Lance Corporal John Thomas Saunders

From: John L Dixon.  Tuesday, April 19, 2011 

I am attempting to assist a family with the identification of the grave of L/Cpl John Thomas SAUNDERS of 1st Tyneside Scottish, The Black Watch, who was shot for disagreeing with a civilian supervisor on a woodworking party based at POPPELAU (now Popielow), together with Trooper Henry Alexander THOMSON (sometimes shown as Thompson) of the Lothian and Borders Horse, on 21st July 1944.

I have the German documentation on both men as sent to ICRC in Geneva and the family have letters pertaining to Thomas Saunders’ death, including one describing his funeral from RSM SHERRIFF (RWF) the Camp Leader.

Both men were buried in the Churchyard at Popielow but (perhaps due to the Russian occupation of the area) Graves Registration were unable to gain access to recover the remains and rebury them in Krakow Cemetery, as happened to most of the PoW dead from this area.

Both men were members of Working Party E608 engaged in forestry and sawmill work in this small Polish town.  Perhaps this would allow you to add this Working Party to your list.

There is understood to be a third British grave in this Churchyard but, as yet, we have not been able to identify who this casualty might be.  There are also at least five other unmarked graves which may be German, Polish or even Russian.

Saunders was captured on 20th May 1940 when 1 TS was overrun at Ficheux, and Thomson was captured on 21st June 1940 at St Valery.

If you would like more details on these men, please let me know.

In addition, if you have anything on men from 70th Infantry Brigade (10th and 11th DLI and 1st Tyneside Scottish) in Lamsdorf, I should be delighted to hear from you.

John L Dixon

70 Brigade Researcher

Northeast War Memorials Project

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From: John L Dixon. Friday, January 20, 2012

The research website is now active at www.newmp.org.uk/70brigade although there is an enormous amount yet to upload – such as over 7,000-page equivalents of War Diaries!

In collating the database of men who served in the Brigade, and its supporting units, one of my difficulties has been that all the PoW records, such as the official volume produced by the Imperial War Museum, only cover Regiment and not Battalion etc.  That book also excludes men who died or were killed in custody – not at all sure why.

This leaves me with a difficulty in identifying which PoWs are “mine” and belong on the Brigade database.  

As you may know, at Ficheux on 20th May 1940, around 135 men from the Tyneside Scottish were killed and about 400 taken prisoner.  There were also significant numbers killed and captured from 10th and 11th Durham Light Infantry.  I have two surviving PoW Veterans who I have interviewed from the DLI Battalions of the Brigade.

In respect of Saunders and Thomson, Tom Hutchinson (Saunders’ nephew and well-known local historian) has made significant progress.  He has been to the grave site at Popielow and has finally persuaded Commonwealth War Graves to take his concerns seriously.  They have asked their Polish office to examine the situation.  Our attempts to find the third casualty have stalled and it is entirely possible that there was no such man – local stories differ.  Apparently, the funeral was a closed affair and villagers were not allowed near, although there was a significant German officer presence.

There is also a War Crimes file at The National Archives on the case, with the identity of the guard who allegedly shot the two men unjustifiably.  Again, action appears to have fizzled out.  We await progress from CWGC.

My enquiry as to what is known of men from the relevant units stands and I do hope you are able to help.

John L Dixon

70th Brigade Researcher

Northeast War Memorials Project

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THE NORTHERN ECHO

BATTLE TO HAVE WAR GRAVE RECOGNISED MAY BE WON
10:05am Monday 17th September 2012 in News by Duncan Leatherdale

POLISH GRAVE: Lance Corporal John Thomas Saunders in his Tyneside Scottish Black Watch uniform

A HISTORIAN looks to have won his campaign to have his uncle’s grave in a Polish cemetery officially recognised.
Tom Hutchinson has been working for several years to have the War Graves Commission accept an unmarked grave in the Polish village of Popielow is that of his uncle, who was killed while a Prisoner of War (PoW) in the Second World War.
The War Graves Commission has now accepted the evidence collated by Mr Hutchinson.
Lance Corporal John Thomas Saunders was shot by a prison guard on July 21, 1944, along with another British PoW. L Cpl Saunders, known as Tommy, was captured by the German forces at Arras, in France, on May 20, 1940.
A month later, he arrived at Stalag VIIIB PoW camp and, in 1942, was transferred to Lamsdorf, a large camp in Germany, now part of Poland.
On July 21, 1944, L Cpl Saunders, who was 25 and a member of the Tyneside Scottish Black Watch, was working in woodland with some other prisoners when an argument arose between the workers and a guard about how much work was being done. The guard, who felt threatened as the workers had saws and axes, shot and killed two of the men, L Cpl Saunders and a member of the Lothians and Border Horse called Henry Alexander Thomson.
Mr Hutchinson has gathered a file of evidence that he says proves his uncle, who came from Bishop Auckland, is buried in one of two unmarked graves in the Polish cemetery, with the other grave believed to belong to Mr Thomson.
He has travelled to Popielow to see the graves, which are rumoured locally to belong to two British soldiers and gathered personal accounts from villagers supporting his theory.
Mr Hutchinson said: “I am very pleased that the commission has accepted my account and is now preparing a headstone for my uncle’s grave.
“It will come as a great relief for our family and my mother, who was Tommy’s sister, and I look forward to returning to Popielow for the dedication.”
The commission is still trying to contact the family of Mr Thomson, whose identity was discovered by another Bishop Auckland historian, John Dixon.