Posts from The Ringo Kid in thread „The Colditz Story (1955)“

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Cleaned my movies watching soul with a Great great British War Classic today: The Colditz Story w/ Sir John Mills, Eric Portman, Anton Differing, Theodor Bikel and several other great actors.


















  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Cheers Bill, thank you and, the mend is happening but, much slower than I wish ;-)) My left foot is still in a lot of pain and I still feel it in my right foot but, I can deal with the pain in the right foot but not the left with out having painkillers to take.


    Ill send you the addy by PM as soon as I finish here ;-)) I am now in a Duplex and we live in the "A" marked unit.


    I look forward to those badges with a lot of great interest. I would love to get to you a copy of 5 photo CDS of my WWII photos collection (not complete but about 14/15ths of it ;-))


    I also want to make sure I can wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years ;-)) My Christmas wish is to be back in Corpus Christi before the end of this year ;-))


    Take care Bill, and my best wishes to you and your friends and family. My best also for Smokey and her little bloke. ;-))


    Sincerely yours--Carl.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Hi bill, and thank you for the kind words, adn I was indeed thinking of you guys too on our (formerly known as: Armistace Day) as well as our guys and also the German vets I have met. I told a couple of them a few years ago that I always do make it a point to think of them on that day too. You wouldn't believe at how much they appreciate that ;-))

    I met two American WWII Vets the other day while eating at a restaurant I oove called; The Cracker Barrel. I noticed these Gents were wearing caps which announced they were WWII vets. We were leaving and I made it a point to stop at their table to shake both their hands as well as thank them for serving. Both were completely surprised but also expressd their greatfulness, that I was one who had not forgotten. I told them a little about my Grandfather whose ship the SS Fort Lee, was torpedoed by U 181-and at how my GF sometime after the war, somehow met one of the German Sailors who served on that Uboat that day his ship was torpedoed. They both really had soemthing in common and they became lifelong friends. The WWII vets I had been talking with, were very impressed and said it was OK for me to include honorable German vets, in my way of recognizing that special day. That sure felt great to here-because one would think that they might have thought different. It turned out that both men landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and served through to the end of the war-in different units of course. They both told me that they knew and were good friends with some WWII German Vets.

    Thank you also about my foot. I had surgery on the left one Friday. he surgery went well, but the pains were severe the rest of Fri, all of Sat and Sunday and finally started to recede a bit today. If I stand for longer than about 30 minutes or do a lot of walking around, my feet start hurting abdly when they get tired. This coming Tuesday, I get to finally take the bandages off my right foot though I still feel some sharp pains in it at times. The left foot will be at least another 3 weeks in bandages. Im not looking forward to the day the stitches get taken out-as all I will have is a local, and I felt the stitches being taken out of my right foot and I could actually feel the cuttingings into my toes on the left foot because whomever was supposed to give me the knockout gas, did nto give me as much as i should have had-muh unlike what happened for my first surgery-whenall I remember was that I was wheeled into the OR, and I only remember being awake for a few minutes before a gas mask was placed on me and I was completely out-even during my full time in the Recovery Room.

    Thank you also for the nice Christmas wishes. Im hoping to be back online steady like, by the 2nd week of Dec. If nto? hopefully by then I will be cleared to start walking again and will make my way to a library and use their computers ;-))

    Thank you for your email address. I will send you one from one fo my better accounts-probably one of my Hotmail accounts. One of my best accounts is: [email protected]

    Take care and best regards--Carl.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Hi Bill, thanks Mate. Also, no problem at all if you would allow me to send you something. Over the past few months I have been ever so slowly having some things made for as many friends as I can give stuff to. My former roommate was an Army Platoon Sergeant for 14 years and I had one of my original photos placed on a metal lidded mug for him to drink from at work ;-)) His new roommate is an Airborne Vet and as he has a computer, I figured that he might like a new mouse pad to use, so I had a well-known photo that was taken at Stalingrad-which shows two German Sergeants armed with MP-40 SMGs. I also had a new mouse pad made for myself which has one of my press phiotos on it showing General der Kavallerie: Eberhard von Mackensen with a couple of Officers and NCOs in his command Panzerspahwagon, somewhere on the Eastern Front in 1943 ;-)) What I had in mind or you if you wouldn't mind? is something Desert Rats related ;-)) I got this photo strictly by luck at an auction about 4 or so months ago. It's a great shot of a Desert Rats Mortar Team firing their mortar ;-)) I love this shot. Sadly, it's my only pic of some Desert rats.

