by Nigel Jones
When the M.O. came along and examined me he pulled a long face and said that I ought never to have been walking about in such a state, but should have been put in hospital immediately I arrived. It was no use my explaining that I was in far better health than I had been for months; he simply would not understand that after I had stood five and a half years’ imprisonment it would take a lot to kill me, and that in any case it would do me far more good to get home to May than to be shut up in a beastly hospital. Well, there I was, and there it seemed I must stay. On subsequent days the M.O. said that it would be at least a month before I should be fit to travel, and I really began to feel quite desperate—if I had still been in Germany I should have been put into a prison van or a draughty lorry and sent on long journeys, and it seemed absolutely ridiculous to suggest that I was not fit for a comfortable translation by air to England and to my wife. They were all most kind to me at the hospital, and apart from people sticking pins into me to get blood tests and X-ray photographs of my inside I was left pretty well free to do as I liked so long as I did not leave the hospital grounds.
After the first day I did not stay in bed but spent that part of the day which was not occupied by meals (I seemed to be fed every two hours at least) in visiting other patients who, unlike me, were confined to bed. There was a very nice crowd of men there, and from them I could learn something of the war which in Germany had, of course, escaped me. Every day Olive came to see me, bringing me oranges, cigarettes and other delicacies, though the best thing that she brought was her charming presence; then, once a day there was the visit of the matron. She was most impressive. She bore the crown and two stars of a full colonel and numerous ribbons, and had something of the manner and presence of Queen Victoria with all her autocratic majesty. Her attitude towards me was one of benevolent toleration which seemed to tell me to be a good little boy and do what the nice doctor told me; although I was probably the elder she invariably reduced me to the status of a boy of six.
As the days passed I got more and more anxious and despondent; all tests had proved negative, and I had been cleared of T.B.C., malaria, dysentery, mumps, yellow fever, and measles, I was classified as a case of mild pyrexia of unknown origin, which simply meant that I was slightly feverish as I had been for months past, and yet they would not let me go. Meanwhile, it seems that my chiefs in London had entirely lost trace of me, and all that they could do was to telegraph to May to say that I was safe and somewhere in Italy. Towards the end of the week I was visited by the Chief Intelligence Officer from Naples, who had at last run me to earth, but even he could do nothing to get me released as long as the M.O. would not agree that I was fit to travel. Then I had a piece of luck, the R.A.M.C. major who had been looking after me went on leave for the week-end and Lieutenant-Colonel Easton came to examine me. He was a splendid fellow and at once understood that my principal complaint was worry at not being allowed to go home. He said that if I would promise to stay in bed for two days and be very careful not to do anything for myself on the journey, such as carrying my own luggage, he would let me leave on Monday.
No seat could be got on the plane then, but Olive fixed everything up, for the following day and on Tuesday the 22nd May she called for me with a car and drove me to Naples where we were met by the Intelligence Officer and taken to the plane. I was the only civilian but people were most kind, and someone immediately gave up his seat so that I could sit in front. There was only a short wait before the plane started off and soon we were airborne and I was at last returning from that journey on which I set out on the 9th November, 1939. What should I find? It was lovely weather when we started, bright sun and summer hot, but as we crossed the sea towards France little wisps of cloud appeared which, as we passed through them, made a noise like the beating of hail. Over France there was brilliant white cloud beneath us which dropped in a sheer precipice as we came to the Channel; then, before us I saw a dense threatening black wall, cloud over England, which seemed to express my own fear that I was returning home to an England I did not know, myself probably changed beyond recognition and, as so often before, I wondered whether one has ever the right to go back. Then in the cloud I seemed to see May’s face before me, and I knew that one person in the world at least wanted me and would have patience whilst I fought the battle which faces every prisoner who returns.
FINIS
Chagford,
6th April, 1949.
APPENDIX
Nominal roll of the prisoners of war, political prisoners, and hostages who reached Niederdorf in the South Tirol, on 28th April, 1945.
