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Ambulances came into the camp on that VE Day evening in order to take the sick among us away.
For some days a Padre had been visiting American positions in order to arrange for the rest of us to be collected, but he kept returning with the same old message stating that they had been celebrating the end of hostilities and were too inebriated to get any sense out of them. In the meantime we explored the surroundings in search of food only to be told that the locals had not got enough even for themselves Although shamed to admit it now, I well remember actually kicking open a door of an evacuated house in search of food myself. Self-preservation in an hour of need.
I came across a woman weeping and sobbing, so naturally, I asked her the reason why and her reply was "They have just shot my husband". (obviously the Russians). Then I asked if he was German and she said that he was, so I just left her alone to carry on weeping and sobbing in peace.
It was said that the Russians had Germans lined up and the one in front had to dig the next man's grave, before being shot, but cannot certify this.
A cow appeared as from nowhere and was driven into camp. Someone went around enquiring if anyone knew how to milk it, with no offers, so it was then suggested that they should string it up and use it for meatinstead!.
I used to ask if we were ever likely to come across any airmen who had dropped bombs on the works and surrounding district. By sheer coincidence this actually happened in 1948 - all will be revealed at the end of this story very shortly now!
On 2oth May American transport arrived to collect the remainder of us, they gave us some of their K rations and I heard them suggest flying us via Nuremberg.
How sad it was upon leaving the camp, to see two white crosses connected with the two men killed earlier on by friendly fire from the approaching Russians, on this day of days.
We journeyed through Carlsbad (now Karlovy Vary)
to Pilsen (Plzen) of Lager fame. At a stop en route, there was a high wooded area and a shot rang out, causing everyone to duck or jump off the vehicles, thinking it was an ambush. In actual fact it was a coloured American taking a shot at a rabbit in those woods He was severely reprimanded as a result.
Soon after arrival at our temporary quarters in Pilsen, we were all seated when an American Sergeant strolled up and down in front of us, hands behind his back, and delivered the bottom line, He said in fact "How glad are we to see you fellows! In our magazine a month ago, the 'Stars and Stripes' it was revealed that Hitler had given orders for all allied POWs to be externinated" This confirmed what I had earlier thought whilst still in 1Vc if you remember Owing to the fact that a high- ranking official of the International Red Cross in Switzerland intervened, we were all saved by the skin of our teeth!
We had to remain in Pilsen for a couple of days, before being flown by Dakotas to Rheims in France, because the weather was so bad around the Straights of Dover.In fact rumour had it that a 'plane load of POWs had come down in that area only recently. Here again this was not confirmed.
En route to the airport we passed a lot of beer gardens along the roadside with umbrellas bearing the Pilsener Lager motif. Seemed more like home again.
Our Dakota flew low across Germany because we could see its shadow below us and not at a very great speed either.
As we crossed the Rhine near Mannheim, it was long before our pilot told us that we were now crossing the infamous Siegfried Line. We were very disappointed that we could not see it, but he said that it was extremely well hidden underneath. How many times had I played that tune before leaving home in October, 1939, never thinking that one day I might fly over it. Wish I had actually hung out my washing on it though!
Reached Rheims, on 23rd May and stayed the night- no champagne though!
Next day we boarded Lancasters, which were rock-steady after those Dakotas (which incidentally smelt of hot oil) and made many of us vomit- not me!
Soon after take -off the pilot asked if we would like to send a telegram to announce our safe arrival home. This was done, then he pointed ahead to what appeared as a silver thread, the Striaghts of Dover. What a real thrill that was. After about 1,5 hours later we landed somewhere in Buckinghamshire.

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