Letter of thanks to the British Red Cross from a former Prisoner of War
Production date
1943
Audio tour
See full details
Details
Description
Dated 17th of November 1945, this letter from E.F. Dingley was sent to the British Red Cross after his homecoming. There is little detail in the letter about his experience but we know he was one of the 200,000 troops captured by the Germans and Italians during the Second World War, and transported to prisoner of war camps throughout Nazi occupied countries. The letter expresses his immense gratitude to the British Red Cross, for parcels and comforts he had received whilst in captivity in Germany, and how they had been a lifeline for him without which this letter may never have been written. This immediately drew my interest, seeing on paper directly from the hand of someone, how they benefited so significantly from the help of the British Red Cross.
The treatment of Allied prisoners of war varied from camp to camp. Having been afforded some protection by the Geneva Convention of 1929, many British prisoners escaped the worst of the atrocities. However, the prison camps in which British prisoners were kept were miserable places where food rations were meagre and conditions squalid, their experiences ranged from hunger and boredom to deprivation, cruelty and neglect.
The Red Cross were allowed access to the camps and could see that the prisoners were in desperate need of food and clothing; and campaigns were launched back in Britain asking for the public’s support to send a ‘bit of home’ to the troops. This campaign led to over 200 million British Red Cross parcels containing all kinds of non-perishable food items and amenities being sent out during the course of the war. They also sent letters and parcels from families, as well as educational and recreational items. These parcels were vital in keeping troops alive with nourishing food that would supplement their inadequate diet but also served to sustain the morale, as they were valuable reminders to troops that they had not been forgotten by their loved ones or the grateful public back home.
There are many testimonies from troops that had been held captive like Mr Dingley, expressing their gratitude to the Red Cross for helping them to sustain both body and soul during captivity without which the death toll of the Allied prisoners of war might have been significantly higher than it was.
Audio recording by Monika Rego (Volunteer), London.
The treatment of Allied prisoners of war varied from camp to camp. Having been afforded some protection by the Geneva Convention of 1929, many British prisoners escaped the worst of the atrocities. However, the prison camps in which British prisoners were kept were miserable places where food rations were meagre and conditions squalid, their experiences ranged from hunger and boredom to deprivation, cruelty and neglect.
The Red Cross were allowed access to the camps and could see that the prisoners were in desperate need of food and clothing; and campaigns were launched back in Britain asking for the public’s support to send a ‘bit of home’ to the troops. This campaign led to over 200 million British Red Cross parcels containing all kinds of non-perishable food items and amenities being sent out during the course of the war. They also sent letters and parcels from families, as well as educational and recreational items. These parcels were vital in keeping troops alive with nourishing food that would supplement their inadequate diet but also served to sustain the morale, as they were valuable reminders to troops that they had not been forgotten by their loved ones or the grateful public back home.
There are many testimonies from troops that had been held captive like Mr Dingley, expressing their gratitude to the Red Cross for helping them to sustain both body and soul during captivity without which the death toll of the Allied prisoners of war might have been significantly higher than it was.
Audio recording by Monika Rego (Volunteer), London.
Collection Type
Archives
Level of Current Record
item
Catalogue Number
2599/4
Subject auto tags
Part of 1 highlight set
-1%20(002).jpg)
Share
All images are the property of the British Red Cross Museum and Archives (unless otherwise indicated), and cannot be used without permission. For queries about permission to use images, please contact enquiry@redcross.org.uk.