Arthur Burkett's Diaries: The Diary of a Prisoner of War on the Lamsdorf Death March

By Linda Burkett

This is an extraordinary diary of Arthur Burkett, an ordinary British Soldier and Prisoner of War during the Lamsdorf Death March. For four months, 100,000 Allied POWs were marched across Germany and away from the approaching Russian forces sometimes marching over 40 kilometres (25 miles) per day. Arthur's story gives a terrifying insight into the daily struggle of the POWs from freezing temperatures, hunger, exhaustion and health problems. This story gives Arthur's first-hand account of where he went, who he met and what he saw. It shows the courage of men, kindness of civilians and the brutality of war in the constant effort to survive. It covers his daily life as a POW before the March and during some of his three years in captivity. We therefore invite you to read the memoirs of POW number 220660, a normal 22 year old from Walthamstow called up to fight in the Second World War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brown Dog Books
• Release date: Apr 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781785453809

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Arthur’s Story

Pre-War

Arthur Burkett was born on 18th September 1917 in Wolverhampton, Staffs, where his father was serving in the British Army.

His parents were William T A Burkett (1884-1949) and Hannah née Abrahams (1885-1972).

They had four children, two boys and two girls; Arthur was the youngest boy.

Arthur left school aged fourteen years old, despite being an extremely clever student, as his family were unable or unwilling to allow him to continue his studies.

It was told that Arthur often could not go to school as he did not have any shoes.

During the War – Pre-POW Years

Arthur was called up for World War Two on 28th March 1940 (which interestingly was his future wife’s birthday) and was sent overseas on 5th August 1940 under Army number 2003345.

Arthur holding gun

Arthur (top row, second right) with fellow POWs

Arthur sitting on gun

Arthur standing at sphinx

Army pay book

Arthur was enrolled into the Royal Engineers as he was a very practical person.

Royal Engineer cap badge

Arthur was captured alongside 33,000 others in Tobruk on 21st June 1942. His diaries were started 9 months later in March 1943.

Following capture the Germans passed the prisoners over to the Italians. They were held at POW camp Derna overnight due to the time it took to process this number of individuals.

Arthur was lucky to spend such a short time at Derna as the camp comprised of groundsheet tents and had hardly any food. It is said that the Kommandant of the camp had ‘reprisal mania’ with the guards treating the POWs poorly and deliberately leaving them short of water.

The next camp which Arthur reached on 25th June 1942 was just outside Benghasi in a steep sided valley. The sleeping facilities were groundsheet bivouac tents and the conditions were poor. Water came from a few small taps which meant long waits and difficulty washing. Trenches provided latrines and diseases spread from poor conditions, leaking sewage and flies. Weeks into their time as POWs many were still in the clothes they had worn when captured. Arthur left this camp on 6th July 1942.

Arthur was then taken to an unknown destination by boat with up to 500 men being placed in the cargo hold with no washing facilities, buckets as toilets, hot conditions and no fresh air. The only food provided was one tin and a packet of cigarettes to last the two day journey.

The men were then sent to POW Campo number 85 in Brindisi, Southern Italy which was a transit camp. Arthur spent four days in this camp between 7th July and 10th July 1942 and was then moved onto Capua, Campo number 66 from 11th July 1942 where he stayed for the next two months.

Again in Southern Italy the camp housed 5000 prisoners in stone bungalows and had a hall for dining and a common room. There was also access to Doctors and a delousing plant.

On 15th September Arthur was moved again to the next POW Campo number 87 Benevento. He only remained at this camp for nine days which housed 6000 men and had poor conditions.

Arthur was then moved to Gravina, Campo number 65 which held around 6000 prisoners split into four sections. The food supply was poor, a typical day’s rations consisting of 7oz of bread, 1oz of cheese, 2oz of rice, plus a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of olive oil. Every Saturday each prisoner received a small piece of meat.

The sleeping barracks held 48 men in bunk beds with two people sleeping in each bunk. The water supply was poor and at times there were days without clean water. The Carabinieri (Italian Police) patrolled fences and prisoners were regularly searched for any item that may help them escape.

The POWs could write letters home but they were always censored.

Arthur spent from 25th October 1942 to 9th July 1943 in this camp then on 10th July was sent to Sforzacosta where he stayed until 19th July. This camp housed over 10,000 men.

The Italians declared Armistice on 8th September 1942, following which the Germans demanded the POWs were handed back to them. They were especially interested in the engineers.

Arthur was therefore asked to sign a form headed ‘Discharge of PDG Rimpatriare’ which raised his hopes of release. Unfortunately Arthur remained a POW under the Germans for a further two and a half years.

