Bill
@bill1940.bsky.social
Teacher and SWW buff. Love music & guitars. Independent Company member and POW obsessive. Currently writing a book about the Allied POW experience in Europe
Three years ago with @almurray.bsky.social and James Holland talking about Prisoners of War. This weekend I should be putting the finishing touches to the manuscript of “The Undefeated” coming soon from @barnthorn.bsky.social
October 4, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Three years ago with @almurray.bsky.social and James Holland talking about Prisoners of War. This weekend I should be putting the finishing touches to the manuscript of “The Undefeated” coming soon from @barnthorn.bsky.social
Doing some additional research today.
May 31, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Doing some additional research today.
More from Captain Irwin, this time regarding Soviet POWs.
April 18, 2025 at 12:46 PM
More from Captain Irwin, this time regarding Soviet POWs.
Extract from sworn affidavit given by Captain Irwin RAMC regarding the death of a Scottish POW. The headstone inscription suggests perhaps his parents had some knowledge of how he died probably from other prisoners.
April 18, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Extract from sworn affidavit given by Captain Irwin RAMC regarding the death of a Scottish POW. The headstone inscription suggests perhaps his parents had some knowledge of how he died probably from other prisoners.
There is also sometimes accidental humour - such as this rather unfortunately named German.
April 14, 2025 at 10:20 PM
There is also sometimes accidental humour - such as this rather unfortunately named German.
Reading through testimonies of British POWs about their treatment is grim but fascinating. This man was meant to be giving medical care but instead subjected them to brutal and callous treatment.
April 14, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Reading through testimonies of British POWs about their treatment is grim but fascinating. This man was meant to be giving medical care but instead subjected them to brutal and callous treatment.
I’m convinced the men who fought in the Second World War were made of different stuff.
April 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I’m convinced the men who fought in the Second World War were made of different stuff.
Final update. Got his POW card today. Here is how he looked when he arrived in Germany.
March 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Final update. Got his POW card today. Here is how he looked when he arrived in Germany.
Most people know about Red Cross parcels from WW2. Most of the testimonies I’ve read from POWs credit them with keeping them alive. Millions were distributed between 39-45 but not many realise that without donations from the public they wouldn’t have been available.
March 26, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Most people know about Red Cross parcels from WW2. Most of the testimonies I’ve read from POWs credit them with keeping them alive. Millions were distributed between 39-45 but not many realise that without donations from the public they wouldn’t have been available.
Update 2 - while I wait for his POW card I had a look at the newspapers and found this.
March 24, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Update 2 - while I wait for his POW card I had a look at the newspapers and found this.
After a bit of digging I think I may have found little Wilma’s father.
March 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
After a bit of digging I think I may have found little Wilma’s father.
Maybe it’s because I’m getting soft in my old age, but this postcard from a POW to his daughter made me feel a bit emotional.
March 23, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Maybe it’s because I’m getting soft in my old age, but this postcard from a POW to his daughter made me feel a bit emotional.
Also this bit of mind boggling maths.
March 22, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Also this bit of mind boggling maths.
Found this while looking through some 40s newspapers for research. Top tier Beaufighter puns here.
March 22, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Found this while looking through some 40s newspapers for research. Top tier Beaufighter puns here.
Today I am mostly writing about repatriation of prisoners. #amwriting @barnthorn.bsky.social
March 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Today I am mostly writing about repatriation of prisoners. #amwriting @barnthorn.bsky.social
Perhaps the most chilling statement “Buchenwald is not an exceptional camp.” Highlighting how deeply embedded to extermination process was across Germany and occupied territories. 2/3
January 27, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Perhaps the most chilling statement “Buchenwald is not an exceptional camp.” Highlighting how deeply embedded to extermination process was across Germany and occupied territories. 2/3
While recently reading through SHAEF files related to POW camps I came across a report on what Allied troops uncovered at Buchenwald. A grim but necessary reminder of a horror that still haunts us. #HMD2025 1/3
January 27, 2025 at 12:40 PM
While recently reading through SHAEF files related to POW camps I came across a report on what Allied troops uncovered at Buchenwald. A grim but necessary reminder of a horror that still haunts us. #HMD2025 1/3
Found this just down the road from my brother in law’s house in Ahoghill, County Antrim. German Kriegsmarine Schnellboot S-Boot Engine at Ahoghill. It’s a Mercedes Benz MB511 diesel engine as used in German E boats during the Second World War. It’s a V20 Supercharged Diesel… 1/2
December 26, 2024 at 12:21 PM
Found this just down the road from my brother in law’s house in Ahoghill, County Antrim. German Kriegsmarine Schnellboot S-Boot Engine at Ahoghill. It’s a Mercedes Benz MB511 diesel engine as used in German E boats during the Second World War. It’s a V20 Supercharged Diesel… 1/2
Christmas Recollections of POW Pvt E.G. Laker, 4th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
December 25, 2024 at 7:12 PM
Christmas Recollections of POW Pvt E.G. Laker, 4th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in a Stalag experienced by Driver Gordon Manners of the Royal Signals in December 1940.
December 24, 2024 at 9:16 PM
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in a Stalag experienced by Driver Gordon Manners of the Royal Signals in December 1940.
A little Christmas Eve Kreigie humour.
December 24, 2024 at 7:17 PM
A little Christmas Eve Kreigie humour.
A slightly less elaborate menu from the following year. #WW2 #Christmas
December 24, 2024 at 9:25 AM
A slightly less elaborate menu from the following year. #WW2 #Christmas
Christmas Day 1943 menu from Stalag 383. #WW2 #christmas
December 24, 2024 at 9:22 AM
Christmas Day 1943 menu from Stalag 383. #WW2 #christmas
I really need to stop buying POW memoirs but every time I say I’m done another one catches my eye! #HistBookChat
December 21, 2024 at 9:48 AM
I really need to stop buying POW memoirs but every time I say I’m done another one catches my eye! #HistBookChat