The 1932 PSS [Penetang] football team consisted of many boys who eventually ended up serving their country during WWII.
Two men in particular have interesting stories that astonish me to this day.
AB Thompson [Tommy] joined Britain’s Royal Air Force in 1937. He plane’s engine failed and the crew was captured while dropping propoganda leaflets over Germany. He spent 5 years and 8 months as a POW both in Germany and Poland. AB is considered the first Canadian captured given Canada was not officially in the war yet. He was one of those Commonwealth Officers who was at Stalag Luft 3 when the ‘Great Escape’ took place, he was number 68 of 76 men to escape and then be re-captured, obviously he was not one of the 50 men who were shot.
Phil Marchildon was a professional pitcher for Connie Macks Philadelphia Athletics when he received a telegram from Canada calling him up for the RCAF after the 1942 season. He was assigned to a seven men crew on a Halifax bomber. On his 28th mission the crew dropped mines on Kiel Bay. The plane was suddenly hit by cannon fire and the order was given to bail out, landing in cold black water of the North Sea two of the seven men crew survived. Phil and his partner were captured by the Germans and headed to Stalag Luft 3.
After 10 months of captivity the Russians began closing in on the camp and the 2,400 prisoners were ordered to march and keep marching from January to May…the Death March.
The Germans marched the POWs for miles to keep them away from advancing Allies.
A British patrol finally liberated Marchildon May 2, 1945, but when he got home he was 30 to 40 pounds underweight and had nerve attacks.
They were in school together did they meet up in the prison of war barracks? Did they know about each other throughout the death march? What conversations would they have following WWII?
By L. Waxy Gregoire., Oct. 26, 2024