John Richardson
(1913-1998)
4th Field Regiment, New Zealand Division
At the beginning of the war, Captain Richardson was involved in two crucial evacuations of British troops from Greece (Tempe Pass and Rafti Harbour), an experience that left a mark on him as he saw many of his men die.
John was captured in Libya on 22 November 1941 as he was following a risky order from one of his superiors. The truck he was driving, behind enemy lines, was hit by the cannon of a German tank. John was thrown out of the vehicle and fell into a ravine.
Early next morning as I was lying in the bottom of this escarpment with my back broken. I saw out of one eye some German soldiers picking their way down towards me. I was picked up and carried out the escarpment by four German soldiers. I kept passing out, but I remember gaining consciousness long enough to hear the German doctor telling in perfect English “Your skipper has had his back broken. He won’t last more than 3 days”.
John Richardson in 1939(Source: J. Richardson, Pop’s POW)
As a consequence of the incident, John lost his memory. He remembered nothing about himself, his military career, or his native New Zealand.
The Germans loaded him on a truck and brought him to a military hospital near Derna, where he was treated until 16 December. Later, he was transferred on the ship “Aquila” to the Bari hospital and placed in a room with six other officers, all gravely wounded. Both the building itself and the medical personnel were abysmal. John was beaten and abused. He was left unkept, covered with fleas, and untreated. At a certain point, he was threatened by one medic with the amputation of one of his legs. John rebelled against the prospect and attacked the doctor.
As a result, the Italians moved him to the Parma hospital in March 1942. Initially, he was jailed in a cell as punishment for attacking the doctor. Since he was captured behind enemy lines, the Italians suspected him of being a spy.
Fortunately, while in Parma, he ran into a German officer who recognised him: they were on opposite sides during the battle of Tempe Pass in Greece. Thanks to the German’s account of the events, John’s memories started to resurface.
He remained at the Parma hospital for roughly seven months and enjoyed better treatment than in Bari.
This lasted until the day I was interrogated by the Fascist police who told me that I was being court -martialed for attacking the Colonel in Bari hospital (who had been attempting to amputate my leg without anesthetic). My punishment was to be reduced to the ranks and sent off to some unknown camp. I told them that only the King of England could take my commission from me. Nevertheless, a few days later, I was carted off to the railway station with four other soldiers. […] By this stage, I could walk a little with the assistance of a crutch.
John was sent to PG 82, Laterina, where he was informed that, according to the camp’s rules, he was in charge of the PoWs’ organisation since he was the senior officer.
I certainly did not look like an officer, with one useless arm, a disfigured face, my right leg and knee and both hands a mess. Furthermore, I had no badges of rank nor any hat or boots and my shirt and slacks were old and blood-stained.
John recalled that he saw hundreds of PoWs, many simply lying on the ground, hopeless and discouraged, needing help and organisation. «I ordered the men on the ground to get up, to which they replied with insults. They were used to obey the orders of properly-dressed officials.» The first step was to divide the PoWs, roughly 3,000 men for each regiment, into groups of 100s and sub-units of 25, each led by a soldier who reported to John.
He tried to improve the conditions in the camp, managing to obtain better food rations and blankets. He slept outside with his men. He also organised an effort to improve the camp’s hygienic conditions and contain the spread of infections such as dysentery and typhus.
John managed to leave the camp occasionally, accompanied by his interpreter, to go to the nearby village of Laterina. During one such trip, he got in touch with some members of the local anti-fascist movement and finally contacted, through them, the Red Cross. From that moment onwards, Red Cross parcels were delivered to the PoWs.
The Italians began to realise we were human beings and they went about their work in a more light-hearted manner.
In December 1942, he learned he was about to be transferred, this time to PG 47 Modena.
I was placed in a large army barracks full of South Africans. I felt betrayed and very lonely. The first thing I did was to sit down and cry. I was suffering from nervous and physical fatigue due to the months in the open at Camp 82, with all its problems. My loneliness was short lived as that afternoon 200 New Zealand officers walked n. I recognised Major Harry Bliss who had been fighting alongside me at Tempe Pass. My memory of this time had been returning to me.
John was terribly debilitated; he weighed only 50 kg and was allowed to stay in bed during the colder days. At the end of March 1943, he was contacted by a Colonel of the Geneva Red Cross who told him he had been looking for him for months. He asked John to gather his things and took him to a soldier of the King’s Police Force, who was in charge of getting him to Turkey.
With his guide, John traversed southern Italy and reached Bari. While waiting for the ship to leave Italy, he was treated at the Altamura hospital:
There were practically no washing facilities, the sanitation was the worst possible, and there were hardly any beds. The medical facilities were virtually non-existent. The college was inside a zone designated “military” and the Red Cross were not allowed. Later we reported the conditions at Altamura to the war crimes commission.
After a few weeks, he boarded a British ship and was sent to Egypt. He was repatriated in May 1943.
When I arrived in Wellington (May 1943), I weighed about 8 stone. I went by train first to Auckland hospital, and then to Rotorua Rehabilitation hospital. Back in New Zealand my memory was still very poor about large parts of my early life.
Camps related to this story
Sources
J. Richardson & B. Christianos, Pop’ POW Stories, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018.
Campo PG. 82 Laterina -Testimonies – <https://powcamp82laterina.weebly.com/testimonies.html>