Grandad’s Diary. 22nd-28th April 1945

Entries for week beginning 22nd April 1945

22nd April – Bumped into Jack Davies who was in our first crew at Moss Bank. Bill Whatling here in dock for fortnight. Spending our days doing jobs simply to pass away our time.

23rd April – Got two oranges today with rations. Plenty of good grub yet. 974 Squadron packing up. Groupie called at camp for usual officers sightseeing tour and looting expedition.

24-25th April – Everybody not so enthusiastic as to chances of going home. Only move likely to be to Wesel to rest of squadron. It is said Yankee General won’t allow us to move. He wants us for bridges even now.

26th April – Thousands of Jerry PoWs just outside Rheinberg. Big camp for displaced people in Wesel. Yanks taking some of the bridges down. One of the boys at Wesel damaged by mine. Trod on trip wire.

27-28th April – Heard that four Yanks lost their way underground in a Saltmine while on a looting expedition. Had been missing for three days and all attempts to contact them without success. Weather very poor. Cold wet windy. Very miserable and boys browned off realising futility of the the job and lack of any social life.

Again, the feeling this week is of uselessness. The only reason my Grandad is still here is because of an American General feeling nervous about his bridges, and so wanting the barrage balloons up just in case. And so Grandad has to wait.

And he provides more evidence here of looting. Again groups organised by the officers arrive to have a ‘tour’, which includes looting. Not only that but 4 yankee soldiers have been lost down a saltmine on a looting expedition. There is no clue here as to whether they were found. Looting of art was a theme throughout the war, but the fact that on the Allied side there was looting too seems to have been often overlooked, although there is plenty of evidence that it happened. There is a saltmine near Wesel, but the famous looting-artwork-saltmine incident of the war involved the Merkers Saltmine, which is close to the centre of Germany, although who, knows, perhaps this is what inspired our lost Yankee soldiers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Social Slider