camps

Middle East - Recovered Prisoners of War Rolls, 1939-45 War
Donald John Skelton
Service number NX5055
Rank Private
Unit 2/3rd Australian Infantry Battalion
Places
Crete
Leeton, New South Wales
Oflag III-C [from 6/11/42]
Stalag 383 - [from 10/4/43 until liberated 12/5/45]
Stalag VII-A [from 5/11/41]
Conflict/Operation Second World War, 1939-1945
Fate Recovered
Place of Association Leeton, New South Wales
www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2821494

Donald's casualty form summarised above, which gives a date range for the image, shows he was posted missing 8 June 1941, when he was captured in the Battle of Crete. Beginning 20 May 1941 and named Operation Mercury (German: Unternehmen Merkur), this was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete.
Allied tactical hesitation, and determined offensive operations, enabled German land reinforcements to overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast, where more than half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crete

Donald John Skelton
Birth 26 JUN 1918 • Leeton, New South Wales, Australia
Death 8 JAN 2007 • Canowindra, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation - Corner Store Proprietor; Industrial Officer.
Donald's father Walter was Member for Newcastle in NSW Parliament 1922.
AncestryLibrary - Family tree

The AWM has a photo of Stalag 383:
"THE CAMP AT HOHENFELS, STALAG 383, WHICH HOUSED SOME 8000 BRITISH ... IN MID-SUMMER. ITS ONE REDEEMING FEATURE WAS THAT THE GERMAN COMMANDER WAS A FREEMASON, WHO EXERCISED HIS HARSH DUTY WITH COMPASSION, AND WHATEVER SYMPATHY HE DARED." www.awm.gov.au/collection/C206805

Stalag 383
The camp comprised 400 detached accommodation huts, 30 feet (9.1 m) x 14 feet (4.3 m), each typically housing 14 men. More were built towards the end of the war as prisoners were moved in from other camps as the Russian front advanced from the east.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_383

Blue Mountains Library, Local Studies 👍

"Money's No Good To You Here - Mate"

This was a true statement that I was aware of as soon as I entered a Prisoner of War Camp. I had often heard it said that money had no intrinsic value itself - it was only a means of exchange. It was what money could buy that was important and in a P.O.W. Camp Pounds, shillings and pence; Dollars; Francs and Guilders could buy very little.
BUT there was "money"in the camp, which could purchase many things. The "currency" in the camps was CIGARETTES, and this was the accepted means of exchange. There were a few wealthy men in the Camps - these were the cigarette "Barons". Men who accumulated thousands of cigarettes. I never found out how they did this - there was talk of con men and cardsharpers. No
doubt there was a sprinkling of such characters, as card games involving gambling went on at every possible occasion. Gambling schools took place in many parts of the huts - I often watched, but never played for "money".

The cigarette "Barons" could buy many things inside the camp - and it was said even outside the camp. Dealings with various camp guards went on all the time. The "Barons" purchased extra rations of Red Cross food from prisoners who had run out of their supply of cigarettes. Articles of clothing were also exchanged for cigarettes..."
www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/43/a5676843.s...

I located Donald's military record at the NAA and found his 'Statement of Repatriated Prisoners of War', which shows his place of capture as 'Sparkia' and continues, "Withdrew from Suda Bay to Sparkia for evacuation, all troops capitulated". He then spent a month in Salonica in Greece before being transfered to 'Stalag VIIA (13 months), then Stalag 383 (32 months)".

He describes camp conditions in the following terms: "Accommodation - BAD; Rations - POOR; Clothing & footwear - None except for Red Cross issues; Bathing, washing and sanitary facilities - VIIA fair, other camps BAD; recreational facilities (sport, reading, news) - REASONABLE in VIIA and 383"
recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchS...

Sparkia is actually the Greek 'Sfakiá' in Wikipedia, which notes: "After the Battle of Crete during World War II, the locals helped many Australian and New Zealand soldiers escape from here on the night of May 31, 1941, suffering great reprisals. King George II of Greece had already escaped this way when the Germans invaded. "

"Sfakiá is notorious for the harshness of the environment and the warlike people. Sfakians themselves are still considered somewhat beyond the reach of the lawmakers and tax collectors of Athens, with vendettas over stolen sheep and women's honour still fought into the mid-20th century, with a whole village abandoned."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sfakia

superb photo !

Wirklich ein ausgezeichnetes und schönes Foto! - Really an excellent and beautiful shot! (-:

What a delightful tableau!

Isn't there somebody taking a selfie? Maybe not. Smartphones should be kept at arms length at least.

nla.gov.au/nla.obj-451087930/view?sectionId=nla.obj-47976... - this pic appeared in Pix on 5th February, 1944...in a feature article titled 'War Workers on Holiday' collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/record/1l42X851 - link to the War Workers on Holiday series of pics at the SLNSW...a number of these pics appeared in the Pix article...