Beschreibung:

The Ron Penhall Collection The Second World War North Africa operations campaign service group of three attributed to Captain The Rev. A. J. Symonds, Royal Army Chaplains’ Department, attached 7th Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment, with whom he was taken P.O.W. at Tobruk in June 1942 - the unit’s C.O., Lieutenant-Colonel H. R. B. Foote, was awarded the V.C. on the same occasion 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; War Medal 1939-45, M.I.D. oak leaf, all privately engraved, ‘Rev. A. J. Symonds, 4th Cl. U./B. R.A.C. Dept.’, together with a religious medallet, the second of bright gilt appearance, good very fine (4) £400-500 Footnote Arthur James Symonds was appointed a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class in January 1941 and served in that capacity to the 11th Battalion, Green Howards in the U.K. until that December, when he was ordered to the Middle East. Arriving in North Africa in March 1942, he was appointed Padre to the 7th Battalion, Royal Tank Regiment and, as evidenced by his wartime memoir, You’re Free! The Story of Life and Service in Campo P.G. 53, he was quickly introduced to the realities of the desert war: ‘So it went on, this tragic circumstance of war and mutilation. Those days were hectic - the wounded to be cared for, the dead to be taken from their tanks and buried, a hurried visit to tank crews anxiously waiting on the starting line for the command to engage the enemy, the distribution of socks or drinks of lime juice, driving all night in convoys at walking pace with lights out, and the interminable hours of waiting as the guns echoed in the distance ... It was on Sunday, 14 June, that we began the retreat that for most of us ended in prison. All though that night we moved back to Tobruk. The next day the perimeter was closed. It was to be another siege; but some days later, 21 June, the German tanks broke through, and Tobruk, darkened with a pall of black smoke, was surrendered. It was every man for himself! A disciplined army suddenly became a rabble. Men ran here, there and everywhere trying to avoid falling into enemy hands. Then followed the first humiliating evidence of capture - the warning burst of the tommy-gun - the raised hands - the dumb show of the Italian corporal - the long delays, and the final march to the P.O.W. cage. I had managed to escape with my batman and we walked into the desert, only to give ourselves up after six days to the nearest German patrol; but that is another story ... ’ In September 1943, following the Italian capitulation, Symonds was transferred to Oflag 9 A.Z. in Germany and thence, in June 1944, to Stammlager 398 in Austria. In his P.O.W. M.I. 9 “debrief” report he stated that he had visited a concentration camp in May 1945 - ‘Full investigation being conducted by Commission’. In addition, he interviewed a Frenchman who had been held in Mathausen - ‘No further action has been taken by M.I. 9’. Symonds was subsequently mentioned in despatches ‘In recognition of gallant and distinguished services whilst a prisoner of war’ (London Gazette 21 February 1946 refers). Sold with a large quantity of wartime documentation, memorabilia and photographs appertaining to the recipient’s time as a P.O.W., including: (i) Official telegram to the recipient’s wife, dated 28 January 1942, reporting that her husband was no longer missing but confirmed as a P.O.W.; and a Post Office telegram from the recipient to his wife, dated 16 May 1945, ‘Arrive Central 10.00 Tonight.’ (ii) An exercise book kept by the recipient to record the dates of demise and burial of P.O.Ws, covering the period November 1942 to July 1943, in all containing about 60 entries, sometimes with additional commentary (e.g. ‘When will this stop?’ and ‘Average 4 [deaths] per week out of 4,000’); together with his “Prayer Book for Soldiers and Sailors”, and “Baptist Church Hymnal”. (iii) Around 20 photographs taken at assorted P.O.W. camps, several with ‘Stammlager 39B’ stamps to reverse, and an equal quantity of