Naval "Freemen" of the Middle East and Africa

Only 16 Anzac POW are identified

Of these 12 were held In Germany, 2 in Italy 1 in France and I in Greece.

Another 15 are identified as Merchant Seaman, but some of these may have been naval personnel attached to the normal crew to man defensive weapons on such ships.

To this recorders knowledge only two “Freemen” can be accounted for from naval personnel.

There will perhaps be more from the ranks of Merchant seaman.

Lt . Cdr George WORLEDGE, RANVR was captured in his small supply ship in Tobruk.

He ended up in Campo 78 Sulmona.

But he was one of the 770 Allied Naval men exchanged for an equal number of Italian naval personnel, detained in the kingdom of Ibn Saud at Jedda.

Ordinary Seaman James Frederick WILDE from Sheffield was taken POW when his submarine “Sahib: was sunk off the Italian coast. He managed to escape from the train taking him to a German prison camp near Voghera to the north of Genoa.

He was sheltered by a local Italian family, learned to speak fluent Italian and finished up leading the local Partisans.

Able Seaman Roy Edmund MOLLROSS, of the merchantman, “Triadic” was captured by a German raider on 7.12.40. He and another member of the Triadic crew- Able Seaman Keith George READ was later put ashore on a desert island from which they was recovered later in that month. (file 567/201/22)

While 7 POW were sent to the special Marlag and Milag Nord Camp at Westertimke (Tarnstadt), at least another 7 ended up in Stalag VIIIB later 334/Lamsdorf south of Berlin near the Czechoslovakian border.

AB B1920 Francis William ALLINGHAM was later to escape from the infamous march from that camp to Russia and was finally repatriated from Odessa.

The five New Zealanders seem to have been sent to Luft Stalags 3 and/or 6.

But while they were only released from captivity at wars end, they do not satisfy the research criteria of becoming a “Free Man”