Burkett, A
Arthur Burkett
Arthur Burkett was a normal 22 year old from Walthamstow, London, called up to fight in World War 2. He was captured on 21st June 1942 at Tobruk when he was 24 years old.
He arrived at Stalag VIIIB on 10th August 1943 after time in Italy as a POW.
Towards the end of the war Arthur was made to march up to 40 miles per day, often overnight, with one example recorded where the POWs marched from 4pm until 9am the next morning. Arthur was so exhausted at one point he fell asleep whilst marching.
Temperatures at times reached 30 below zero with Arthur speaking of freezing conditions and not being able to put his boots on in the morning as the inside was covered in frost.
Arthur saw Jews pushing carts and sledges dressed in striped linen suits and linen overcoats. He also saw dead and dying Jews, bloody and injured, on the side of the road but anyone who tried to help were pushed back by the German Guards.
Food rations were often poor or non-existent with one 4 day stretch where Arthur got little more than potato flakes, barley, hot water and rotten carrots. He speaks of people being sent into villages to scavenge for food, often coming back with very little due to the German civilians also running very low on supplies. One time Arthur saw POWs fall on ‘potato peelings as if it was currant cake’.
The POWs were in these conditions when entering Czechoslovakia ‘the land they were all dreaming of’ as civilians lined the streets throwing bread, apples and potatoes. The German Guards had to punch and smack the POWs to get them to keep moving.
The Red Cross parcels (also regularly delayed) provided much needed food and allowed the POWs to barter items like chocolate with the German civilians for more food.
Arthur got frostbite in his big toe which got very bad on a couple of occasions during the march. He speaks of there being no medical supplies, at one time being sent hobbling 3 miles to the hospital, waiting 3hrs outside before being told no treatment was available and having to hobble back. Arthur ended up treating it himself, at one point wrapping paper around it as there were no bandages.
After being freed Arthur became a plumber and passed away from lung cancer on 13th February 1971 aged 53. He did not speak about his experience with his wife or son but they were aware that he was a POW and that he had written diaries. The only thing his son said was that if the doorbell or phone rang he would take his food with him.
Read more about Arthur Burkett’s experience in his published work ‘Arthur Burkett’s Diaries. The diary of a Prisoner of War on the Lamsdorf Death March’ by Linda Burkett published by Brown Dog Books. All money is donated to Walking with the Wounded and the Invictus Games.
Linda Burkett,
You can see Arthur’s long march route at https://www.lamsdorf.com/the-long-march.html
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