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Rushden Echo & Argus, 27th April 1945
Arnhem Captive Coming Home
Captured at Arnhem, Pte. Gordon William Bridgeford, South Staffordshire Regiment, of 59, Irchester-road, Rushden, has wired to his parents: "Arrived safe. See you soon. Love, Gordon." The telegram arrived on Thursday afternoon and flags were immediately displayed on the house.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 4th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Liberation Flow Continues - Skyman Met Four Rushdenites
 The first Rushden airborne soldier to be home again after capture at Arnhem is Pte. Gordon Wm Bridgeford, South Staffordshire Regiment, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Bridgeford, of 59, Irchester-road, Rushden.
Pte. Bridgeford told how he was taken prisoner by the Germans while in hospital at Osterbed. He had cracked some ribs and injured his left side when he fell down the stairs in a house where he had been to capture a machine-gun.
Sent on to Milberge, in Germany, he was there for two months before he was dispatched to Zwickua. At this place reveille was at 3.30 a.m. The men were then issued with a large chunk of bread, a cup of coffee, and if they were lucky a piece of butter or margarine. Nothing further was received until the evening meal at 7 p.m., and this consisted of boiled water, turnips or swedes, and a pinch of salt.
They were put to work on the railway and finished about 4 p.m. Discipline was very harsh. Treatment improved when the Americans began to get closer.
On April 17th, all together in a shelter, mixed up with the civilians and not knowing what the Americans might throw down when they got there, the prisoners were relieved to hear an American soldier shout down to them, “Righto, fellows, come up. You’re free.”
Flown to Brussels, they spent two days there and had “a wonderful time.”
Americans Praised
Pte. Bridgeford said no praise was high enough for the Americans, who supplied them with everything they could, and went short themselves in order to do so. The speed with which they arranged their transport home was a marvellous job of work.
At Milberge Pte. Bridgeford met Capt. Leonard Mole, of Midland-road, Rushden, who has been a prisoner for two years. Cpl. Mole was quite fit and had plenty of smiles. A former Rushden police constable named Kilmister was quite well and looking fit. Pte. Bridgeford also saw L/Cpl. Shellard, of St. Mary’s-avenue, and Sergt. Donald Parker, of Spencer-road, just after their capture at Arnhem. Don, he said, was full of spirits before transfer to an R.A.F. camp.
Aged 23 Pte. Bridgeford was a keen local boxer before call-up in January, 1940, and was a member of the Windmill Club. He was last employed by Mr. Partridge, of Finedon, sand and gravel merchant. One brother is in Italy and another in Belgium.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 4th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Two 1940 Men Returning
A prisoner of war in Germany since June, 1940, Pte. Thomas J. King, Northamptonshire Regiment, second son of Mr. and Mrs. W. King, of 15, Trafford-road, Rushden, sent the following telegram on Sunday – “Arrived safely. See you soon.” Pte. King joined the Regular Army in 1938.
In captivity since May 23rd, 1940, Pte. Arthur Herbert Cox, R.A.S.C., only son of Mrs. M. G. Cox and the late Mr. H. Cox, of 18, Upper Queen-street, Rushden, is on his way home. A telegram was received on Wednesday afternoon.
Pte. Edward Allan Short, Northamptonshire Regiment, second son of Mrs. R. Short, of 96, Wellingborough-road, Rushden, captured in the Middle East in November, 1943, has arrived safely in England after liberation from a prison camp.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 11th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Liberated On Birthday
In captivity since May 23rd, 1940, Pte. Arthur Cox, R.A.S.C., has reached his home at 18, Upper Queen-street, Rushden.
Pte. Cox joined the Army in January, 1940, went to France in March, and was captured at Arras. From there he was sent to Thorn, in Poland, and for two years did forestry work, farming, line laying and various odd labouring jobs. He was next in a camp in Germany for nearly three years and did boot repairing for fellow prisoners.
On January 22nd, with the Russian lines only six miles away, 1,000 were marched off, and after they had covered 850 miles and were approaching Munich, the American 3rd Army liberated them. This occurred on April 23rd – Pte. Cox’s 29th birthday – and the men “almost went mad with joy.”
Released in a small village, they remained there for a few days, and were then taken by road to Nuremburg and flown to Brussels.
In 1941 Pte. Cox met Pte. Thomas King, of Trafford-road (who is now home) and Kenneth Kirk, another Rushden soldier.
Before service, Pte. Cox worked for Messrs. Eaton and Co., boot manufacturers, and was a member of the Toc H and the Independent Wesleyan Church. He is the only son of Mrs. M. G. Cox and the late Mr. H. Cox.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 11th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Camp Cobbler In Poland
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Pte King (front right)
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Captured at Ypres in May, 1940, and kept at a camp in Poland for almost five years, Pte. Thomas Joseph King, Northamptonshire Regiment, of Rushden, has arrived home. He is the second son of Mr. and Mrs. W. King, of 15, Trafford-road, Rushden. Pte. King said that he was in the Polish camp up to January of this year, and with the exception of a short time in a tobacco factory was the shoe repairer for his own comrades, there being about 450 in the camp. He was treated well, but the men were badly off for food and sold clothing sent in personal parcels from home in exchange for food from the Poles.
During the whole time he met just one other Rushden man, Pte. Arthur Cox, of Upper Queen-street, who was in another working camp in Poland. This was in 1941, and Pte. Cox is now in England.
