A Long-Lost Letter Comes to Light

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Australia and some other nations celebrated Anzac Day on April 25th. Anzac stands for 'Australian and New Zealand Army Corps'. Anzac Day was originally to honour our service men and women who fought at Gallipoli during World War I. It seems each year around this time, something interesting comes to light. A few years ago, Louise Williams, a Sydney writer and editor, received a yellowed tattered letter dated May 14, 1944. It was written by her grandmother to her son John, Louise's uncle. The envelope was addressed to Australian Prisoner of War No 838. John was thought to be incarcerated in the Nazi 'escape proof' camp, Stalag Luft III. However some six weeks before the letter was written, John had escaped with 75 others. However he was later captured and executed. The letter meanwhile had been sent to the RAF in India, with postal officials hoping John might have been reposted there. Finally it made its way back to Australia, only to be accidently thrown out during a clean-up after floods. At the rubbish tip, the letter was picked up by someone who recognised the name of the POW camp. It was kept until a Foreign Correspondent segment shown on TV made the finder realise what he had found. There is, of course, much more to the story. I've included a link to the article and it's worth reading Wikipedia's entry on Stalag Luft III. What the captives managed to steal from the camp is quite amazing. And the professions of some of the inmates makes fascinating reading too. The story of the escape made a great film, The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen. However there were NO Americans who escaped through the tunnel. The photo is of the statue, situated at Albany, Western Australia, honouring the soldiers of the First World War.