    That is too true about soem who want to stir up troubles again and also between past enemies. I see that happening quite often lately over on the www.ww2f.com site.

    Im glad to hear that they as well as yourself, are doing well these days. Im about to go in for my 2nd foot operation on this Friday the 13th. Im looking forward to the operation but not the excrutiating pains in my foot that ill have at least 48 hours after the operation.

    Oh and if I don't get the chance to wish you all a Merry Christmas and HAppy New Years, I want to do that now. Merry Christmas and HAppy New Years ;-))

    Take care Bill, and also thanks for including me in that special club of one who understands. I try to do so as much as possible, and I never get an ending to the kick I get out of meeting Veterans-no matter where they come from ;-))

    I don't know if you guys over there have the same kind of Veterans remembrance days like we have here and as today is Veterans Day-Happy Veterans Day to you as well ;-))

    Sincerely--Carl ;-))

    PS, if I had the knowledge and ability, I would gladly email you that Desert Rats photo I have. A little history on that photo was that this photo was supposedly taken by a German Soldier who I guess either killed or captured the Soldier who had this photo. Well, a well-known photographs dealer located in Florida, recently split apart that mans photographs and this one was one of two Desert Rats photos that the German Soldier allegedly captured. The other photo I remember showed two Desert Rats sitting in the cab of a truck or jeep? and were smiling at the camera. I tried for that photo as well, but lost out on it because someone sniped me on that photo. I still got the best of the two D/R pics though ;-)0 It goes greatly with a nice photo iof a German Mortar team firing their mortar at some Russian position on the Eastern Front. That photo was of men from the German 55th Mortar Battalion-which was an independantly attached unit to some other larger German unit.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Hi bill, thanks for all this too ;-)) I'd like to send you something WWII Military related though its not a vintage item. It will take me probably a month or two to think about doing so because were about to relocate about 150 miles from Houston to Austin-and well be in Austin by the end of November. Ill send you my new address as soon as I get it. What I have that I want to send to you will by Desert Rats related ;-)) Also, I hope things are going good for you and also for Sharon and her little bloke ;-)) I want to send them something for Christmas this year but don't know if I can get it out to them in time? also due to the move not sure if I will have the money to get it out in Dec or not? but ill let you all know.

    Heh heh, i'd almost bet I could run a mile in about 10 seconds had I had to face an angry Gurkha with his knife out of it's scabbard ;-)) I sure wish I had photos of that Gent I had met but, "outside" cameras weren't welcome in the show I met him at, and it didn't dawn on me to take my camera in that restaurant with me-where we had that chance meetings up with him and that Japanese Vet. Both these Gents did nto show their age. The Gurkha Vet looked like he might have been 50-and the Japanese vet looked like a slightly older brother.

    You know, I always get a great feeling and a grin on my face when I see former adversaries get together as friends-as these two Gents did.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Hi Bill, quite welcome and serving with those guys must have been one heck of a great time to serve. The one Gent I met so impressed me and I hope that ill be lucky to met a few more Gurkhas before they get too disinterested and or physically unable to attend meetings and such. I also like Slim. Between Wingate and Slim, had they been given a little more priority, those Gents woudn't have needed anything from Merrills Marauders ;-)) Im not usually easily impressed with a nations elite force of Soldiers but the Gurkhas, Chindits, and such top the list though. If I were not so engrossed with the war between the Germans and the Russians-i'd be actively seeking any good new books out about Wingate, Slim and the Boys ;-)) Also, when I do get to read soemthing new about the Kokoda Trail, I can never seem to get my fill, of reading about what those men went through. I'd place the kokoda Trail actions up there with the intensity of what the Germans faced on the Eastern Front, as well as the Desert Rats faced at Tobruk, and our guys at the Battle of the Bulge-which says a lot.

