Diver, W

,

Sapper William Diver

Family/Last name:
Diver
Forename(s) and initial(s):
William
Date of birth:
1896
Military Unit:
British Army, Royal Engineers
Rank when captured:
Sapper
Place of capture:
Crete
Date of capture:
5/1941
POW number:
8273
Camp
Stalag VIIIB Lamsdorf / Stalag 344
Data sources
Other Sources (Relative's report)
View a commemorative certificate for this prisoner

My paternal grandfather William Diver enlisted in the Royal Engineers in November 1939 aged 43, having also fought previously in World War 1 (Royal Irish Regiment – 6th Battalion).

He served with the British Expeditionary Force in France up until the evacuation from Dunkirk in May 1940, was then posted to the Middle East and finally to Crete where he was taken prisoner in May 1941. He was transported to Lamsdorf where he spent almost four years in Stalag 344 until his liberation by the Russians I understand in March of 1945. His prison number was 8273. He died in 1965 so I never had the opportunity to talk to him about his wartime experiences as I was an infant, but my father has told me some of the details. He suffered severe deprivations as did all the POWs, and on one occasion was struck on the face with a rifle by a guard for passing a cigarette butt to a fellow prisoner. This affected his eyesight for the remainder of his life.

I’ve travelled to Crete a number of times to explore the wartime history, but would love to find out more about Stalag 344 where he was held, and was so pleased to find this website! I have attached a photograph taken in the camp (as far as I know) with him on the far right of a group of POWs, also some German newspaper clippings showing the airborne invasion of Crete which he obviously kept with him, and some postcards that he sent from the camp.

Gerry Diver

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