A strange world full of odd facts

[Tzulscha]

Off physics and on to psychology!

 

Of the 35,046 German soldiers, sailors, airmen, and potential insurgents that were incarcerated in Canada during World War II,

a whopping 6,000 didn't want to leave after the war ended in 1945, according to Canada's military history magazine.

At these Canadian camps, prisoners were given paying jobs and were able to enjoy handball, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, tennis, skating, and more activities.

There was also mutual respect and trust between the guards and the prisoners.

Shockingly, some guards would even loan prisoners their rifles to go hunting.

It's no wonder one prisoner referred to his time there as "the best thing that ever happened to me."

[Vince1159]

44 minutes ago, Tzulscha said:

Off physics and on to psychology!

 

Of the 35,046 German soldiers, sailors, airmen, and potential insurgents that were incarcerated in Canada during World War II,

a whopping 6,000 didn't want to leave after the war ended in 1945, according to Canada's military history magazine.

At these Canadian camps, prisoners were given paying jobs and were able to enjoy handball, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, tennis, skating, and more activities.

There was also mutual respect and trust between the guards and the prisoners.

Shockingly, some guards would even loan prisoners their rifles to go hunting.

It's no wonder one prisoner referred to his time there as "the best thing that ever happened to me."

It happened a lot in the UK (Bernhard Trautman being a famous name) and over here a couple of Germans returned to the islands after the war and married local girls...

[Whofan]

1 hour ago, Tzulscha said:

Off physics and on to psychology!

 

Of the 35,046 German soldiers, sailors, airmen, and potential insurgents that were incarcerated in Canada during World War II,

a whopping 6,000 didn't want to leave after the war ended in 1945, according to Canada's military history magazine.

At these Canadian camps, prisoners were given paying jobs and were able to enjoy handball, boxing, wrestling, gymnastics, tennis, skating, and more activities.

There was also mutual respect and trust between the guards and the prisoners.

Shockingly, some guards would even loan prisoners their rifles to go hunting.

It's no wonder one prisoner referred to his time there as "the best thing that ever happened to me."

As Vince said that happened here, and for Italian POWs as well.

 

To be honest, I'm surprised only 6,000 German POWs wanted to stay in Canada when the war ended.

 

 

 

[Ratch]

Italian prisoners of war built the roller coaster at Great Yarmouth's Pleasure Beach.

[Black Knight]

N.I. hosted a great many German and only a few Italian PoWs*. A large portion of them insisted on helping out at local farms and even on fishing trawlers. There is a story that at a certain camp the Germans started a near riot. It was found that they wanted to go out to the fields and help the farmers and to earn their share of food.

Some German and Italians who could cook well became chefs in the local hotels. It came as a big surprise to the US troops who were eventually stationed in N.I. that the staff in their favourite local restaurant / pub/ hotel were PoWs on parole. The US command sent letters of complaint which were basically ignored. A fair portion of these PoWs stayed in Ireland after the war.

In Eire a top hotel had a German PoW for their top chef. When time came for him to be sent to back Germany he deliberately broke his parole so he would be punished and not sent home. Eire was neutral and periodically sent their prisoners back to their home countries. afaik after the war this chef PoW stayed on in Eire at his job

 

* numbers in proportion, we are a small country so we only had about 20,000 Germans and 5,000 Italians thru the country and most were moved on to Canada and Scotland or Isle of Man

[Eric Mc]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

N.I. hosted a great many German and only a few Italian PoWs*. A large portion of them insisted on helping out at local farms and even on fishing trawlers. There is a story that at a certain camp the Germans started a near riot. It was found that they wanted to go out to the fields and help the farmers and to earn their share of food.

Some German and Italians who could cook well became chefs in the local hotels. It came as a big surprise to the US troops who were eventually stationed in N.I. that the staff in their favourite local restaurant / pub/ hotel were PoWs on parole. The US command sent letters of complaint which were basically ignored. A fair portion of these PoWs stayed in Ireland after the war.