    It sure is good to open my mind up more on these other theaters of war once in awhile. I think ill look on the Helion and Aberdeen Book sites to see whats available?
    Take care Bill, and am enjoying that Keychain. It gets a lot of questions when people see it. ;-))

    Oh and if your interested? If you get the chance-I highly suggest you buy a copy of Jason marks book; Island of Fire-which is simple THE BEST book I have ever read that had anything to do with the Battle of Stalingrad. The only thing about this book is that Jason Mark purposely covers the actions of one German Infantry Division and one Russian Rifle Division-and five German Engineer Battalions. This book is one you have to force yourself to put down or you will read all 600+++ pages far too quickly. I read 130 pages during my first sitting and after that limited myself to around 20 pages per day. Oh and, any book you get that is by Jason mark-will be one of the best you will ever read. He's currently working on a boo now-that has to do only or mainly with those five German Pioneer (Engineer) Battalions I mentioned above.

    I asked him some months ago, if he had any plans to do a book about "Pavlovs House?" which was an amazing story in itself even though it was just a minor part for the Battle of Stalingrad. If your now familiar with Pavlov and the fighing at what was to become known as "Pavlovs House" Pavlov was a Sergeant in the Red Army, was in command of a Platoon of Infantry, and who had occupied a multi-storey house. The Germans attacked it I don't know how many times, and they never force Pavlovs men from that structure. At times, Pavlovs men were seperated-meaning the Germans managed to split that tiny force-some being in the Basement, some on the top floor while the Germans were sandwiched in between them. Simply some amazing action took place there.

    I am alos hoping that Mark does a book about the Rolik Group (named after Sergeant Rolik who commanded these men)-which was a tiny group of some 4-8 Russiand who occupied basically small caves or holes in the ground, and they were a commo team the Germans tried everything they could to dislodge them from their holes-and failed miserably.

    Sorry for such a long reply but, when I get started talking about my favorite battle of WWII--I can't stop ;-))

    I forgot to mention that Jason mark is an Australian Author, and who has a website called; www.leapinghorsemanbooks.com or something like that?

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Hi Bill, thank you Mate and, Cheers to you for sharing this story about your Father and Cheers to him as well. Also, i've always had great respect for the Gurkhas too. I met a WWII Gurkha Veteran who happened to be at the same Gun and Militaria show that Brigadier General and Former Flying Tigers Squadron Leader-David Lee "Tex" Hill was at as well as the Enola Gays Navigator-Dutch Van Kirk were at. All three of these Gents were great to "rub elbows" with and I especially enjoyed my time with Dutch van Kirk-who thankfully, is still alive and doing very well. Also, at that same show, I met a German Gent who had been in the Hitler Youth and then transferred into the Luftwaffe-as a Flak Artillery Gunner in 1943. This guy quickly made the rank of Sergeant and was also in charge of a half-section of a Battery of Flak 88s. Anyway, all of these Vets were great to be around, and I wish that I had had more time with that Gurkha Vet but his table was busy with a long line of people wanting his signed photo and a few moments of time with him. I regret that I was unable to get a signed picture of this guy. Even in his upper 80s, you can tell that he could have been the meanest b_____d in the Jungle, and i'd hated to have crossed him as an enemy ;-)) This Vet reminded me alot about my friend and WWII German Vet-also a recipient of the Knights Cross--Herr Remy Schrijnen.

