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These are extracts from an unpublished text.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.
The first news I received of an Italian surrender was an incident that occurred outside the wire when a sentry took off his equipment, threw down his rifle, threw his hat in the air and started dancing about. We thought he had gone berserk, then he shouted 'La guerra finito', the war is over'.
An hour later, about 8.30 p.m., whilst at a musical play, the orchestra suddenly stopped and our news editor came onto the stage and announced that it was believed that an Armistice between the Allies and Italy had been signed. An almighty cheer went up and everyone had a most peculiar feeling of relief and gladness deep down in the stomach. The orchestra immediately struck up the National Anthem which had been banned, we all jumped to our feet and we sang that Anthem with more fervour and enthusiasm than one would have believed possible. Then we sang it again, with Rule Britannia and a few more of our most boisterous songs. Cheers rang out loud and long. The show restarted and then the Italian Colonel in charge of the camp came in and made an official announcement, asking for our co-operation and to keep the camp routine in operation for the time being until various arrangements could be made.
Singing, laughter and music continued all night. No one was allowed to sleep even had we been in the mood. Speculation was rife about how long it would be before we joined our own forces again, how long before we got home, and all manner of conjectures. The night was given over to joy and celebration. We decided that in the morning we would pack up our kit and as many of us as possible would make our way to find our own troops.
When dawn broke, however, we were in for a great shock, which was like a giant knock-out blow to shake us to the core, for we saw that the camp was entirely surrounded by German troops with machine guns mounted and reinforced with armoured cars. They had moved up during the night while we had so blissfully and innocently celebrated inside. The Italians were still nominally in charge and their sentries were still posted outside. As mid-day approached the Germans advanced right up to the camp and the Italians had no choice but to hand over control. They were disarmed and put in a pen while the Germans took up guard positions. If it was heartbreaking for us, what about the Italians who thought their war had ended, only to find themselves incarcerated for an unknown period?