Tom Brown was a member of one of the largest Glemsford families. He was taken prisoner during the North Africa campaign in 1942;
he remained a prisoner until the end of the war in Europe, firstly in North Africa, then in Italy, and then finally
in Germany, very close to the city of Dresden.
Tom died on 5 July 2002.
These are extracts from an unpublished text. Tom gave me written permission to publish them here, but any further reproduction, other than for research or personal interest purposes, is forbidden without permission. I would, in any case, be grateful to be told of any use to which these extracts are put.
As I lay in bed at 9.45 p.m. on the 13th of February, 1945, the air raid sirens sounded and were immediately followed by the approach of aircraft.
We had heard all that on so many occasions that not one of us heeded the warnings, but the drone of aircraft passing overhead was so loud and lasted such a long time that we soon realised that a large-scale raid was imminent. Wave upon wave of planes following hard on each other's tails passed directly overhead in one continuous stream.
A short time later the electricity was cut off and we knew that the target had been reached and was not far distant. It naturally aroused our interest and the heavy explosions which shook our lager and rattled the windows seemed an invitation for us to get up and see what the Royal Air Force and perhaps its allies were doing. We arose and, looking out, what a marvellous spectacle greeted us. I'm afraid I haven't the words to adequately describe the scene but will record it the best I can.
Looking towards the north, about 17 or 18 miles away lay the city of Dresden which had thought itself, through experience, more or less immune from air attack. Consequently it was practically unprotected, anti-aircraft guns and fighter planes were not in evidence. Dresden lay in the valley, an easy target, of which our bombers took full advantage. Bombs were literally raining down.
As they landed our lager shook and we saw the flashes shooting up into the sky. In a few moments the entire sky was illuminated by a huge red glow, the sky appeared to be on fire. As the flames leapt up, as the bombs sent up their flashes on exploding, as the buildings on fire crashed down sheets of flame spurted up with a veritable rain of sparks in their wake. We could even feel the blast. As the flares dropped with their magnesium glare against a crimson background, the effect was of a gigantic and appalling firework display. 2,000 planes took part in that raid and it lasted just over an hour. The pandemonium that reigned in Dresden must have been like a scene from the Devil's Opera. The all-clear sounded. The bombers had shed their load of death and gone on their way and Dresden started to try and clear up some of the worst of the mess and rescue some of the victims.
The peace was to last for no more than an hour or so for at 1 o'clock the "Raiders overhead" warning sounded, the electricity was cut off again and the steady drone of passing aircraft again assailed our ears.
From our vantage point we had a grandstand view. We were well out of the target area so were able to view the raid in safety. We thought of how it must have been in London when the Germans were doing the same thing to our people and we felt deeply for both the German and the British people who had to withstand the onslaught from those vicious attacks. The all-clear sounded at about 2.15 a.m. and another 1,000 planes had passed on after dealing more death and destruction to the city, but the worst was still to come.
On the next afternoon the sirens told us that our bombers were back on their merciless errand again. They came in practically one solid formation of 800 planes and made straight for the ruins of Dresden. They dropped no heavy bombs, they did not stay long, but they sprayed the city with fire bombs, the new phosphorous bomb when trying to douse it with water only makes it worse as it spatters the lighted phosphorous about. Everything it came into contact with ignited, people on fire with their clothes alight and then their flesh and could not be extinguished.
The all-clear sounded prematurely, the sirens had been put out of action and makeshift measures were being used. People coming out of their shelters were suffocated by fumes. They got phosphorous on their feet and complete pandemonium reigned. Dresden was in the grip of terror, there was no escape, unextinguishable fire helped by a panic-stricken people who knew not where to go or what to do. In that total of 3 to 4 hours raiding Dresden, beautiful self-confident Dresden, had died, died a horrible and fiery death. She had received the heaviest and most terrible devastating raid in history; she was completely wiped out. The "Blanket System" of bombing had been used and I thought she could never recover. The blanket bombing is particularly vicious as it wipes out whole areas indiscriminately, taking no heed of military or non-military targets.
It was reported that 200,000 people lost their lives in those raids, the city being packed to overflowing with refugees from other towns. Everyone was fleeing from the Russians. Transport had been massed to move the troops to the front, all that was wiped out by that terrible raid. So much heat had been generated by the fire bombs that the streets themselves caught fire and were rivers of flame, steel girders melted causing even more buildings to collapse, vehicles disintegrated.
Drinking water was unobtainable, food was almost down to the barest minimum to allow life to continue, the zoo was hit, all roads and trains and other means of transport was extinct. In the main station alone, it was said there were 10,000 evacuees in trains waiting to get out. The station was hit before they had chance to get to a shelter and they all perished.
One POW lager was hit by incendiaries and set on fire. The doors were locked, the guards had taken shelter and the prisoners shouted to be let out but were ignored. They eventually smashed the doors down and rushing through a wall of fire made it out into the open. Only then, when the men were likely to escape, did the guards come out of their shelter.
Of the huge number of casualties and in spite of the fact that Dresden was studded with prison camps, only 3 prisoners were reported to have died as a result of the bombing - surely the hand of God was in it somewhere.