Prisoner of War Card

George Oliver was taken as Prisoner of War on the 18 November 1940.  He was taken to Stalag XXA Thorn in occupied Poland. POW No 25728. This camp is on the East Prussia Border on the map.  George was held as a POW for 5 years until liberation day.  There is on the interest some disturbing but interesting photos and records of StalagXXA.  Towards the end years of the War, the POWs were moved in what is now called "Death Marches" in which the men were taken from camp to camp in the hope that many would die on the way before the Allies could reach them. 

 

 

Lovely to see these new pictures Christine - thank you for sharing! So good to see the family album still growing ...

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Photo of George and Mary in happier times........

 

 

George and Mabel I think................

 

 

George and Mary with who I do not know Phil might know...........................

 

 

-- Edited by Chris on Sunday 1st of May 2016 01:24:35 PM

Hi 

 

Thank you for the information my grandma and grandad was one of the family that went over in 1987 with the diver whem the layed the wreath think i will be a trip to get all the information this weekend. 

 

 

 

Thank you shaun herrett 

Hello Shaun and welcome to the website.  I am Christine the niece of George Oliver.  George was the eldest of the Oliver family in Hartlepool.  My father Frederick Oliver the youngest son of the family has his own piece on this family history website. 

 

I have scrolled down on this piece and see there is a picture of Donald Herrett your Great Grandfather he was a stoker on the submarine.  The Submarine story of how George survived has been long in my memory since a small child and with the onset on internet I found a I could research H49 and found lots of information not only from what George left behind but what other families connected to those who died have researched, recorded and put online.  You may have to look under the George Oliver and Frederick Oliver topics for some information about the submarine.  

The main source of information about where the H49 is resting is from a visit made by the members of the Beaumont House Old Boys' Association "Trip to Texel Island, Netherlands June 2011".  The reason for this visit to the wreck site was that one of the boys at the School was Lieutenant Richard Coltart the Commander of the H49.  In his recounting of the trip there is no recording of the site of the wreck, but he says "by various routes" they got to Texel Island on 24 June.  They stayed at the Loodsmans Welvaren Hotel in Den Hoorn and then on to the museum where items related to H49 have come ashore over the years.  They met a Jans Nieuwenhuis at the airfield.

To track down the relics of H49 which were believed to be at Schipbreuk en Jutters Museum, Flora, at De Koog.  This museum has a huge collection of objects found in the sea or washed up over time.  The information deksk at this museum said that there had been a re-organisation and the H49 relics had been sent to  Oudeschild  which is on the coast.  Dennis Feary (the son of one of those lost) found and recognised the relics of H49.  

Dennis Feary and has party travelled to the Miliatry Cemetery in Den Burg to lay a wreath to those lost in H49 and the bomber crews.  At the time the local newspaper the "Texel Courant" picked up the story and printed in article about H49.  Jan Nieuwenhuis has organised and exhibit relating to H49 at the Aviation en War Museum at the airfield.  

There is also a new Church memorial at Shotley Church near Harwich.  H49 was part of the Harwich Flotilla and Shotley in Essex was the Site of the Boys training unit HMS Ganges as some of the crew would have trained at Shotley.

The wreck of H49 was found by divers n the 1980's relics were brought up but the Dutch Government declared the site an official war grave.   Dennis Feary took a party of the relatives in 1987 to the wreck site which is 15 miles or so off the cost of Texel Island. The group had gone out in a small boat the a diver laid a wreath on the conning tower.  I have a picture of this event which I shall post on site.

On another occasion Dennis Feary met Baron Berndt von Walther und Croneck who had been an officer of the watch of the German Patrol Boat U-Jager 116 which was part of the flotilla which had been under the command of Kapitain Leutnant W E  A Kaden  Kaden persisted in the depth charging of H49  despite its obvious sinking but he did not give up and only George came up alive .  The German seaman saved him and rubbed him down with alcohol to revive him.  The rest of the was he spent in POW camps. Kapitain Kaden was awarded the Iron Cross for this sinking.  Kaden himself perished later during the war when his boat U-Jager was sunk by a Russian Patrol.  A point of reference in the documents is the Eirland Lighthouse. 

I hope some of the information is of help to you or if there is anything else you might think of please let me know.  The H49 is still remembered and those connected to her will never forget those resting with her. 

Kind regards,

 

Christine.