    Also, Orde Wingate has always been my favorite most British General. Sure was sad for him to die in a plane crash-what a great waste of talent.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Hi bill, very sorry for not seeing this to reply in a proper amount of time. I've always had a "thing" for the Chindits as well. If I recall?/ didn't they take part in the fighting at Imphal and Kohima??/ It's been about 20 years since I last read about them and especially over the past 10 or so years-i've been stuck only on the Eastern and Western Front mainly the Eastern Front though ;-)) and my mind is so set on the battles fought there that it seems as if most anything I knew from other areas of the war, have sorta been put into a filing cabinet-locked and the key lost ;-))

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    Hi Carl,
    I am glad that your friend was able to retire as a doctor. He certainly had a lot to put up with after the end of the war. I have a lady who works with me in Veterans Support and Advocacy Service and I just found out that her father flew Hurricanes and Spitfires during WW2. He was stationed at Northolt which was about 12 miles from where I lived. He was originally in the Polish Air Force and managed to get to England where he joined the RAF. Krystyna still has his log books and she is going to bring them in to show me. I was also able to tell her where the Polish Memorial is situated as she is going to England in April on a honeymoon, half her luck. Still in V.S.A.S.A. we still have some veterans from WW2, Korea, Vioetnam and East Timor. Some of their tales are hilarious and I thought that we were bad in Vietnam. If Krystyna will allow it I will photocopy some of her father's entries in the log books and pass it on. Talk to you soon.
    Regards
    Bill



    Hi Bill, sorry I had not thouht to look into these again since several months ago but--yeah I an glad he chose a civilian career of one that saved lives. I wish I could have some of his stories to tell here. As far as I know-his only child/my friend Susanne-still has yet to get him to tell her anything. I would love to read factual firsthand acounts of what it was like to be a Medic at Stalingrad-and then in primitive Soviet Gulags and such. Many of those 90,000 who surrendered when GFM Friedrich Paulus surrendered the 6th Army-and that never made it back to G erman soil-Mr. Giehler saw many of them die on the road to Gulags, being worked to death, starved, executions and such. Seeing that many of my Comrades die and in horrible ways would have probably made me go insane. I don't know how Mr. Giehler was able to keep his sanity-being a PoW for 12 odd years.

    There are numerous books all in German (of course) that were written about all aspects of things dealing with that battle. If these ever get translated into English-you can bet your boots that many of those stories will be made into movies.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    Hi Carl,
    They were very interesting times. I am pleased that your friend made in safely as the Eastern Front was not a very pleasant place to be in. When I played Football (Soccer) in Munich our team were looked after by some returned German Servicemen and what they had to say was at times horrific. They all served on the Eastern Front. I must admit we were treated like royalty and were well looked after. This was in 1956/7 when I was playing for West London Schoolboys. Please pass on my regards to your friend for a Happy 2009. Another snippet, my Uncle Bill had a farm about a mile from Tangmere aerodrome and I can remember Spitfires, Typhoons and Mosquitos takinf of on raids during the late 1944 and early 1945. We used to count the aircraft as they came back. Again only being 4 - 5 we didn't really understand what was happening although I still remember the different nationalities that were stationed nearby.
    Have a good day
    Regards
    Bill




    Hi Bill, and thank you for more stories. The guys over at www.ww2f.com would absolutely love you being there. We also have several WWII vets who visit and post.

    You are absolutely correct about what you said about the Eastern Front. That place was a different kind of hell to have been in. I know several E.Front Vets-one of whom was captured w/ a small group of men who were trying to escape from Stalingrad. Herr Giehler inparticular-was a Medical Sergeant attached to one of the Regiments in the 3rd Motorized Inf Div. He was captured in Jan or early Feb-43-was finally released in 1955-and was one of those 6,000 to make it back to Germany. He recently retired as a Doctor.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    Hi Carl,
    Glad to be of help. If I can think of or remember anything else I will let you know. I agree there were no Waffen SS at Stalingrad. Just a snippet for you, I lived in London during WW2 and we were in what we called "doodlebug alley" where we watched the V1's coming over. We were lucky in that only the house got damaged. Late in 1944 I was playing on a bomb site with some friends when we saw a bright flash in the sky. Minutes later we were picking up pieces of metal and wire, of course being kids we started making a game of it. My Uncle Sid was a Policeman and he came around and took our playthings away, in the process I got a clip around the ear, and it wasn't until 1948 that we found out that the flash was a V2 rocket that had exploded early. What a relief. Have a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.
    Regards Bill




    Hi Bill, those were interesting times to be in. A good friend of mines wife also experianced the "Buzz Bombs." In 1950 they married and immigrated to the USA--where he got a job working under Werner v. Braun. My friend had been an Artillery officer in the German Army-and spent his entire service fighting on the Eastern Front. Bedo also has the diistinction of never surrendering. About 10 years ago, he gave me his only remaining momento of his service-which was his 41-42 Eastern Front Medal.

