Russell A

,

Private Alexander George Anderson Russell

Family/Last name:
Russell
Forename(s) and initial(s):
Alexander George Anderson
Place of birth:
Rathven, Scotland
Date of birth:
20/12/1918
Nationality:
British
Service number:
2932019
Military Unit:
British Army, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
Rank when captured:
Private
Place of capture:
St. Valery, France
POW number:
10388
Camp
Stalag XXA Thorn
Data sources
Other Sources (Relative's report)
View a commemorative certificate for this prisoner

From Ian Harris, 04/11/2023

Prior to joining the army Alexander was employed as a chauffeur.

In August 1940, the Aberdeen Weekly Journal reported that Pte. Alexander G.A. Russell (21) had been called up with the first batch of militia and had become a prisoner of war.

Alexander was a quiet man and didn’t talk much about his time in captivity, but he recalled that to reach the PoW camp in Poland he had to march all the way there. He also said that he suffered from dysentery. The food was appalling and they had to live on what scraps of food they could find. Food consisted of 4 oz. of bread and 1 pint of soup.

He had been a prisoner of war two years before he developed stomach pain, but during this time he suffered from “hunger pains”. He suffered very badly from flatulence. Pain was located below the umbilicus, was dull, aching nature and was followed by bringing up wind.

He was moved from camp to camp. He effected an escape on three occasions. This state of affairs continued until the end of 1944 when he participated in a forced march for 1,000 miles in four months in very severe weather. During this march he developed very severe dysentery with blood and mucus and he was admitted to an American camp hospital where he almost died.

Alexander Russell was discharged from the Army in 1946, and soon after in Aberdeen he had his own small business as a master painter. By 1948 he emigrated to Canada to join his brother in Edmonton, Alberta, where he established a successful painting & decorating business. He also married and he had several children. However, Alexander’s family life was rather blighted by the damaging psychological effects of his war-time ordeal.

After moving to Vancouver, Alexander Russell died in July 1985, aged 66.

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