Military info needed.

[Cpt_SG]

Hi

I'm looking for any information regarding Robert Waite Arrowsmith who was possibly a PoW during WW I/II.
Possibly attached to Royal Army Ordnance according to little information I can get from findmypast.com 1911 census.
Can anybody help with any information such as Military Servicemen No. or where he was a PoW?

Any help appreciated.

[JnoC]

This sounds like him:

WW2 POW. R.W. Arrowsmith, Private, 7588965, Royal Army Ordnance Corps.
Stalag 357, Oerbke, Lower Saxony. POW No. 29952.

The original source of this information is 'Prisoners of War of British Army, WWII, Unpublished, Naval and Military Press Ltd.

An address is given, Royal Army Ordnance Corps Record Office, Atlas House, Blackwell's Court, Off Granby Street, Leicester, but I suspect that is historic.

Information on applying for a copy of a post 1921 service record is here: http://www.veterans-uk.info/service_records/army.html

Hope this helps, John

[Cpt_SG]

John, Thank you. Didn't expect such a quick reply!
Will follow up on the service record.
Another 'military' query ... do you know anyone on the "Out of the Cold" project? It appears to be a project of finding servicemen who were not decorated in the World Wars for various reasons.
SG

[Northern Lass]

moving this to the military section further down the board

[apowell]

Hi,

My Grandmother's cousin Harry Tolley was captured in 1940 France and spent the rest of the war in a German POW Camp. I've attached a link of a picture taken of POWS at camp Stalag 357 after being liberated.
http://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/S357/ ... 7_beds.htm

It states only 350 prisoners were liberated because the remaining 7000 prisoners were forced marched by the Germans into Germany to avoid the advancing Allies and Russian Armies. These prisoners were forced to march in horrendous conditions for days and days without food and shelter. It's highly likely Robert would have been one of these POWS and from the information told by my relatives Harry never fully recovered from the experience of that forced march. Interestingly on his POW report he states he escaped with a few others in 1945 from a camp in Poland and was recaptured by the SS .

All ex POW were asked after liberation to complete a questionnaire detailing information on their time spent as a POW including personnel details eg. address, DOB, unit served, where and when captured and where imprisoned etc. These documents are held at the National Archive and can be viewed free at Kew or requested via the website for a fee.

I've taken the information below from the intenet which explains far better than I could regarding the National Archive and prisoner of war records.

Liberated Prisoner of War Interrogation Questionnaires
The record series WO344 consists of approximately 140,000 Liberation Questionnaires completed by British and Commonwealth servicemen, with a few from other Allied nationals and merchant seamen. While the plans to question all liberated PoWs never materialised, these records still represent a large percentage of those still in enemy hands in 1945. They are arranged alphabetically by name sequences with separate sections for those held by Germany and Japan.

Although the German and Japanese questionnaires differ in appearance and format, the information they might provide is similar. As well as giving personal details, name, rank, number, unit and home address, these records can include: date and place of capture; main camps and hospitals in which imprisoned and work camps; serious illnesses suffered while a prisoner and medical treatment received; interrogation after capture; escape attempts; sabotage; suspicion of collaboration by other Allied prisoners; details of bad treatment by the enemy to themselves or others. In addition, individuals were given the opportunity to bring to official notice any other matters, such as courageous acts by fellow prisoners or details of civilians who assisted them during escape and evasion activities. Consequently, additional documentation is sometimes attached.Both questionnaires also enquire whether the prisoner witnessed or had any information about war crimes. If so they were required to complete a form 'Q'. These documents were not kept with the main report, but passed to the appropriate Allied authorities investigating alleged war crimes. Whiles no discrete record holds these forms, they are occasionally found in War Crimes files. For further information see research guide War Crimes of the Second World War (Military Records Research Guide 27).

The files WO208/5437-5450 contain the second, more specific, 'pink' questionnaire that followed on from those in WO344 . They were made by individuals identified by MI9/IS9 lists as having been directly involved with an escape organisation or who had some other significant function within the PoW camp's internal organisation. The form consists of 25 questions relating to topics such as: the work of escape committees; escape aids and their usefulness; German censorship; receipt and dissemination of coded messages; collection of geographical information that might assist future escape attempts; and internal communications.

A card index to additional more comprehensive Liberation reports in WO208/3328-3340 is held in the Research Enquiries Room at The National Archives. While these two series of reports are duplicates, researchers are advised to order both copies as the second series in particular can include Appendices. Additional detailed Liberation reports for camps in Germany are held in WO 208/3341-3342; an incomplete nominal index is contained in the first of these files

I hope this helps.
Regards
Adrian

[Cpt_SG]

Adrian, Thank you. This is very interesting. Will search further and next time in London, will go back to Kew. I appreciate this help.
SG