WW2 Era Postcard Written by Allied POW while in German POW camp.

[Heartfeltzero]

This is another POW postcard written by an allied service men. It looks like it was written by a Trevis S. George. It’s dated March 14th 1942. It reads:

“Dear miss Gill, my letter of 27/1/42, acknowledging yours of 24th oct. last & parcels (2) of 24th oct & 4th Nov, was sent via London, which no doubt, would cause considerable delay- hence this card. Believe me it was a gala day when the parcels arrived. Cigs are preferred to tobacco - brand chesterfield. Was very intrigued with yr letter which aroused my bachelor enthusiasm. Next to food, letters are all we look for here. Yours sincerely, Trevis.

[Willmore]

Hi JB.

Another really interesting piece, thank you for sharing it with us.

What sparked my interest is that some of the wording on the post card reminded me of 'English slang', eg Cigs for cigarettes and Gala for good, so I had a search and found some information. The soldier who wrote the post card was not English, but a New Zealander.


New Zealand, World War II Army Nominal Rolls, 1939-1948

Name: Trevis Sinclair George
Embarkation: 1940-1941
Army Number: 30896
Last Residence: Wellington, New Zealand
Relative Name: Mrs E George
Relationship: Mother
Nominal Roll: 1 Jul 1940 - 31 Mar 1941

His rank is noted as 2/LT.



Trevis Sinclair George in the Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current

Name: Trevis Sinclair George
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 24 Dec 1907
Birth Place: Masterton, Masterton District, Wellington, New Zealand
Death Date: 26 Dec 1989
Death Place: Merivale, Christchurch City, Canterbury, New Zealand
Cemetery: Alfredton Cemetery
Burial or Cremation Place: Alfredton, Tararua District, Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand
Father: Sinclair Munro George
Mother: Edith George
Children: Sinclair Charles George



Note is POW serial number in the text below and on the post card (298) *

Eldest son of Sinclair Munro George. Loving husband of Marcelle, father to only son Sinclair and grandfather to Scott and Haydn. Born Dec 24 1907 at Masterton, New Zealand.

Served in Second World War, rank of Captain in Middle East, Africa and Europe (5 ribbons), Service Number: WWII 30896. Prisoner Of War (Serial Number: WWII 298) Greece, Europe & Spangenberg Castle, Hesse, Germany - Camp: Oflag IX-A/H. Transferred to the Reserve of Officers, General List, The Royal N.Z. Infantry Corps, with the rank of Captain, with seniority from 8th September, 1946. Dated 8th January, 1951.

Armed Force / Branch: Army
Service Number: WWII 30896
Auckland War Memorial: https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-m.../record/118856

Member of the Board of Governors, Scots College, Wellington
President, Old Boys Executive, Scots College, Wellington

Retired Bank Manager from Christchurch, NZ and gazetted an Associate of Bankers, London 1947. Member of Masonic Lodge of New Zealand, in whose name Ensigns Armorial are recorded in Lyon Court, Edinburgh, Vol 57 Fol 67 of date 30 April 1974.

Interned in The George Family Plot located at Alfredton Cemetery Pahiatua, Tararua District, New Zealand. Date of Interment: 29/12/1989




Trevis Sinclair George (1907-1989) - Find a Grave Memorial

Kind regards,

Will.

[Willmore]

He was a member of Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force, Third Echelon and was taken prisoner in Greece. This definitely needs further research to find out where he became a POW because it could have been on the Greek mainland, or even on Crete.

1941 timeline -

11 April: First members of a New Zealand unit taken prisoner at Klidhi Pass (11 men of 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion).
22-29 April: Evacuation of troops from Greece – some to Crete, others to Egypt
27 April: Germans enter Athens. Greece surrenders
20 May: German airborne invasion of Crete begins. Capture of Maleme airfield
28-31 May: British, Australian and New Zealand troops evacuated from Crete

Second World War timeline - Second World War - overview | NZHistory, New Zealand history online

[Heartfeltzero]

Hey Will,

Wow that’s definitely unexpected. It threw me for a loop, I had wondered if he was English or American, turns out he was neither. It makes me wonder if the previous pow post card I posted was also a New Zealander. There are definitely some similarities between the two that I’ve noticed. Both are addressed to the US, both mention wanting chesterfield, and they are both written a day apart, one on March 14th 1942 and one on March 15th 1942. Only thing is, they were in two separate POW camps.

Thank you for the info though! Definitely just made this much more interesting.

Good day,

JB