Description
Object description
Bound volume of 'short stories' (66pp ts) written by Birch in later life, giving a factual account of his experiences during the Second World War as a wireless operator in the Merchant Navy, recording briefly his service in the SS MONTREAL CITY and the SS BALZAC, the sinking of the BALZAC in the Atlantic by the German auxiliary cruiser ATLANTIS in June 1941 when he and his fellow crew members were taken prisoner, the return journey to Europe in the ATLANTIS and the captured Dutch merchantman SS KOTA NOPAN, initial internment at Bordeaux and Wilhelmshaven before being transferred in January 1942 to the main merchant marine internment camp Milag Nord at Westertimke in northern Germany, the remainder of the book comprising short accounts of various aspects of his internment at Milag (often in humorous vein), including the friendships he formed with fellow internees, relations with the German guards, the rigours of the harsh winters in that part of the country and the internees' efforts to cope with them and with the monotony of confinement, punishments, 'long-distance learning' and obtaining formal qualifications behind the wire, sheltering an escaped POW from the adjoining Marlag camp, and the liberation of Milag Nord in May 1945 by British troops, concluding with his return to civilian life in England; the book includes a series of illustrative photographs, showing amongst other subjects Birch and fellow BALZAC crew members, and scenes in Westertimke during and after the liberation of the town and camps.
Content description
Bound volume of 'short stories' (66pp ts) written by Birch in later life, giving a factual account of his experiences during the Second World War as a wireless operator in the Merchant Navy, recording briefly his service in the SS MONTREAL CITY and the SS BALZAC, the sinking of the BALZAC in the Atlantic by the German auxiliary cruiser ATLANTIS in June 1941 when he and his fellow crew members were taken prisoner, the return journey to Europe in the ATLANTIS and the captured Dutch merchantman SS KOTA NOPAN, initial internment at Bordeaux and Wilhelmshaven before being transferred in January 1942 to the main merchant marine internment camp Milag Nord at Westertimke in northern Germany, the remainder of the book comprising short accounts of various aspects of his internment at Milag (often in humorous vein), including the friendships he formed with fellow internees, relations with the German guards, the rigours of the harsh winters in that part of the country and the internees' efforts to cope with them and with the monotony of confinement, punishments, 'long-distance learning' and obtaining formal qualifications behind the wire, sheltering an escaped POW from the adjoining Marlag camp, and the liberation of Milag Nord in May 1945 by British troops, concluding with his return to civilian life in England; the book includes a series of illustrative photographs, showing amongst other subjects Birch and fellow BALZAC crew members, and scenes in Westertimke during and after the liberation of the town and camps.
History note
Cataloguer SWW