In Eire a top hotel had a German PoW for their top chef. When time came for him to be sent to back Germany he deliberately broke his parole so he would be punished and not sent home. Eire was neutral and periodically sent their prisoners back to their home countries. afaik after the war this chef PoW stayed on in Eire at his job

 

* numbers in proportion, we are a small country so we only had about 20,000 Germans and 5,000 Italians thru the country and most were moved on to Canada and Scotland or Isle of Man

There's the story of an American airman who "escaped" (he walked out through the gates, unchallenged) from the internment camp in the Curragh in Kildare and made his way back to his unit in Northern Ireland. When he got back to base, his Commanding Officer made him get back on the train from Belfast to Dublin so he could "clock in" back at the internment camp so he could be properly and officially released., They didn't want any of that "escaping" nonsense going on.

[Black Knight]

afair in that story the airman gave his parole, left the camp, then returned for his gloves then exited again. Of the second leaving he claimed he'd not given his parole that he would return and not escape. He was returned to the camp as his adventure would jepordise the return to the UK of the other interned Allied airmen

[Beardie]

Internment was taken very seriously by neutral countries. Check out the story of HMS Timbertown in Groningen, Holland during WWI. Fifteen hundred men of Winston Churchill's newly formed Royal Naval Division were cut off by the fall of Antwerp in 1914 and, rather than surrender, fled into Holland where they were interned until the end of the war. During their internment they were allowed to leave the camp 'on their honour' to do as they wished as long as they were back when required and they were even given leave to travel home to their families. Many were from the Western Isles and were given leave to return home to help their struggling families with harvest etc. and they always returned to the camp because, if they didn't then all privileges for all remaining internees would be cancelled. Amongst other things they formed an entertainment troupe that performed widely to much acclaim throughout Holland. 

[Max Headroom]

I highly recommend ‘Broken Wings’ by John Clive. 
 

https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/john-clive/broken-wings-panther-books/GOR003162378

 

It’s a fictionalised account of British and German PoW’s in The Curragh camp. I read it when it first came out and enjoyed it. Not giving away the plot, but the climax of the book is just crying out to be filmed.

 

Get his other best seller KG200 too.

 

Trevor

[Admiral Puff]

A lot of Italian POWs, almost all of them captured during the North African unpleasantness, were shipped to Australia for the duration and repatriated after the armistice. On returning to Italy, more than half of them gathered up mum and the kids (and often a few other family members as well) and hot-footed it back Down Under.

[Beardie]

Here is a very strange fact about me that was pointed out by my wife today. I wonder if anyone else has a similar 'affliction'. We were in Glasgow today and my wife commented that, over time she has noticed that I am a bit of a linguistic chameleon. When I am at home in Argyll I, apparently, take on an Argyllshire accent and I become more 'Highland' the further North we travel or if I am talking about things of a 'Gaelic' nature but, if we go down to visit my family in Ayrshire I start talking with an Ayrshire accent and a similar accent change occurs if I visit the land of my early years in Fife. Apparently when we go to Glasgow or I get worked up about something I turn into Billy Connolly. Is this just another facet of the weirdness that is my extra terrestrial lot or do others have similar traits?

[Kiwidave4]

1 hour ago, Beardie said:

Here is a very strange fact about me that was pointed out by my wife today. I wonder if anyone else has a similar 'affliction'. We were in Glasgow today and my wife commented that, over time she has noticed that I am a bit of a linguistic chameleon. When I am at home in Argyll I, apparently, take on an Argyllshire accent and I become more 'Highland' the further North we travel or if I am talking about things of a 'Gaelic' nature but, if we go down to visit my family in Ayrshire I start talking with an Ayrshire accent and a similar accent change occurs if I visit the land of my early years in Fife. Apparently when we go to Glasgow or I get worked up about something I turn into Billy Connolly. Is this just another facet of the weirdness that is my extra terrestrial lot or do others have similar traits?

You are not alone. When working with a Dutch guy during may apprenticeship I often found myself talking about the 'vest vind vistling'. One of my later careers involved occasional International travel and I was always very careful to listen to myself as I tended to pick up a German, French or whatever accent that the people I was dealing with had. The risk of them thinking I was taking the Mick was a constant worry. 

 

Not so much of a problem when I was in the UK where the embarassmnet came from my simply being unable to understand people, - Manchester provided my worst experience, -  I could not fall back on my trusty shoulder shrug and "I only speak English".

