ESCAPE!

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 37, 5 January 1945, Page 6

ESCAPE!

400 MILES THROUGH ITALY

MR L~ DAHM'S EXPERIENCES

To be taken prisoner by the. Germans 5 handed over and sent to an Italian prison forwarded to a working camp j to escape, and be recaptured—only to escape again, this time to make, his way for over 400 miles down the length of Italy pos«j ing as an Italian to evalde both German and Italian civilian policc and to rid e through the Geiv man defence line.s on a bicycle finally to link up with the British again after nearly three weeks of being constantly on the move j is the outline of an amazing story told a Beacon representative by Mr L. who has recently returned to New Zealand and started in business In Whakatane. Added to all these exciting experiences was the 'knowledge that should he be caught in civilian clothing he, would be shot. The tale unfolded hy Mr Dahm t or as he was then Pte. L. Dahm of the 22nd New Zealand has all the trimmings of a modern novel ? and as such would make first class reading.

Capture

Briefly tlic story is as follows:— Pte Dalun left New Zealand, with tjie 11th Forestry Company, but overseas transferred to the 22nd Infantry Battalion. He was captured by German forces outside, of El Ala-, mcin. The treatment meted out to him during the four and a half days he remained with his captors before being removed to a prison camp he. states j was particularly good.' He. received the same rations as the German soldiers and the conditions under which he was held could give 110 cause for complaint. At the en,d of the period he was removed to Benghazi and remained under an Italian garrison. Along Avith some British and South African prisoners he was then shipped to Port Brindisi and on to Bari. From here, he "was transferred to Campo 57 ? a camp in the North of 30 miles from the Swiss border'. This camp was mainly for New Zealanders and Australians and contained some 4000 men in four separate compounds. His next move was to a working camp outside Venice and it was from this place that he finally' succeeded in escaping. His opinion of the working camp was a good one.. The work was mainly agricultural and served to build up the health of the occupants till many of them were almost as fit as when they were captured. Pte Dahm's knowledge ot Italian gained while in the various prison camps in Itah r served him in good stead and he was more than once called upon to act as inter- < prefer. < Suddenly there came one day the news that Fascism had lost its grip < in Italy and the. country had capi- I tula ted to the British. Many prisoners' thought the5 r would very shortly be on their way home but news that the. Germans intended taking over the country and deporting the prisoners to Germany was sufficient to dash their hopes. At. this juncture j Pte Dalim decided that his only course lay in that of escape. On the. night selected he was assisted over the fence

and from that momtnt began the

journey which was to lead him right. under the very noses of the Germans hack to friendly territory. His first move was to 'obtain.' some money, which he did to the extent jof ll f OOO lira. He also procured a complete suit of civilian clothes in j exchange lor his uniform. Posing as an I'talian lie made his precariousway down through Italy, aided by friendly peasants and others. till he iinallv reached the German defence lines on the River Po. AH the bridges were heavily guarded and the river itself was watched continually for British prisoners attempting to escape. Unfortunately we are unable, to print all the details of the way'in 'which he crossed, sufficient it is to say that a friendly Spaniard a vouth of 1(5 or 1/ ; ■who had been born and brought up in London and Avho had been caught in Italy at the outbreak of war ? carried his gear across lirst, the Germans recognising him as a local resident and permitting him to cross v I'te Dahm then tdok a bicycle lent him and rode openly over the bridge. The guards never dreaming that a prisoner would be escaping without even so much as a (jacket ol did not even bother to stop him. Picking up his. gear again on the other side, Pte Dahm set oil again in the direction of Lhe but more anxious moments ye re yet to come. Recapturc Before he travelled J':;;- he was suddenly approached and ar-

rested as an escaping prisoner by a policeman and taken to the local police station. He requested to see the Commissioner and by recounting-' a stupendous' tale concerning the. strength of British divisions which had been landed in Italy managed to bluff him into releasing him. He made sure of putting a safe distance between himself and the town before taking a spell, and after several more days of hard travel during which time he passed through towns actually under German control reached the British

lines. One would think that touring back oneself would be but Pte Dalim went even further. On a piece of paper he carefully mapped the. position and strength of the German forces in the various, places he passed and a& a result obtained information which proved to be of great assistance, to the Allies.

The Red Cross

Mr Dalim states that throughout the whole period of his internment the one consoling factor was the Red Cross parcels which arrived regularly. Without these he. said

many of the boys would not be alive* today.

The first parcels lie received came each one being shared by seven men. 'peg jauosjjd b sbay. 3i[ uaqAv It was a great, relief, lie said to see tlieni, and although each man had f only one seventh of a parcel it made a very welcome, addition to the meagre rations. In fact he said Yugoslavians, who were also interned in the same camp actually wept with joy at. the sight of things like jam and butter which, they had not seen for live years. When transferred to Campo 57, the parcels began arriving more regularly. For the. first, month they received one per wee.k between two men then one

f per fortnight between two and finally one per week per man. In describing the parcels-, he. mentioned the four types issued.

The Canadian type which was at that time recognised as being the best, contained lib butter, lib jam lib large water biscuits two packets dried l'ruit 2 tins fish 4ozs cheese J -9 » 14ozs milk powder 4ozs chocolate 4ozs- sugar, 4ozs coffee and a cake

of soap

The. English parcel contained a bigger variety of articles hut m .smaller Quantities.

The New Zealand parcel, which was very popular with the Kiwis was very much the same, as the and lately has had some minor -changes made to its contents placing it first on the list.

The Indian parcel was also very good except that everything had to be. cooked.

At one time several Argentine parcels were also received which contained meat, tea and cheese in fairly large quantities.

All tinned goods ? said Mr Dalmi were, punctured with bayonets bj* the Italians before they were given out in order to prevent the prisoners storing .them up in preparation lor an escape but such foods as dried fruit were always held by those inside in. readiness for a break.

Another big factor which contributed towards the health of the prisoners was the. Red Cross medical supplies which were iss-ued and used by the men among- themselves in all cases except where - medical advice was necessary. The of 200 cigarettes per man each month by the Red Cross was also very welcome .

A Magnificent Organisation Mr Dahm states' that the Red Cross is doing a Herculcan task in Europe. Mere words cannot describe the high regard our own boys for it. An illustration of this is« apparent in the story told of two boat loads of Australians who were returning home from the Middle East last year. When outside of Alexandria, a voluntary collection organised entirely by the men Avas taken among them-, selves and £'2000 Avas presented to the Red Cross Avith the heaiTielt giatilude, of soldiers avlio knew the worth and value of the organisation by direct contact. Avitli it on the battlefield.

Jα conclusion, Mr Dalim staled that he earnestly hoped the Lied C.ioss would continue in its lull strength alter the. war and thereoy help to relieve the sufiering thrown famine and disease which has already reared its ugly head in oi-cn pied countries and which alter Hi; war will be a grim nuir i l;:rger than at present against wijich cmintries impoverished by the Nazi hordes will have to fight eJ