    It bugs me to a certain degree, when all-out blatant errors are made and never corrected--such as saying Waffen SS being at Stalingrad. The History Channel is well-known for them.

    Have a Happy New Years-and wish I could buy you a Steak Dinner.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    Hi Carl and Duke Pilgrim,
    Sorry Carl but Leslie Howard was a trained pilot but never flew with the RAF. He was on the aircraft that was shot down in the Bay of Biscay. The film mentioned about when Howard ridiculed Goebbels was "Spitfire" with David Niven, when Howard portrayed R. J. Mitchell the designer of the spitfire. Howard was a very patriotic Englishman and had a thatched cottage near Weybridge. He apparently broadcast to the German Nation on behalf of the British Government. My father, who knew Howard, said "When we lost Howard we lost a great Englishman". I was told that I met him but I don't remember as I was only Three years old. Still he was a brilliant actor and one of my favourites.
    Hope this snippet helps. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year, I'll have a Glen Fiddich for you.
    Best Wishes
    Redcap(Bill):hyper:



    Hi Bill, thank you as well for this correction and extra info. I consider myself a WWII buff and am always glad to be corrected when I don't have the truthful facts. I'm glad to have the truth on this. Heh heh, now if we could only get some of the Researchers over at The History Channel to revise their adament positions about their claiming that there were Waffen SS units that were stationed and or fought at the Battle of Stalingrad--which is pure Fiction and never happened. ;-))

  • The Colditz Story (1955)



    Thanks much for this story. I need to make sure the fellows over on the history site im also on-know of this informative article you posted. I never did know much of anything about how he died with the exception of the apparent wrong info about him being a Fighter Pilot in the RAF and being killed sometime durint the BoB. Thanks again for this correction.

    Take care and best regards--Carl

    PS: Merry (belated) Christmas and hope you have a great New Years.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    Hi Carl,
    I have just been looking through some of my movies and I ahve come up with the following and as regards the actors like Harry Andrews, Richard Burton, James Mason etc. James Mason made the film "The Desert Fox" his own and was excellent with Richard Burton in "The Desert Rats" also with Robert Newton. I don't think any one else could have played Douglas Bader Like Kenneth More in "Reach for the Sky" he also starred in "Sink the Bismark" and showed how good he was in the comedy "Genevieve" Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd did a good portrayal in "The Dam Busters". Stars too many to list but including Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Kenneth More, Trevor Howard, Edward Fox etc was "The Battle of Britain" where they all put in stirling performances, especially Trevor Howard. Oliver Reed made his name through 2 films "Hannibal" and "Oliver" he was good in both of them. Charles Laughton was to me a great actor on both stage and screen, I can remember seeing him in "Henry V111" and with John Mills in "Hobson's Choice" which was a comedy. Some others I think are worth a mention are:- Richard Harris, Alec Guinness, Edward Fox, Sean Connery, David Niven and Leslie Howard. Ihope you enjoy this list.
    Regards
    Redcap



    Hi Redcap, again sorry I could not reply to you sooner than today.

    Richard Burton, James Mason, Robert Newton et el, also are favorites of mine. James Mason was THE PERFECT person to play GFM Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel in both Rats and Fox. I couldn't imagine anyone else that could beat him in that role. James Mason was also so perfect as Colonel Brandt in: Cross of Iron-which is the first movie I ever saw him in-and from then, he's been a favorite of mine as well.

