discovering the
journal has been an incredible experience. Thank you so much for sharing
it!
Sincerely,
Danielle Miller |
Danielle Miller |
Dear Mike
We are embarking on
a trip to the northern hemisphere to follow my father in
law’s (an ANZAC) mostly prisoner of WWII history. Whilst
doing a search we found your site followed by /TBW which
eventually led to a pdf of Part 11 ‘Capture’ (no author
or reference given). There in ‘Part II’ is the photo of
my father in law, Lew Hird and his signature L Hird as
part of an Australian football team in Stalag 8B in
Silesia. We followed the authors’ story to
Kaisersteinbruch in Austria which accords to our records
of Lew as well.
We know that Lew was
captured by the Russians and taken to Odessa before he
was swapped for Russian POWs held by the Allies and then
sent back to England.
I would like to know
if this is an extract from a book and whether the writer
also ended up in Odessa. [It is and I have replied to
Cathy]
My father in law was
obviously broken by his experiences and didn’t talk much
of it again. He died in 2005.
If you can give me
the name and source of the complete publication my
husband (also Lew) would be appreciative
Kind regards
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Cathy Hird
Wentworth Falls Australia
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Mike; I am most interested in reading your
book . Currently I am having trouble picking it up. I'm no whiz on
computer, but will get some help. I'm Ex RCAF POW Stalag Luft3 & 3a.
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Wilkie |
Dear Mike,
I think your father-in-law's account
of his time at Stalag VIIIB is the best I have come across. I was very
moved to visit the site of the camp recently in the company of some
former inmates and relatives of others. During the war there were up to
40,000 British and Commonwealth prisoners there, and many more Russians,
Poles and other nationalities. The Polish authorities maintain an
excellent prisoner-of-war museum on the site, but little remains of the
British experiences as much was destroyed when the Russians invaded in
1945.
I am proposing to make a documentary
DVD about the British prisoners at Stalag VIIIb to preserve and honour
the memory of our servicemen who endured so much. I am being helped with
this by the media studies department of a local school, and their
6th-form students. This will be passed on to the museum to be kept for
future generations to see, and also made available to anyone else who
would like a copy. I have filmed interviews with 4 former prisoners, as
well as a lot of other material. Would it be ok to quote from your
father-in-law's journal?
Lots of people have sent me information, souvenirs etc and I
have so much now that I have set up a new website to store it all and
make it accessible to all. The address is
www.freewebs.co./lamsdorf. I've only just started, so there is a
lot to do.
I hope to be arranging another two
trips to Lamsdorf this year as
several people have requested the opportunity to go.
Very best wishes
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Philip Baker |
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I have just read part 1 of your father-in-law's moving account of his
war experiences. My late father was a Royal Naval gunlayer on SS Arawa
when it docked in Odessa in June 1945 to take on board POWs. He
remembered celebrating VE day on board ship in Odessa when some vodka
was cracked open - a drink he had never tasted before! He had by then
served five years in the Navy and had been torpedoed twice. I am trying
to piece together his war record with help from the Admiralty and the
internet. Your father-in-law's journal has helped add another dimension
to this.
With thanks and best wishes
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Tony Murphy |
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Dear Mike.
My niece sent me a link to your photo site, which I
enjoyed tremendously. Then I read your father-in-law's story of his
World War II experiences, and was very touched. Thank you so much for
sharing it.
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Bobbi Convery
Modeseto, California USA |
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Andrew Sheriff, grandson of R.S.M. Sidney
Sheriff (seen here) contacted me by e-mail. He had read Ted's book and has
spoken to him. |
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Sadly, Ted died in April 2005 at the age of
85. His story lives on, for all to see, a testament to a humble and
remarkable man.
One of the hugely positive aspects of
the Web is that his story will be shared by many.
'When one is thrust into loneliness,
sharing takes on a complete new meaning.'
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