BRITISH
H. M. A. DAY; Wing Commander, R.A.F.
JOHN MCGRATH; Lieutenant-Colonel, R.A.
‘JACK’ CHURCHILL; Lieutenant-Colonel.
R. H. STEVENS; Lieutenant-Colonel.
HUGH FALCONER; Squadron-Leader, R.A.F.
SYDNEY H. DOWSE; Flight Lieutenant, R.A.F.
BERTRAM JAMES; Lieutenant.
PETER CHURCHILL; Captain.
WADIM GREENEWICH; Civil Servant.
S. PAYNE BEST.
THOMAS CUSHING; Soldier.
ANDREW WALSH; Aircraft fitter.
PATRICK O’BRIEN; Soldier.
JOHN SPENCE; Soldier
RUSSIAN
PETER PRIWALOW; Major-General.
IWAN G. BESSENOW; General.
W. BRODNIKOW; Lieutenant-Colonel.
NIKOLAUS RUTSCHENKO; Lieutenant.
WASSILLI KOKORIN-MOLOTOWSK; Lieutenant.
FEDOR CEREDILIN; Soldier.
FRENCH
LÉON BLUM; Prime Minister.
MADAME LÉON BLUM.
GABRIÉL PIGUET; Bishop of Clermont-Ferrand.
PRINCE XAVIER DE BOURBON-PARMA.
JOSEPH JOOS; Journalist.
R. N. VAN WYMEERSCH; Lieutenant, R.A.F.
DUTCH
DR. J. C. VAN DIJK; Minister of Defence.
DANISH
HANS LUNDING; Captain.
JÖRGEN L. F. MOGENSEN; Vice-Consul.
MAX J. MIKKELSEN; Captain Merchant Service.
KNUD E. PEDERSEN; Captain Merchant Service.
HANS F. HANSEN; Marine Engineer.
ADOLF T. LARSEN.
NORWEGIAN
A. DAEHLE; Naval Captain.
SWEDISH
CARL EDQUIST; Company Director.
POLISH
ALEXANDER ZAMOYSKI; Major.
STANISLAW JENSEN; Pilot-Officer, R.A.F.
JAN IZYCKI; Pilot-Officer, R.A.F.
CZECHOSLOVAK
DR. IMRICH KARVAS; University Professor.
JAN STANEK; Major, General Staff.
JOSEF ROZSEVAC-RYS; journalist.
JOSEF BURDA; Merchant.
GREEK
ALEXANDER PAPAGOS; Commander-in-Chief, Greek Forces.
JOAN PITSIKAS; Lieutenant-General.
CONSTANTIN BAKOPOULOS; Lieutenant-General.
PAMAJOTIS DEDES; Lieutenant-General.
GEORGE KOSMAS; Lieutenant-General.
NIKOLAOS GRIVAS; Corporal.
VASSILIS DIMITRION; Soldier.
YUGOSLAV
HINKO DRAGIC.
DIMITRIJE TOMALEVSKI; Journalist.
NOVAC POPOVIC; Postmaster-General.
SWISS
ARMAND MOTTET; Engineer.
AUSTRIAN
DR. KURT VON SCHUSCHNIGG; late Austrian Chancellor.
MRS. VERA VON SCHUSCHNIGG.
MARIA-DOLORES VON SCHUSCHNIGG (Sissie).
DR. RICHARD SCHMITZ; Mayor of Vienna.
DR. KONRAD PRAXMARER; Journalist.
ITALIAN
SANTE GARIBALDI; General.
FERRERO; Lieutenant-Colonel.
AMECHI; Civil Servant.
BURTOLI; Civil Servant.
HUNGARIAN
NIKOLAUS VON KALLAY; Prime Minister.
PETER BARON SCHELL; Minister of the Interior.
GEZA VON IGMANDY-HEGYESSY; Member of the Upper Chamber.