 

Donald herrett was my great grandad in our family we have lots of information which i am going to get hold of and post on here soon
My grandad michael herrett (son of donald herrett) passed away in 2009 and i have been thinking about visiting the war grave and taking some of his ashes any one with any information please get intouch


Thank you shaun herrett

Hello Everyone.Thanks very much again Shane for the lovely pictures. Especially the grave of uncle George and his parents.Ive looked at it quite a few times thinking there is something odd about it, and its just now that  I have noticed where  the date of his death and age are engraved the mason who engraved the details obviously cleaned  away about 70 years of age patination from the surface before engraving the details ,but his name was already on the gravestone  probably engraved at the time of his mothers burial 43 yrs previously.Does anyone know if this is or was a common procedure at the time.Ive not come across this before . Could it even be a north eastern custom.Maybe with no wife or children to mourn him he was just making sure of where he was to be laid to rest.God bless him and all those who not killed in acts of war, but came home with memories and mental scars that they would carry for the rest of their lives..........Phil

Hello again Christine and Shane.  I wonder if either of you studied all the names on the Hartlepool Memorial the pictures of which you posted Shane.It seems that this is a new memorial built only in the last 20 yrs or so.Panel no10 commemorates 4 or 5 local Olivers all with, to me, mundane everyday first names.That is apart from one.....GEORGE WILLIAM OLIVER. As our branch of the Olivers loved to perpetuate names from generation to generation ,the same , I wonder if this person was a son of one of our granddad Olivers brothers....another alternative Christine is that with the navy thinking our Uncle George was dead for may years before he did actually die and the memorial being quite recent does it commemorate him in error. Or maybe its just an amazing coincidence and he is unrelated........kindest regards to all    Phil

Sorry. I must amend the last entry. The letter i refer to was from the parents ob sub lt Dearden  not the captain of the H49 ,lt colthart.....phil.

Not sure if Gosport did a piece on George, an enquiry may be required of them. The Gentleman enquiring at the time of the newspaper cutting was Mr Brittan at the Submarine Musuem HMS Dolphin Gosport Hampshire.  

 

Looks like another lead Shane.  

George is buried in Tanfield Road Cemetry Hartlepool, alongside his mother and father. Teesmouth is not the mostly industrial, but see the Durham countryside  it is lovely,but a sight to see is the Transporter Bridge at Haverton Hill.   There is facebook page for the this bridge, 

 

Best Wishes Christine. 

George's Poem at the back of his diary:-

 

In England now, the black cap sings and Martins dart on tireless wings about their nests in cottage eaves.

Behind the lattice work of leaves, across the meadows there hath rolled, a rippling tide of green and gold.

The flower is on the apple bough and lilac blossoms in England now.

The hawthorn whitens once again along the hedge in the lane and gay is every garden plot with tulip and forget me not.

The herds in quiet pastures stand and beauty is upon the land as if basked in Gods own smile, this dear, this sweet, this blessed Isle.

picture of H49

That's a very nice story about the photo Phil, and the photo itself like a little piece of family treasure.
Wonderful to read, thanks
Shane 

I've just located a register of British Prisoners of War, 1939-1945, and found this entry:

Name: G W Oliver
Rank: Leading Stoker
Army Number: D/KX77876
Regiment: Naval Forces : Officers & Ratings
POW Number: 25728
Camp Type: Marlag Und Milag Nord
Camp Number: M & MN 
Camp Location: Westertimke (Tarnstedt)

Marlag und Milag Nord was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp complex for men of the British Merchant Navy and Royal Navy and of more than 5,000 Allied merchant seamen captured by the Germans during the war, most were held here.

This video below is from the time of liberation in 1945 - the record above says this is the camp George was at, so therein the video gives 'us' a view on the environment that 'George' would have presumably seen and experienced whilst there.

Thanks,
Shane

The above is part 1 of 4 videos that are on youtube, just as a warning, some of the other 3 videos do contain quite graphic and potential distressing content.

Well here is something really quite special, certainly a new find to me, the Memorial to the H49 at the Aeronautical Museum on the Island of Texel, off which the wreck of H49 lays.

Photographs are credited to user 'Old Sweats' on the 'Great War Forum'

The link to the Museum website is http://www.lomt.nl/.

