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

I have just received a DVD of the mini series "Colditz" with Jason Priestly, Damian Lewis and Tom Hardy. To me this is a load of rubbish. Has no bearing on the original story and is completey alien to Pat Reid's book. The original with John Mills and Eric Portman is still the way to go.
Redcap

Hi Carl,
Glad you are on the mend. I hope that everything goes well when they take the stitches out. I feel for you as when I was playing soccer for the Army I got kicked in the mouth and had to have 6 stitches inserted in my upper lip. They only gave me a local as well. When you give me your new address I have some military badges for you, I think you will like them. Once again mate, have a good Christmas and New Year and look after yourself.
Best Wishes
Bill

Hi Carl,
Many thanks for your reply. If you like my home e mail is:- [email protected]. I hope that everything went well for you with your foot. Not pleasant. We have three veterans days here and each one is very significant. 25 April is ANZAC Day, 18 August is Vietnam Veterans Day (Also Long Tan Day) and 11 November which is Remembrance Day. So many thanks for wishing me a happy veterans day. On ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day I generally attend a couple of schools and the children love our headdress and medals. At times we almost run out of time. Remembrance probably means more to me, even though I served for over 20 years in the Australian Army, as this day remembers all servicemen/women who were killed or wounded in all conflicts. Look after yourself mate and I will talk again soon. Like you said have a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year
Best wishes
Bill

Hi Carl,
I don't send things to my friends for them to return likewise. I am only to pleased to talk to someone who can understand what I and people like me went through in WW2 and Vietnam era. I hope that your move goes well and that everything works out for you. I agree with you that it is nice for old adversaries to get together and forget past differences, but unfortunately there are always a few who want to stir it up again. Sharon and Alec are doing well and with Sharon working late some nights we have Alec stay with us. Barbara, my wife, has no nonsense from him, he certainly knows whose boss, mind you so do I. Take care of yourself mate and I will talk again soon.
Bill(bud)

Hi Carl,
I thnk I still have some books on Slim and Wingate and somewhere I have a couple of books on the Chindits and Gurkhas. The one thing I found out with the Gurkhas is, you don't drink the Gurkha Rum. Mind you when they use their Kukri (Knife) you run a mile. Probably in world record time. Glad you like the keyring and that it promotes enquiries. I might have a few more things to send over. I'll get Sharon to send them although I believe she still has a DVD to send to you. Look after yourself and will talk again soon.
Best Wishes
Bill

Hi Carl,
Thanks Mate, I have served with the Gurkhas myself, so I agree with your view. My father was a great admirer of Wingate and Bill Slim. He always said if it hadn't been for the Gurkhas showing him how to survive in the Jungle he may not have made it home. He was also very pleased to keep in touch with one of the German ex prisoners, unfortunately they both died within two months of each other and both died of cancer. I have lost touch with the German family since I came to Australia and they went to South Africa. Anyway Mate you look after yourself and I will write again soon.
All the best
Bill

Hi Carl,
Hope that everything is going well for you. Yes the "Chindits" did fight around Imphal and Kohima. My Father actually won the Military Medal at Kohima and also received a battlefield promotion to Sergeant. He was mainly with the Gurkhas and went through to end up releasing some POW's from the Burma - Siam railway. Some of the POW's were actually German interned by the Japanese and forced to work on the railway. One major encounter that my Father took part in was the crossing of the Chindwin River, where neither side took prisoners. Must have been hell on either side. Anyway mate I am really pleased you are on the mend, will talk again soon.
Best Wishes
Bill

Hi Carl,
Glad to have you back on deck again. I have missed our little chats. I can understand your friends position as my father was in Burma and even up till he died would not talk about his experiences. Although I did find out he was in The "Chindits" a jungle commando. He gave me some photos which I gave to the Imperial War Musuem in London, they told me that they are to graphic to put on show. I was talking to an ex serviceman, who was in the German Army, he was in North Africa and Italy, and he said that over 60% of his unit that was sent to the Eastern Front did not return. He was lucky that he was in hospital recovering from wounds and considers himself lucky that he was captured by the British Army before he was sent back to his unit. Anyway friend I hope that you like the keyring. It is the badge of the RoyalAustralian Corps of Military Police (RACMP) and the Corps Motto. Talk to you soon.
Regards
Bill

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 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 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 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)

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 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

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