• Sydney John Fletcher (RAF)

    My father, Syd, never talked that much about his wartime service with the RAF Regiment but occasionally reminisced about his mates, guard duties at the War Ministry in London, making friends with the mayor of a Belgian town, always the lighthearted side of wartime exploits.  12,194 total views

  • James Learmonth Gowans: Medical Student

    Sir James Learmonth Gowans CBE FRS FRCP (7 May 1924 – 1 April 2020) was a British physician and immunologist. In 1945 while studying medicine at King’s College Hospital, he assisted at the liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a voluntary medical student.  13,082 total views

  • AFPU OAKES Lawrie belsen

    Sgt Bill Lawrie (AFPU)

    The first AFPU team to arrive on April 15 consisted of Sergeants Mike Lewis and Bill Lawrie (film), and Sergeant Harry Oakes and Lieutenant Martyn Wilson (stills). They continued coverage until 26 April 1945, when another team took over.  6,120 total views

  • 75th Anniversary Press – Ken Knight

    Ken Knight was one of the first men through the gates. He spoke movingly about the experience to the Dorset Echo in 2003. Here we re-publish the interview with Ken who passed away in 2007.  14,200 total views

  • The Heroes of Belsen

    The Heroes of Belsen “If you asked them to build a battleship overnight they’d produce it for you at breakfast!” Such are the expressions of praise made by Army authorities when referring to the magnificent work of relief done by officers and men of the 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA at Belsen Concentration Camp.  17,839 total views

  • Iolo Lewis

    Iolo Lewis was part of the British 11th Armoured Division, which liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. Iolo wrote a poem based on his experience called ‘Belsen Silence’.  12,610 total views