Thanks
Shane

HELLO SHANE.    IT IS LOVELY TO SEE THE STORY THAT YOU HAVE PUT TOGETHER ABOUT UNCLE GEORGE.PLEASE DONT THINK IT IS NECESSARY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE ORIGIN OF ANY INFORMATION FROM ME.IT IS YOU WHO GOES TO THE EFFORT OF ASSEMBLING INFORMATION FROM ALL FOUR POINTS ON THE COMPASS AND PRESENTING IT IN SUCH A CARING WAY.ANYTHING I RECALL I WILL ALWAYS TRY TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN FACT AND OPINION.AM I RIGHT IN SUSPECTING THAT, OLIVER FAMILY ASIDE YOU HAVE AN AVID INTEREST IN HISTORY IN GENERAL. IF SO YOU RUN THE RISK OF BEING INUNDATED WITH FACTS AND OPINIONS ON MANY SUBJECTS FROM ME.SOME PHOTOS I SENT TO CHRIS WERE TAKEN FROM OLGAS LIFE STORY,AND SENT TO HER RATHER THAN COPIES.I HOPE SHE WILL POST SOME OF THESE ON THE SITE SOON.WHEN SHE RETURNS THEM I WILL PUT THEM BACK IN OLGAS LIFE  STORY AND SEND THEM ON TO YOU .{ADDRESS REQ}.THIS YOU MAY KEEP PERMANENTLY AS I THINK I KNOW IT BY HEART NOW .ONE OF MY BROTHERS HAS ASKED ME ABOUT A LOST AT BIRTH AUNTIE OR UNCLE,THAT HE HAD BEEN TOLD ABOUT MANY YRS AGA BY AUNTIE EVELYN{LONDON].CHRISTINE HAD NOT HEARD OF IT BUT ON THE FIRST PAGE OF OLGAS STORY SHE MENTIONS BEING THE SEVENTH OF EIGHT LIVE BIRTHS OF HER PARENTS.JUST ONE WORD CAN BE SO REVEALING.EVEN OLGAS LIFE STORY WHICH REVEALS HER SHY AND QUIET BUT DETERMINED NATURE HAS A LARGE GAP FROM SHORTLY AFTER MOLLIE AND HARRYS WEDDING TO ENLISTIND EARLY IN THE WAR.I WILL ABSORB WHAT CHRISTINE SAYS ABOUT H49 FOR A WHILE.IT SEEMS THAT EVERY STEP FORWARD ONE TAKES STUDYING ANYTHING IN WW 2 LEADS YOU TO ANOTHER CROSSROADS.TOTALLY UNRESERVED GRATITUDE TO YOU AGAIN.    BEST WISHES    PHIL

Hello Shane,

Hope the New Year brings you much happiness to you and your family.  I have read the article you have created for George and it is absolutely wonderful you have done him proud, as we say in the north. 

The parts of the diary that are missing, there were two stories floating around, one Olga told me.  Olga believes that the submarine was on a secret mission, that there were more people on board than should have been hence the lack of life preservers, George never said what the mission was and wouldn't say.  Olga told me that after the Navy realised George was alive, ( as another George Oliver died in a bike crash after the war) his flat was broken into the his belongings rifled through and he was ruffed up, George says that two pages were torn out of the diary, Olga told me that there was a secret in that diary which was to be kept quiet, as nothing else was taken from the flat.  Olga really believed something was serious that in diary.

 

The other story that Phil tells me is that probably the two pages contained too much heart rending memories and we removed them. 

 

I know that the families of the lost submariners would write to George and that in 2011 family members went to the wreck site and laid a wreath, also visited the museum which houses wreck material.  They asked George if he wanted to go with them but he was too frail.  The Texel Island visit was made the Beaumont School, whose pupil Lt Coltart was in charge of H49, his story is just as interesting, wrote an article on the visit which I have.   I have emailed you separately with the pdf for this visit, Dennis Feary, went to visit George in this flat and had a long chat and he said that George was injured.  Commander Kaden the German trawler in charge of the depth charge, he and five other trawlers continued to depth charge H49 and even his own men told him to stop the submarine was sunk, so when George surfaced they saved him and rubbed him down with alcohol to revive him.  Kaden was awarded an Iron Cross for the sinking so.......... why five trawlers to sink one sub, why an Iron Cross for this particular sinking?

bye for now Christine.

-- Edited by Chris on Sunday 4th of January 2015 03:16:47 PM

George William Oliver (photo courtesy of Phil)

Fantastic to meet you and Karl yesterday Christine, so pleased you travelled up and enjoyed the day!

Fascinating reading George's diary, very sobering - do you think the missing pages exist somewhere, or are they completely lost? do you who/how/where it was all recorded?

Thanks!, Shane

Navy List of the Men who died on the H49 which is now a war grave off Texel Island.  Letter to his mother about his status as POW.