Citations: |
LG Sup 11 March 1943 pg. 1177 - "Private Dittberner surrendered with his Regiment at Tobruk on 21 June 1942. They were taken to a collecting point, then Landing Ground El Gubbi, where a preliminary enclosure had been made, and finally on 26 June 1942 to a Prisoner of War Camp at Derna. On 3 July 1942, at 2000 hours Pte. Dittberner escaped with Sgts. F. J. Walker, and I. J. Jack, Nos. 32279 and 32284, both of 2/Transvaal Scottish (who have been recommended for M.M.s also) and L/Cpl G. J. Davies 3908300 1/South Wales Borderers (who has been recommended for a DCM) as they heard that they would be moved further west next day. They skirted the Northern edge of the latrines in the South East corner of the camp and crawled through the outside wire on the East side. They had with them a tin of English bully and each had a water bottle. They crawled across to open ground to a ruined building. Here they had to hide half an hour as a convoy of trucks (probably containing more P/W) was coming down the road and pulling in to the open space before the camp. As each one backed and turned, its lights swept across the ground where the escapers were lying. Then they made South to the wall of the town. Twice they avoided walking into German sentries as they could see that they were smoking on duty. They went near the aerodrome and then to the road to Tobruk. They intended to stop a truck going up the pass into the town, get rid of the occupants and drive as far as they could towards our lines, walking the last lap. They found a truck which had stopped on the road. Pte. Dittberner spoke to the driver in German while the others went round the back to see how many there were in it. As it was a large party they signalled to Pte. Dittberner, and made off without rousing suspicion. They waited several more hours but no more trucks came. They hid in wadis and caves for two days till an Arab took them to where Gnr. R. H. Roper, 1528857, R.A. (who has been recommended for a Mention) had been living several months. As they were very weak they decided to stay with him to build up their strength. However, news of their whereabouts reached the right quarter and they were rescued, reaching our lines on 20 August 1942. These men escaped from a back area and were willing to take considerable risks to reach our lines. They acted bravely and sensibly, though like many successful people they were lucky. It is difficult to distinguish between the three South Africans, but Sgt. Walker appeared the leader. Their initial escape required great courage and initiative, and they kept their wits about them." |
