Prisoners and the Camps
Troops resting during withdrawal, Greece. New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. War History Branch :Photographs relating to World War 1914-1918, World War 1939-1945, occupation of Japan, Korean War, and Malayan Emergency. Ref: DA-01109-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23049941
“Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.”
Columns F and G of the Freedoms Call Roll of Honour record where a soldier was taken captive and the place of capture.
Sometimes I have recorded additional information in Column AO, e.g the prisoner’s serial number and the camp or camps where he was held captive.
A list has been produced of 2nd N.Z.E.F. Prisoners of War. 769 names are on the list. A second list for Other Forces captured has also been produced, on the same spreadsheet and this has 15 names on it. So, in all a total of 784 names are on the list.
Non-Kiwi combatants, taken POW, while not on this list, have that fact recorded on the ‘Other Forces’ roll, in which they appear.
I have drawn on the following sources to get this information:
The Auckland War Museum Cenotaph database and their recently compiled 2nd N.Z.E.F. Prisoner of War list
The excellent list of 2nd N.Z.E.F Prisoners of War, compiled by Ralph Baker (Auckland Museum)
Papers Past
It is possible that some who are on the Prisoner of War lists will be later found to be wrongly classified, e.g. they may have been subsequently reported as safe and sound, or as missing, or killed in action. I felt it best to put all on now and if necessary remove some later.
Update: There are only a few names in this category now, who don’t have POW designation on Cenotaph. They are highlighted in blue and may well end up being removed.
The lists comprise six columns:
Column A: Surname (with military citations if awarded)
Column B: Christian name
Column C: Rank, as at time of capture
Column D: Service number
Column E: Place of capture (as per the 2nd N.Z.E.F Roll of Honour, or the POW list, or notation on the Auckland Cenotaph record)
Column F: The POW Serial Number
Column G: The camps where interned, whether died or killed on active service, or died or killed as a POW, etc
There may be additional information to be found on the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll of Honour in the Details Column, AO, or on the Auckland Cenotaph database.
New Zealand History Online is a great place to visit if you would like to gain some insight into the life of the POW.
11 Pages address the subjects of Capture, Incarceration, Daily Life, the “Tiki Times’ newspaper produced in one of the camps, Forced Marches, Camp Cookers, Liberation, Repatriation, The Camps and there is a last chapter providing Further Information.
New Zealand prisoners of war, Stalag 383, Hohenfels, Bavaria, Germany. New Zealand. Department of Internal Affairs. War History Branch :Photographs relating to World War 1914-1918, World War 1939-1945, occupation of Japan, Korean War, and Malayan Emergency. Ref: DA-03681. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/22836811
“Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.”
Events in history also feature. At time of writing, one article jumped out at me as being of special interest, the attack on the Nino Bixio .. because of the fact that 18 Northlanders were on the ship when it went down.
There is also a very absorbing audio recording of William (Bill) Flint, describing being captured in Greece, with a written transcript also available.
The vast majority of POW’s were captured between April 1941 and September 1942. Approximately one fifth of these were wounded or died in POW Camps, during the period.
Kathryn Trewin says:
September 16, 2019 at 5:33 am (Edit)
My grandfather was Pte Henry Herbert – this is the first time we have seen a record of where he was actually held during the war. He was MIA for some time (the family weren’t sure if he had been KIA), until his fiancé (my grandmother) received a letter via the Red Cross, about 2 years after he was captured in Crete. He passed away in 1988.
emytopi1 says:
October 9, 2019 at 12:19 pm (Edit)
Hi Kathryn,
Thank you for sharing this information.
The only entry on the NZ Death Index I was able to find for a Henry Herbert was for one Henry Sefton Herbert, but his year of birth is shown as 1903 and his year of death as 1989. Can you please confirm for me if this Henry Herbert was your grandfather? I ask because you mention your grand-dad died in 1988.
Have you seen the information about your grandfather in the 2nd N.Z.E.F. Roll, as well?