    Richard Todd i've only seen in I think 1-2 movies-and I became an instant fan of his as well. I always did like Edward Fox-and of course Oliver Reed. I was saddened to find out that he had passed away when I saw that Gladiator-had been dedicated to him. I absolutely love that movie Hannible Brooks. That movie was shot on location and comes with many pleasant scenes. When I traveled through a good portion of Germany back in 2000-I visited many of the places you seen in "Brooks" and is partly why I love the movie so much. Also, I always did like James Donald as well.

    Richard Harris, David Niven and Basil Rathbone are also favs and I watch movies with them in it anytime possible. Though I do like Sir Alec Guiness, I am not a big fan of his though I thought he was absolutely brilliant in everything I ever saw him in-especially "Kwai" and the original Star Wars trilogy and a little-known film called: Situation Hopeless, but Not Serious.

    Speaking of Leslie Howard, I have seen him in only one film that im aware of-which was: Gone With the Wind. Did you know that he flew for the RAF and sadly, was killed in combat during the Battle of Britain (at least as I have known it to be how he died.) I think of what could have been-had he survived the war.

    Take care and best regards--Carl.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    Hi Ringo,
    Sorry I have been off line lately with work pressures. I agree with you on Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Michael Cain etc. They are all good in their own rights. However another John Mills & Eric Portman film you may like is "We Dive At Dawn" where they play roles as submariners in the Baltic. Another good film is "In Which We Serve" starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough,Celia Johnson and Noel Coward. Hope you can get them and enjoy them as much as I do.
    Regards
    Redcap



    Hi Redcap, Same here-sorry I have no steady access to the site till my Brother gets off his duff and orders it to be installed.

    Thank you and those actors mentioned are some very fine actors. I grew up watching movies with Harry Andrews, Trevor Howard, Michael Caine etc. I was a sort of late in discovering Sir John Mills-who is far my most favorite Britich actor ;)

    I saw In Which We Serve so many years ago that I don't remember anything about it cept that it took place at sea. Same goes for Ice Cold In Alex-seen to long ago to remember anything more than that it was a great movie and that it took place in the Desert. I sure wish the movies companies that own these films and many others to boot-would release them all on DvD here in the USA. The Password Is Courage is another I have longed to get on DvD.

    Take care and best regards--Carl.

    PS, Did you know that Michael Pate wrote the screenplays for a few movies? ;-)) I saw his name in the credits to a movie I recently watched-and darn if I can remember what the title of it was.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    Quote from Redcap

    I am a great fan of John Mills and Eric Portman and I think that this film is very worthy of being classed a classic. Unfortunately one omission was that Douglas Bader served time in Colditz but was not mentioned in any part although he certainly kept the Germans on their toes. Still a great film.
    Redcap



    Hi Redcap, as you can tell, I too am a great fan of Sir John Mills and Eric Portman-among many other greats from the U.K. These gents have always been tops, in my book and no matter what role I see Sir Mills in, I greatly enjoy it.

    What are your thoughts on others like: Trevor Howard, Michael Caine, James Donald, Oliver Reed, Harry Andrews, James Mason, Kenneth More, Charles Laughton, Michael Redgrave, Stanley Baker and Richard Burton? OF course, there are more that I like but can't think of their names at this time.

    Take care and best regards-Carl.

  • The Colditz Story (1955)

    The Colditz Story is one of my all-time most favorite War films. Sir John Mills, Eric Portman, Anton Differing (as a German officer) and Theodor Bikel (as a Polish Officer) were all just brillient in this great true story.

    Words just can't say enough of how much I like this great movie. Also, in haveing the above mentioned actors in it-certainly doesn't hurt the movie at all ;-))

    And as for movies with Sir John Mill, Eric Portman, Anton Differing and Theodor Bikel, outside of Dunkirk w/ Sir John Mills, this is my 2nd favorits of his movies. Eric Portman is another favorite actor of mine and this movie also comes in 2nd favorite Portman movie only because I thought he was superior in the excellent Richard Widmark movie: The Bedford Incident.

    However, this is my favorite film w/ Theodor Bikel in it winning over: The African Queen. This movie also comes in second with Anton Differing. It's hard to pick a favorite of him in other films and he is not Nr.1 in this one-only because he had so few moments on-screen IMO.