Wednesday 12 August 2020

Kriegies coming home

 

The long sea voyage to Australia allowed a period of transition between the ‘long and arduous’ road from captivity ‘strewn with pain, both physical and mental’ to home. It offered an opportunity to readjust. Some former Stalag Luft III kriegies sailed to Australia in July 1945; they were among the earliest repatriations from Europe. Almost 700 RAAF ex-prisoners of war travelled home in August–September on the SS Orion. Some followed later. New friendships were forged, old ones were rekindled, and existing bonds strengthened during the weeks of relatively leisurely travel.

The following is taken from the ‘Repatter’, a gossipy newsletter (dubbed ‘journal’) printed and published on board the Orion by a group of former prisoners, including Denis Adams, a pre-war cadet journalist at Sydney’s The Sun newspaper and one of the editors of The Daily Recco in stalags Luft III and VI. ‘Repatter’ focussed on active participation in group events and highlighted how the former kriegies continued to care about their fellows.


Ron Mackenzie’s friends, formed a protective gambling school: not to make money but, recognising how much healthy bank balances could be depleted by bad falls of dice or cards as they whiled away the hours, weeks, and days, they mutually agreed to strictly enforce daily stake limits.

The shipboard welfare sub-committees also had the best interests of their fellow repatriates in mind. To stave off boredom during a two-month voyage with only one stopover, they organised entertainments, amenities, and time-fillers, and the padres held church services, community hymn singing, and bible readings. Gordon Given, for example, played saxophone in the ship-board band, Justin O’Byrne took charge of the library, Hugh Lambie received contributions to a proposed voyage souvenir, James McCleery and Louis Koch paired up for the bridge competition, Bill Brew was voted ‘No. 1 Pin-Up-Boy by Brighton Belles.

Emphasising that captivity was not an entirely empty phase of their lives, ‘Repatter’ also honoured the ‘Things We’ve Done’. One man, for instance, was lauded for his formidable knitting talent developed in camp, Ron Mackenzie’s classes in commercial subjects were highlighted, and Rob Damman’s escape attempts were outlined. There was also a subtle shift in emphasis to future careers: Mackenzie’s camp-attained qualifications were revealed, as were Damman’s hopes of re-entering the family tobacco business. It was an active yet peaceful time for the airmen as they continued to recover from the stresses and strains of captivity. Other than sea sicknesses and other minor ailments, there were few hospital admissions with the ‘Repatter’ announcing that ‘Sick Bay Reports Business Slack’.

While shipboard life provided a pleasant, relaxing interlude before home and a return to ‘real’ life, concerns about psychological disturbance was perhaps never far from their minds. For example, less than three weeks into the Orion’s voyage, ‘Repatter’ reported that ‘Ship Happy’ had replaced ‘Stalag Happy’ as nerves frayed in an environment of restricted space and limited society. As in camp, however, they tried to manage it with humour and action: ‘Some do P.T. Others grow beards. Same [sic] even went to see a George Formby film’.