In January, with the Russians starting their new offensive, 960 of the prisoners began a 900-mile march to a camp near Hanover. The guards were men of the 1914-1918 war, whose “brutal streak” came out on the march.
At the new camp the captives worked for five days on a railway which had been bombed. On April 11th they were released by the American 2nd Armoured Division, 24 kilometres from Brunswick.
They remained in barns for two days and were then moved by horse and cart to a small village, and billeted in houses. Pte. King, who is 25, has been in the Regular Army since 1938, and went to France in October, 1939. Previous to that he worked for the Coxton Shoe Co.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 11th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
After Five Years
A field postcard stating “I am safe and well: hope to be home soon” has been sent by Pte. Edward Ernest Bryant, Northamptonshire Regiment, who has been a prisoner in Germany for five years. He is the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Bryant, of 86, Cromwell-road, Rushden.
Battery Sergt. Major Leonard James Fennell, R.A., arrived home at 155, Newton-road, Rushden, on Sunday after being a prisoner in Germany for nearly five years.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 11th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Home From Nazi Prison Camp
Pte. Edward Allan Short, Northamptonshire Regiment, second son of Mrs. R. Short, of 96, Wellingborough-road, Rushden, captured in the Middle East in November, 1943, has arrived in England after liberation from a prison camp.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 25th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Local Men Liberated By Russians
Latest Arrivals Were In Czechoslovakia
Nearly all the Rushden and Higham Ferrers war prisoners who fell into German hands are now home. More than 40 are safely accounted for and among the last to arrive are men who were finally liberated by the Russians in Czechoslovakia.
Residents of Glassbrook-road, Rushden, extended a hearty welcome to Pte. Herbert Joseph King, Northamptonshire Regiment, of No. 84, on his return after five years as a prisoner of war in Germany.
When Pte. King’s telegram announcing his arrival in England reached his mother, Mrs. F. King, on Sunday, the neighbours fetched their “victory” decorations out again and fixed a “Welcome Home” sign on the front door of No. 84. Then on Pte. King’s arrival on Monday at 2 p.m. they gathered together in the street to welcome him in.
For Tuesday they arranged a party in the smoke room of the Windmill Club, Mr. A. Haddon and his son Mr. W. Haddon, both officials of the club, extended a welcome to Pte. King, who replied in a short speech.
About 300 were present, and after tea there was dancing and singing, with Miss D. Perkins as the pianist.
Pte. King, a regular soldier with 13 years’ service, was captured on May 25th, 1940, and was principally in Stalag 8B. For the first 14 months he worked in a coal mine, for three months loading sugar beet, and for the past three years as a boot repairer for his fellow prisoners.
When the news of Germany’s surrender came through the prisoners were marched off by guards with the intention of taking them to the Americans, but progress was so slow that the men left the guards and made their way into Czechoslovakia. They encountered SS troops on the border, and these caused some trouble, but finally they got through and the Russians then arrived.
The Russians helped them along, and after two or three days in Czechoslovakia the liberated men made their way to the Americans.
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The Rushden Echo and Argus, 25th May, 1945, transcribed by Gill Hollis
Spent fortnight With Russians
After the Russians had released him from a prison camp, Sgt. Donald Parker, a Rushden glider pilot, spent a fortnight with them, riding on their tanks and lorries and enjoying their high-spirited comradeship. He found that the Russians liked laughter and that their girl warriors appreciated compliments. Taking pattern by the Russians, he “lived on the country” and rebuilt his strength after months of hardship.
Sgt. Parker, whose home is at 85, Spencer-road, Rushden, landed his glider near Arnhem on September 20th 1944, the second day of the famous operation. He got the impression that the whole of the German Army was there to meet him, but he cheerfully reports that the British gave even more than they received.
At one time he was fighting on the outskirts of Arnhem, but the British were forced to retreat slowly house by house. The last few of the 11 hectic days were spent in a wood under gun and mortar fire, and on the final day Sgt. Parker was taken prisoner, having slight shrapnel wounds in the face.
All Wounded
“I think every man was wounded,” he said. “The courage was superb.”
Taken at Osterbeck, he fell into the hands of the Goring SS Division and, apart from being robbed of his watch and other belongings, received almost friendly treatment.
After a day or two, however, he was marched 20 miles and put into a crowded railway truck. His trials had begun. There was little food and the guards were harsh. A month was spent at Lindberg, near Frankfort, where hundreds of prisoners were herded together in a “Strength through Joy” building and nearly all had dysentery.
Sgt. Parker was then kept in solitary confinement for five days while the Germans, with alternate cajolery and brutality, tried to get information from him.
After this he was taken by train to Luft 7, near Creuzberg, in Lower Silesia, where conditions were good and Red Cross parcels came along every fortnight.
Lived On Wits
On his birthday, January 18th, the camp was evacuated because the Russians were getting near. Setting out in a bitter wind, the men were marched 200 miles over a period of five or six weeks, once doing 29 miles in a night without food. They slept in barns and lived on their wits, frequently risking death to steal fowls or other food.
The march ended at a camp near Gorlitz, and 2½ months later huge Russian tanks crashed through the barbed wire to liberate the prisoners, who were of many nationalities.
Sgt. Parker went with the Russians to Potsdam and then, armed with a Russian pass, made his way largely by cycle, to Torgau, where the Americans treated him to white bread and peaches. He went on to Halle, was flown to Brussels, and came to England by Dakota transport on Tuesday, May 15th.
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