The Banstead Image Library
German POW Erich Kochan in Banstead
In 1947, Italian and later German POWs appeared in the fields surrounding our smallholding. We felt sorry for them standing there
all day, hoeing between the rows in the hot sun. I asked my father to drive to the POW camp and invite any two prisoners home to have tea with us.
Two very nice Germans accepted and we had a good time getting to know them. One of them wrote down English words in his notebook, he was so eager to learn more. They both wrote charming verses in my autograph book.
Later, one of them, Erich Kochan wrote a friendly letter to my parents and told about how his wife had left him, which he found out when he returned to Berlin. The photo shows Erich looking at tomato plants in our garden at Croydon Lane together with my mother and myself. My father took the photo. I was eleven and shortly to start at Grammar school, I was looking forward to learning foreign languages, especially German.
Wendy.
Picture added on 12 November 2017 at 12:25
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Banstead History
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What a fascinating story, Wendy - and a genuinely historic photograph of a snatched moment in time.
Added by Peter Denton on 16 November 2017
Not just the Germans. The Italians were put to work farming as early as 1942. Selsdon Woods Nature Reserve had many working the fields. They were camped in Byron Road from 1942 in a temporary "working party" camp on a bomb site. They were still there into late 1947.
Some residents complained (22 Sept 1945) that they were roaming the streets and should be locked up after dark. This was supported, with objection from the Labour opposition, and a letter sent to The Home Office, October 1945. Interestingly, later reading of council minutes strongly imply a distancing from the decision and an alienation of the cllr who was tasked with following up. The ways of politics.
This was the UDC P&C.
Some residents complained (22 Sept 1945) that they were roaming the streets and should be locked up after dark. This was supported, with objection from the Labour opposition, and a letter sent to The Home Office, October 1945. Interestingly, later reading of council minutes strongly imply a distancing from the decision and an alienation of the cllr who was tasked with following up. The ways of politics.
This was the UDC P&C.
Added by Jonathan Harrison on 16 March 2023
Banstead
Colin