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SAS Enter Bergen Belsen
March 1945, two SAS squadrons numbering about 300 men in all crossed the Rhine at the tip of an Allied army invading Germany itself. 323 total views
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James Henry Molyneaux (Lord)
“If I hadn’t seen what I did at Belsen I don’t think I would have believed someone could do those things to another living person.” Lord Molyneaux 262 total views
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Mady Gerrard – Survivor
On 15th April 1945, British Soldiers entered the gates of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp for the first time. They found more than 50,000 prisoners, suffering from disease, starvation, neglect and torture – as well as the bodies of thousands who had already died. Immediately, a major relief effort began, with British troops trying to save as many lives as possible, but even after liberation, 14,000 more people would die. Today, 75 years on, SSAFA remembers the actions of the British soldiers, who did what they could to rescue and revive the thousands of people on the verge of death, from the worst terror imaginable. The first men to enter the camp…
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British Royal Engineer (59 Plant Troop)
Picture of Royal Engineers Dozer team (59 M.E) that arrived from Maxhafen on or around 25th/26th April 1945. 453 total views
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Clifford Beckwith – Green Howards
My dad Clifford Beckwith was among the first British soldiers to enter Belsen. He never spoke of it other than to say they were told not to give food to the prisoners as it would make them ill. He said he never felt so helpless. 411 total views
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Mervyn Gonin – 11th Light Field Ambulance
This month marks the 70th anniversary of Belsen’s liberation and reporter James Marston went to find out more about a Suffolk man who was on the scene. 392 total views
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Don Sheppard – Despatch Rider
Ahead of the 75th anniversary of Bergen-Belsen’s liberation, former despatch rider Don Sheppard, now 99, recalls what he discovered at the Nazi death camp 491 total views
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Conrad Wilson (AFS) Letter
Conrad Wilson, wrote, including a few rare recollections he wrote about his role as an ambulance driver with the American Field Service searching for survivors when the British Army, with whom he was serving, liberated the camp. This was a part of Conrad’s life that he suppressed for decades after the War, rarely if ever speaking of it. That silence changed, briefly at least, in 1969, when Bill wrote to Dad asking about his role in searching for survivors in the Camp—something that Bill’s father, Dave, had mentioned on occasion but said that his brother never talked about it. 206 total views
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Hugh Ewart – 41 Commando
Former Royal Marine Commando Hugh Ewart, 92, passed away last Saturday and his family are hoping standard bearers and buglers will give him a fitting send-off tomorrow. 314 total views
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Ted Smith – Canadian Pilot
Ted Smith, 92, was a Canadian pilot during the Second World War who saw frequent combat. But it is a spring day in April 1945 that’s seared into his memory. He arrived at Bergen-Belsen, the Nazi concentration camp, two days after it was liberated. Here is his description of the horrific scene he encountered. 267 total views
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