Description
Object description
Memoir (34pp ts) of his military service during the Second World War, commencing with enrolment into 133rd Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (TA), at Croydon in 1938 along with his brother, training with the unit at various locations before and after the outbreak of war in September 1939, posting to the newly-formed 181st Field Ambulance RAMC in December of that year, proceeding with it to northern France in early 1940 and moving up to the front line at Doullens in June 1940 as the German invasion gathered pace, the subsequent retreat towards the coast in the direction of Boulogne, arriving at Berck-Plage where he and others of his unit were almost immediately captured by a German patrol, a brief period of liberty after escaping from the prisoner of war column, recapture and transfer to a POW cage at Rouen race course, hospitalisation at the nearby 'hopital d'Ernemont' after contracting dysentery, from where he undertook another escape attempt, hiding out with a local family before proceeding by train to the 'unoccupied zone' of France where he hoped to get passage to North Africa, being directed instead to the internment camp at Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort with the possibility of crossing the Pyrenees into Spain, his attempt to do so in the spring of 1941 ending in imprisonment by the Spanish authorities at Figueras (Figueres) and Barcelona before being taken to the concentration camp at Miranda de Ebro for a short period prior to his official release and repatriation to the UK [the memoir makes frequent reference to Deall's Christian faith and practice as a member of the 'Crusaders' Christian youth organisation]; with a companion volume reproducing photographs, documents and transcripts of letters pertinent to the memoir, including also a brief diary of his service with the RAMC in North West Europe / Germany in 1945.
Content description
Memoir (34pp ts) of his military service during the Second World War, commencing with enrolment into 133rd Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (TA), at Croydon in 1938 along with his brother, training with the unit at various locations before and after the outbreak of war in September 1939, posting to the newly-formed 181st Field Ambulance RAMC in December of that year, proceeding with it to northern France in early 1940 and moving up to the front line at Doullens in June 1940 as the German invasion gathered pace, the subsequent retreat towards the coast in the direction of Boulogne, arriving at Berck-Plage where he and others of his unit were almost immediately captured by a German patrol, a brief period of liberty after escaping from the prisoner of war column, recapture and transfer to a POW cage at Rouen race course, hospitalisation at the nearby 'hopital d'Ernemont' after contracting dysentery, from where he undertook another escape attempt, hiding out with a local family before proceeding by train to the 'unoccupied zone' of France where he hoped to get passage to North Africa, being directed instead to the internment camp at Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort with the possibility of crossing the Pyrenees into Spain, his attempt to do so in the spring of 1941 ending in imprisonment by the Spanish authorities at Figueras (Figueres) and Barcelona before being taken to the concentration camp at Miranda de Ebro for a short period prior to his official release and repatriation to the UK [the memoir makes frequent reference to Deall's Christian faith and practice as a member of the 'Crusaders' Christian youth organisation]; with a companion volume reproducing photographs, documents and transcripts of letters pertinent to the memoir, including also a brief diary of his service with the RAMC in North West Europe / Germany in 1945.
History note
Cataloguer SWW