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A brief report by our President, Peter O'Keeffe. 14 members were present, but Hon Sec Michael Dobbs was unable to stay due to ongoing health problems. Prior to getting the meeting underway the President presented a Certificate to Nick Colley, winner of the Alan Brown Trophy. Graham Mark commenced proceedings with a selection of International Red Cross 'Sepia' picture postcards of various POW camps in the UK during WW1 showing 'Life at the Camps', being a display of the many sporting and leisure facilities made available to the prisoners. These cards were apparently to raise funds for the Red Cross - apparently none have been reported postally used and questions were raised as to whether they were issued during or after the war. Graham also showed a draft copy of his forthcoming book on British POW Camps in WW1. Peter Burrows showed a selection of British Army postcards issued in WW1 to enemy prisoners, mostly unused but a few used. Frank Schofield showed an official notification of the release of a British soldier previously held prisoner in Austria "who would soon be returning home". Only for this to be followed a week or so later by a postcard home, from the soldier saying that he was now part of the occupation force, and therefore did not know when he would be home. John Leathes mentioned that few submariners were prisoners in either war, but he still showed one item from a sailor captured and held as an internee in Holland, when his submarine was aground off the Dutch coast in WW1 and one from a submariner whose submarine was sunk off Norway in WW2. Nick Colley had half a dozen covers from an assortment of British military personnel held as POWs in Algeria; an envelope to an RAF man interned in Eire and several from British POWs held by the Japanese. Jim Hamlin was able to show several items to and from New Zealand military in WW2 and some Red Cross parcel cards. We also saw a copy of a newspaper, printed in English in Berlin, with what did appear to be 'British' news and which might well have been produced and edited by British POWs - it did not appear to be German propaganda. Bill Collingwood displayed mail from United States internees and prisoners held in Germany in WW1. Keith Tranmer came up with a number of WW1 items from Turkish soldiers held in Egypt, Austrian POWs and Serbians held in Italy. Alistair Kennedy produced a variety of items including WW1 camps in the UK, Barbados and India plus a cover from a British POW held during the Korean War. Also shown - not POW, but a 1970 cover to the Palestinian aircraft hijacker Leila Khaled, held at Ealing Police Station. Michael Goodman had some 'official' items from the Commandant of some transit camps in London, such as Olympia in WW1, a number of Christmas type postcards from Prisoners and some mail from naval POWs. Following on from our POW mail displays in March 2006 we again saw some most interesting material - most of which we did not see last year ! |