My Grandad

My Dad just directed me to a web site titled Prisoners of War, which is "a tribute to those men who were imprisoned in Stalag 18A, Wolfsberg, Austria from 1941 to 1945". One of these men was my paternal Grandfather, Peter Trodden. My Dad has posted an account of what happened to my Grandad, which I found incredibly moving and sobering. We all know that war is terrible, but when you're reading about someone you knew and loved, it's worse. My Dad's account begins

"Peter Trodden worked as a butcher and had also boxed as a professional. He lived in Altrincham, Cheshire, although he was born in Bury, Lancashire in 1916. He volunteered at the outbreak of war and became a gunner in the Royal Artillery.

On 15th November 1940 his battalion left Paignton for the ill-fated battle of Crete.

They travelled by way of Liverpool, Freetown, Durban, the Suez Canal and Beni Usef, Cairo where they had three weeks intensive training. Then via Port Said and on to Crete, where they arrived on 30th January 1941. As is well documented, things did not go well and on 15th July 1941 he and many others sailed for Salonika on the Yalova as POWs. ..."

There's a lot more if you follow the link above. This might not be that interesting to anyone outside my family, but who knows.