Prompted
by a curious friend, I looked at SLIII’s population statistics.
According
to Red Cross visitor reports, in April 1944, the camp total of British,
Commonwealth and allies, and Americans (including in Belaria compound) was
5229.
By
November 1944, the total population, across 6 compounds was 10,091. It had
almost doubled in seven months.
The
10,091 comprised 1992 British, 695 Canadians, 261 Australians, 165 New
Zealanders, 150 South Africans, 174 other British Commonwealth and Ireland, and
6654 American (not sure what category other nationalities such as Czechs fitted
into).
While
the Americans were largely confined to their own compounds (West, Centre and
South) there was considerable overspill into the British compounds.
You
have all heard about the increasing numbers of roommates: from six to eight, to
ten and even more. One room in Belaria had 16 denizens, accommodated in six beds.
As you can see from these images from John Dack’s wartime log book, they very
carefully managed their space.
From 'So, You Wanted Wings, Hey!' by Irwin John Dack.
And as you can see from George Archer’s, double decker bunks were
converted to triple deckers to accommodate them! Despite the cramped quarters,
George at least still maintained his sense of humour.
Courtesy of David Archer.
