BOOK
REVIEW: COPPER WIRE by Robert Harding.
Robert was an RAF bomber
pilot who spent 3 years as a prisoner of war in Africa, Italy
and Germany.
On the day that the Dieppe
landings took place in Europe he discovered over Tobruk the
dangers of flying poorly maintained aircraft when one of his
propellers fell off and he found himself down in the desert,
with a 9 day trek ahead of him before the Afrika Korps picked
him up. He spent time in the hell hole of the transit camp in
Benghazi before being transported to Italy.
Ill-health meant that
he just missed embarkation on the SS Scillin, which was torpedoed
by a British submarine with the loss of almost 800 prisoners
of war. First stop in Italy was the transit camp at Capua, followed
by a 175 mile journey to PG70 near Ancona.
One morning they awoke
to find that the Italian camp guards had been replaced by Germans
and soon they were off by train to Stalag 4B near Mühlberg
on the River Elbe.
Over 100 pages are devoted
to Stalag 4B and the conditions there and experiences of the
residents. This book should be of special interest to the many
relatives of men who were imprisoned there and who are seeking
information on the camp.
ISBN No 0-9538536-2-4.
Softcover 182 pages. Profusely illustrated with maps.
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