Seaman pows by the french in africa

[Arthur John Harvey]

R235941 Arthur John Harvey. In early July 1940 the VICHY authorities issued an order to all FRENCH submarines and aircraft to sink British Shipping and regrettably some British ships were sunk with a loss of life and although some lifeboats from various ships got away and made the African coast under French control) the survivors then became POWs and were retained in a POW camp (KAN KAN was one name) under French guards and according to some reports they were treated worse than German camps plus the French officers wanted the British native firemen to be their servants but I gather this was stopped by the senior British officer in the camp. Somewhere I read that some British survivors ended in TIMBUCTOO and it is possible that some may have been buried there. Christmas 1941 saw me in Freetown and we had some free French paratroopers aboard bound for the Middle East; one night ten went missing over the side swimming to the shore with intentions to get to French territory and re-join the Vichy troops. Would appreciate if anyone can supply any information on this subject. Regrettably I have found it impossible to have any faith in such country.

[cappy]

#1saled with a mate on the riseley in 60 or 61.....he had been master of the wray castle.....which was sunk ....he was then either captain or mate on another which was fired on by the Vichy French .....getting into the life boat,he fell and was injured '''''he wastaken prisoner by the French and ended up in a awful situation and eventullyin timbuctoo ........his name was gt dobeson......he was put ashore off the riseley injapan .....the story is in the book the real cruel sea ......my copy is lent out at the moment or I could give you more information......there was the son of one of the captives called I think Neumann a sad tale regards cappy

[Captain Kong]

I heard about the Survivors of the British ship sunk by the French off Dakar, the survivors were marched through the swamps and jungles of Senegal and up to Timbuctoo. Six men died there and are buried, I remember seeing a photo of the graves, a long time ago. and wrote to the War Graves Commission about it.
I had the names of the men , but alas the computer I had then was destroyed and all my information was lost..
There was also the Malta convoys, one ship was sunk, the Dorset??? and the survivors landed in French Tunisia and were interned by the French before being handed over to the Germans and transferred to *Milaig* in Germany.
Cannot trust the French
Cheers
Brian.

[cappy]

Arthur the newmann chap who was theson posted on this site at ont time I think

[E.Martin]

My brother was AB on Empire Pelican which was torpedoed and sunk on a solo run to Malta November 1941
One life was lost in the surf while attempting to beach the lifeboat on the Tunisian coast.
Captured by the Vichy French they were interned at a POW Camp at a place called EL Kef.

[Hugh]

2nd Officer Peter De Neumann was known as the man from Timbuctoo. He was aboard CRITON.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peop...a8021774.shtml

Regards
Hugh

[cappy]

gt dobeson was mate on the riseley we did about 10 months in 60 or 61 .......I don't think he was in the best of health at that time......he was put ashore in Osaka japan ......he wasa good man and never gave anyone any problems

[Captain Kong]

here is a bit more of the Graves in Timbuctoo..................
.
.Timbuktu

A poem by Peter Crews

Gazing at my shadow;
At the shadow of me and my camel
In the desert sand;
My gaze wandered over the graves
Of two British seamen,
Of the SS Allende,
Tended with compassion,
By the long arm
Of the War Graves' Commission,
Among the centuries' accretions
Of blown sand,
Burying the walls of the ancient city,
Point of convergence
Of the Tuareg caravans,
Goal of explorers,
Gordon Laing, then others.
How did they die, the British seamen,
Captives in that distant land?
Did they spill their blood,
Like Gordon Laing, in the sand?
Or did their humour spread,
Like Lyautey's 'tāche d'huile',
As they wound their water from the well?
Silently, I wondered, as I gazed
At the shadows of me and my camel,
Making patterns in the sand.




The two British seamen referred to in Peter's poem (Peter was a 153 member who died a few years ago) were in fact able seaman John Turnbull Graham, and William Soutter, 1st Engineer, both of the ss. Allende which was sunk by two torpedos from a subarmine on 17 March 1942 off the French Ivory Coast. They were taken via Bobo Dioulasso to Mopti and then on to Timbuctoo where they were put in the same camp as prisoners from the ss. Criton. John Turnbull Graham, aged 23, came from N Shields and died on 2 May 1942. The governor of Sudan (French West Africa) notified the French Vichy Government who then informed the British authorities. William Soutter who came from Aberdeen and was aged 60, died on 28 May 1942. His death was notified by the British Red Cross to the British government.

The graves have recently been attended to and restored on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by Dr. Tim Insoll

[Hugh]

ss. Allende which was sunk by two torpedos from a subarmine on 17 March 1942 off the French Ivory Coast.

U-68 (Karl Friedrich Merten) later to sink my father's ship: http://www.sscityofcairo.co.uk/u68.php.
Regards
Hugh

[Ian Malcolm]

Extracted from my book SHIPPING COMPANY LOSSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

There were many Distressed British Seamen awaiting repatriation from British West Africa and when the former Vichy French ship Criton, captured by HMS Cilicia, required a volunteer crew to take her to the UK, G.A. Whalley and Peter le Q. Johnson signed on as her 2^nd and 3^rd Radio Officers, the positions they had held on the Memnon. The Criton (Captain Gerald Dobeson – ex Wray Castle), however, was sunk by the Vichy French ship Air France 4 on 21 June, 1941. Four died. The remainder suffered the worst treatment meted out to British merchant seamen by the Vichy French, served the longest period of internment in French West Africa and didn’t arrive home until 15 January, 1943.