[dogsbody]

14 minutes ago, Kiwidave4 said:

You are not alone. When working with a Dutch guy during may apprenticeship I often found myself talking about the 'vest vind vistling'. One of my later careers involved occasional International travel and I was always very careful to listen to myself as I tended to pick up a German, French or whatever accent that the people I was dealing with had. The risk of them thinking I was taking the Mick was a constant worry. 

 

Not so much of a problem when I was in the UK where the embarassmnet came from my simply being unable to understand people, - Manchester provided my worst experience, -  I could not fall back on my trusty shoulder shrug and "I only speak English".

 

Whenever I got back east, I tend to drop into a more Central Nova Scotian/Annapolis Valley accent. It can last for a day or so after returning home to Alberta. Now my wife, an Albert-born farmgirl, of some Ukrainian descent, will pick up that lilt in her voice whenever her and her sister talk. I even notice it when they talk on the phone.

 

 

Chris

[Bullbasket]

11 hours ago, Beardie said:

Is this just another facet of the weirdness that is my extra terrestrial lot or do others have similar traits?

Yep! My dear ol' Mum (gawd bless 'er) was married to my Dad, a Scot, for about 35 years  until he passed away. When talking about her grand daughters, she always referred to them as "wee Jane" and "wee Diana" with an Ayrshire accent. We used to say to her "Mum, you're from Bethnal Green".

 

John.

[Pete in Lincs]

On the subject of POW's. I'm just reading Donald L Millers' Eighth Air Force. It details cases of shocking treatment of some interned American Airmen in Switzerland.

Also in Germany, not so much the Officers but some NCO's especially towards the end. And, orders came down from on high that they were fair game to civilians if newly

captured and under escort in the street.

@Beardie I too fall foul of the accent thing. It could be the same effect used during pose changes in groups. In conversation try folding your arms or changing your stance.

The other people will usually copy you without even thinking about it. On the radio yesterday they said that studies have shown we believe food tastes better and we will

eat more than if we were eating alone. We are but tribes of Monkeys with a questionable taste in clothing.

[Max Headroom]

@Beardie my accent fluctuates too. In professional life it tends to be neutralish but at other times the Scouse in me is released, although never in the Yosser Hughes ballpark.

 

It all depends on context I suppose.

 

Trevor

[Beardie]

You know I always thought that extreme scouse accent was put on for effect until I actually visited Liverpool. I was going with an air hostess at the time who came from just outside Liverpool and she had a really nice gentle accent. When she gave me a guided tour of Liverpool city centre we went into the indoor market and it was like a theme park based around Harry Enfields Scouse characters. I suppose it's the same for folks visiting Glasgow for the first time and discovering that 'Still Game' is tame compared to some of the real life characters of the less genteel areas of the city.

[Vince1159]

When i was driving taxis i picked a woman up from Newcastle and the first couple of times i couldn't understand a word she was saying,luckily she was over here on business and i picked her up quite a few times and slowly got used to the accent,she was lovely and a real laugh....

Edited December 19, 2019 by Vince1159

[Max Headroom]

There is the emergence of more than one Scouse accent. The dividing line is somewhere in the city centre. It's subtle, but definitely there.

 

Trevor 

[Eric Mc]

What's a "neutral" accent?

[bentwaters81tfw]

1 minute ago, Eric Mc said:

What's a "neutral" accent?

It's when you take your brain out of gear.

[Max Headroom]

4 hours ago, Eric Mc said:

What's a "neutral" accent?

BBC English I suppose!

 

Trevor

[Bullbasket]

3 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

BBC English I suppose!

Have you heard some of the BBC accents recently?? Old aunty Beeb would turn in her grave. Noel Coward they ain't!!

[Bullbasket]

16 hours ago, Beardie said:

I suppose it's the same for folks visiting Glasgow for the first time and discovering that 'Still Game' is tame compared to some of the real life characters of the less genteel areas of the city.

.......such as Sauchiehall Street or Maryhill?

[Vince1159]

4 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Old aunty Beeb would turn in her grave. Noel Coward they ain't!!

So would Great Aunt Nelly and likely as not come back and kick her backside (when it comes to the beeb,about time someone did)....