Melvin Baker

Below is the epilogue of Mel Baker's remarkable story. It covers his return to Wernersdorf on two occasions and his reunions with fellow POWs over the years. It also highlights the powerful commemorative events that he has been part of. Click here to view an index of Mel's story and here to download the full account including footnotes. The photo above shows the work party at Wernersdorf (Back Row Standing: Dicky Bracken; Melvin Baker; Andy Andreason; Bert Widdop; Eric Churchman; Freddie Webster. Front Row Seated: Les Bagley Lofty Shepherd; Lex McRae; Bob Bryce). 

After the war I spent three months in Port Elizabeth waiting for discharge and final pay. I went back to my pre-war employer, the firm of accountants FW Anton Eveleigh, for a while. Before the war I had served three years of my articles. After the war I was let off the last two years of my articles as I had been in military service for over two years. We were given a government grant for study purposes, and I went to the University of Cape Town for a year. Then I got a job in Uitenhage at Goodyear Tyre and Rubber company. I was only there for five months when my former employer enticed me back to auditing with the incentive of one day becoming a partner. During this time I did not qualify as a chartered accountant and was not very happy with the boring job of auditing. Mangolds, an agricultural and engineering business, offered me a job...

Below is Part 3 of Mel Baker's extraordinary account of being a Prisoner of War during World War II. Click here to read Part 2 and here to download the full account including detailed footnotes. The photo above shows the main gate of Stalag XVIII A (Prisoner of War Camp in Southern Austria).

Leaving Wernersdorf

Two weeks before Christmas 1944 we were informed that we were leaving Wernersdorf the next day. No indication as to where we were going. We were not at all happy about the fact of leaving and also the timing, as we had sorted out all our meals and drinks for Christmas. Lex had made beautiful menus for each of us with items like plum pudding a la (name of a farm). He had drawn army and naval crests at the top of the menu (although the naval one had a crown instead of ships). We even had a bottle of schnapps - that we drank the day of leaving.

The evening before leaving, I visited my girlfriend Paula for the last time to say goodbye.

On the day we were leaving I went to the Windischbauer and got him to let us use the horses and the wagon to take our kit to Wies. While making this arrangement, he gave me a farewell sample of schnapps.

We left with very mixed feelings. After three years in Wernersdorf, we had got ourselves very well organised and were probably in the best situation that a prisoner of...

Below is Part 2 of Mel Baker's moving account of being a Prisoner of War from 1941-45. Click here to read Part 1 and here to download the full account including footnotes and a bibliography. The photograph above shows Mel Baker and Lex Macrae in the back row and Freddie Webster, Len, Lofty Shepherd, George Bennet and Andy Andreason in the front.

Escape

There was always talk about escaping – but where to? Very remote chance of Switzerland. Several escapees made it across the Swiss border but got caught coming back, not realising that they had been into Switzerland and come out again. The alternative was Turkey, which meant a trek through the full length of Yugoslavia and northern Greece to the Dardanelles, about a two-thousand mile hike with no knowledge of the language or terrain. However, after I had fixed the window, we could have had a full night’s start.

Window story: The windows had cross bars riveted together built into the wooden frames. I had to work for the blacksmith as a payment for work he had done for the Windischbauer, such as shoeing horses and fixing wagons. I “borrowed” a hammer, cold chisel and hacksaw blade from the blacksmith’s shop, knowing I was going to work there and could return them the next morning. I sawed through the bottom of the centre upright bar, used the cold chisel and hammer to break the rivets, and then was able to loosen and pull it out from the bottom and slide it out from the top...

Mel Baker was a crew member of the HMS Gloucester which sank near Crete in 1941. He was one of only a handful of survivors picked up by the Germans. Below is Part 1 of his powerful account of being a Prisoner of War for most of World War II. He was 21 when he was taken prisoner and returned to Port Elizabeth in 1945 aged 25. Click here to download the full account including footnotes and a bibliography. The men in the photograph above from left to right are: Freddie Webster, Andy Andreason, George Bennet, Lofty Shepherd, Len and Mel Baker

On 22nd May 1941 HMS Gloucester was under constant air attack in the Mediterranean near Crete. The day started with the ship having only 18 percent of its main 4” ack-ack ammunition. “G” finally ran out of ammunition early in the afternoon and resorted to firing star shells and practice shells as a final show of fight back. At approximately 3.00 p.m. the inevitable happened. Several bombs, mainly from Stukas, hit “G” and she slowly turned turtle and sank. Fred Webster’s watch stopped at 3.35 p.m. in the water. 

The HMS Gloucester from a postcard which Mel Baker...