NIKOLAUS VON HORTHY, JR.; Member of th
e Upper Chamber and Ambassador.
ANDREAS VON HLATKY; Secretary of State.
JULIUS KIRALY; Police Chief.
ALEKSANDER VON GINZERY; Artillery Colonel.
JOSEF HATZ; Major.
SAMUEL HATZ; Schoolmaster, retired.
DESIDERIUS VON ONEDY; Civil Servant.
LETTISH
GUSTAV CELMINS; Professor.
GERMAN
DR. HJALMAR SCHACHT; President German Reichsbank.
DR. HERMANN PÜNDER; Secretary of State.
PRINCE PHILIPP VON HESSEN; Ambassador.
DR. ERICH HEBERLEIN; Ambassador.
MRS. MARGOT HEBERLEIN.
FRANZ HALDER; Colonel-General, late C.G.S.
ALEXANDER BARON VON FALKENHAUSEN; General, late C.I.C. Belgium and North France.
GEORG THOMAS; General.
BOGISLAV VON BONIN; Colonel, General Staff.
FRANZ LIEDIG; Naval Commander.
MARTIN NIEMÖLLER; Clergyman.
JOHANN NEUHÄUSLER; Canon of Munich.
DR. ANTON HAMM; Chaplain.
KARL KUNKEL; Chaplain.
WILHELM VON FLUGGE; Director.
FRIEDRICH LEOPOLD PRINCE OF PRUSSIA; Landed Proprietor.
BARON FRITZ CERRINI; Private Secretary.
DR. JOSEF MÜLLER; Lawyer.
BARON FABIAN VON SCHLABRENDORFF.
DR. HORST HOEPNER; Businessman.
HORST VON PETERSDORFF; Colonel.
FRITZ THYSSEN; Industrialist.
MRS. ANNELIE THYSSEN.
MISS HEIDL NOWAKOWSKI.
WILHELM VISINTAINER; Circus Clown.
PAUL WAUER; Hairdresser.
So-called “SIPPENHÄFTLINGE” or Family Hostages—all German
MRS. GERTRUD HALDER; wife of General Halder.
MISS ANNELIESE GISEVIUS; School Teacher.
DR. GUSTAV GOERDELER; Physician.
MRS. ANNELIESE GOERDELER.
ULRICH GOERDELER; Lawyer.
MRS. IRMA GOERDELER.
DR. MARIANNE GOERDELER.
MISS BENIGNA GOERDELER.
MISS JUTTA GOERDELER.
MRS. KÄTE GUDZENT.
BARONESS VON HAMMERSTEIN-ECQUORD.
HILDUR VON HAMMERSTEIN-ECQUORD.
MRS. ILSE-LOTTE VON HOFACKER.
MISS ANNA-LUISE VON HOFACKER.
MASTER EBERHARD VON HOFACKER.
MRS. THERESE KAISER.
MISS ELISABETH KAISER.
ARTHUR KUHN; Patent Agent.
MRS. LINI LINDEMANN.
MRS. FEY PIRZIO-BIROLI.
WALTHER COUNT VON PLETTENBERG; Cotton Importer.
GISELA COUNTESS VON PLETTENBERG.
MISS ISA VERMEHREN; Singer.
MRS. INGEBORG SCHRÖDER.
MASTER HARRING SCHRÖDER.
MASTER HANS-DIETRICH SCHRÖDER.
MISS SYBILLE-MARIA SCHRÖDER.
ELISABETH COUNTESS SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
MARKWART COUNT SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
MARIA COUNTESS SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
ALEXANDER COUNT SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG; University Professor.
MARIA GABRIELE COUNTESS SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
INEZ COUNTESS SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
ALEXANDRA COUNTESS SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
OTTO-PHILIPP COUNT SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
CLEMENS COUNT SCHENK VON STAUFFENBERG.
JOSEF MOHR.
MRS. KÄTHE MOHR.