On 19th July 1943 the POWs were marched to the station and placed on a two day train journey which took them to Brennero Station, Germany.

During the journey windows stayed closed and blinds were down, biscuits and bully were given for rationss. At Innsbruck in Austria, which Arthur remarked was the prettiest country he had seen, the prisoners were given coffee and soup.

Once in Germany the men were given hot drinks, a loaf of bread between two, cigarettes, and a Red Cross parcel. They then arrived at Stalag VIII-B in Mühlberg, Germany where Arthur received the following badges.

Here the men were bathed, shaved, x-rayed and inoculated. Each POW had their clothes disinfected and their fingerprints and photo taken. Here is Arthur’s form.

In terms of the camp conditions the main concern was how packed each hut was with the numbers of men.

The POWs remained hopeful for release following the news that Mussolini had resigned and Allied troops had taken over five Italian cities.

Arthur spent from 21st July 1943 to 9th August 1943 in this camp until he was transferred to POW Stalag Lamsdorf VIII-B.

Three weeks later on 2nd September 1943 Arthur was moved into a working party (or forced labour camp) of 1000 men in Heydebreck, Blechhammer, still under the command of this Stalag and very close to Auschwitz. As the working parties were so large they were able to have things like a library and visits from the Beau Battalion Camp band.

Many of the men worked in the chemical factory which produced synthetic oil. Arthur talked of men having to work eight hours straight without any food or water.

Arthur was assigned a job as tailor at the camp and initially came under a lot of criticism from his fellow prisoners for having a soft job. As time went on he did ‘private’ repair jobs for his fellow prisoners and his job was seen as increasingly valuable. Arthur finally got hold of a sewing machine but without needles: he had to make his own from the cobbler.

His diary for 1944 is only partial but he tells of the bombing and injuries of his fellow men and the fear that ‘his side’ would kill him (see Appendices).

Arthur stayed in this working camp until with the Russian advancement he was sent back to the main Stalag VIII-B.

Summary of Arthur’s POW Camp Movements:

In January 1945 Arthur began his march from Lamsdorf Stalag 344 on what is known as the Lamsdorf ‘Death March’. As the Russian Army advanced into Germany, POWs were marched for up to 40 kilometres a day in groups of 300–500 prisoners. By the end of the march many had walked more than 500 miles and some closer to 1000 miles.

The groups were small and went around the big towns to avoid attention from the civilian population, who at times were also being evacuated.

The temperatures reached as low as -25˚C as January and February 1945 were among the coldest months of the century. Many POWs wore ill-equipped clothing for the conditions and many died from exhaustion and the cold weather.

Rations were poor and the POWs at times went days without adequate food, many reaching half their pre-war weight by the end following years of poor rations. Arthur refers to a constant worry of running out of food and hours waiting for his next meal which was often via communal cooking. This resulted in POWs scavenging and stealing to survive. Arthur saw prisoners eating pig swill and food not fit for human consumption. Other reports say that POWs ate cats, dogs and even grass in order to survive.

POWs were therefore reliant on Red Cross parcels and parcels from other countries which arrived in trucks and were handed out sporadically following regular disruption to their arrival. The parcels contained food items and cigarettes and were at times the only food available to the POWs.

Accommodation was mainly in barns with straw as bedding provided by civilians who had been ordered to help by the German government. The temperature of the accommodation was not helped by the order that fires were banned and Arthur reports finding his boots frozen.

Medical care was lacking and diseases such as pneumonia and diphtheria, as well as body lice which spread typhus, and frostbite were common.

Different groups of POWs are said to have different experiences. Sometimes civilians would line the streets and throw bread and other food, which Arthur mentions in his diaries. Other reports suggest at times the civilians would throw bricks and stones and were not welcoming of the POWs.

There was also the constant fear from the POWs that they were at risk of being killed by an air attack by their own side mistaking them for German troops.

The Germans at times provided a wagon for those unable to walk. Other reports suggest those unable to go on were shot by the guards.

By the end of the march many guards had become less hostile and on rest days the restrictions placed on POW movements within villages were relaxed.

As the American and British armies advanced across Germany, this brought liberation to many POWs including Arthur. The unlucky ones were marched much further with some taken hostage by the Nazi or Russian forces until the end of the war.

Operation Exodus on 4th May 1945 flew 2900 journeys over 23 days carrying 72,500 prisoners home from the war.

We therefore present Arthur’s diary from the beginning of the Lamsdorf ‘Death March’.

Lamsdorf March Diaries

Our Daily Bread

Although it was already nearly dawn, sleep was never more distant from my mind. Every time I dozed the distant low rumble of heavy artillery reminded me that the Russians were getting closer to the small Kommander Stalag within whose barbed wire I was confined. I had been a