THE COVENANTER
had joined from various non- Rifle chaos, emaciated camp inmates, and of
Regiments after March’s Alpon battle. cannibalism forced on the survivors
With mixed feelings the Battalion through starvation, brought to an abrupt
embussed once more. - regretful at being halt any illusions that we might have held
summarily ousted from its ‘cushiest’billets about a pleasant few day’s detachment from
for many months, but thankful for the the Division. In addition, an increasingly all
benefit of missing drill and rehearsals for pervading and rancorous odour began to
the Parade. It was to be an eventful journey overwhelm what up to then had been a
through recently captured countryside and fresh rural atmosphere,
villages where at times, to our No precise orders yet had been given
astonishment, we were received almost as about our duties, and I am sure that it was
liberators. The German fear of the only on arrival these began to be apparent.
approaching Russian hoards, retribution The German camp guards had fled, the only
bent, heralded a fate far worse than defeat German civilians to be seen were several
and occupation by British and U.S Forces. dead bodies close to some of the looted
That this was fully justified, we were soon farm houses and cottages in the immediate
to learn. After a short halt at a German vicinity - all males, and all with throats slit
Prison camp for British Troops (I think this from ear to ear. There did not appear to be
was Fallingbostel?) where the inmates other British units in the area, and we soon
patiently awaited the arrival of learned that the front had moved on some
administrative troops to process them for miles to the North. In the Camp, typhus
repatriation, the Battalion was debussed a was rife, food supplies were non-existent,
little short of our destination - Sandbostel, a and indeed sadly, the horrific description of
name that haunts me to this day. conditions given by the highly emotional
The History of 6th (Lanarkshire) Jock of the advance party proved, if
Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) anything, to be understated. An
in World War II sets the scene admirably ... examination of the Camp revealed that it
‘information was received that a Concentration had served a dual purpose: about one third
and Prisoner of War Camp had been uncovered comprised political prisoners of various
at a place called Sandbostel, mid-way between nationalities held in an enclave, while the
Bremen and Bremerhaven, and the Battalion remainder contained Russian prisoners (I
was ordered North immediately to deal with it. use the term loosely as in addition, I seem
At first it was not fully realised what the nature to recollect there were other nationalities of
of the duties would be, but when after a day- Eastern European origin). It was essential
long drive up the cratered autobahn, they that the situation both outside and inside
eventually arrived, it became painfully obvious. the Camp had to be brought under control
By now the world is familiar with the details of at once - failure could result in the spread of
Belsen and Buchenwald, but at this time all disease, even wholesale slaughter of the
that was known of the Concentration Camp civilian population by the unguarded
was gleaned from "sensation" stories which prisoners. Urgent action by the military to
seemed too horrible to be true. In any case, no clear the camp was a first priority.
one could have been prepared for the sight, The Battalion History once more...
which greeted 6th Cameronians when they ‘Everywhere there was filth and stench and
debussed. All around was a flat desolate plain, disease and hordes of dehumanised creatures,
bounded only by downcast skies, and in the with sunken features cloaking their emaciated
centre, a vast cage, wherein seemed to be bodies in the dirty rags of their prison
confined all the bestialities that even the most uniform...’ Word of the appalling conditions
fertile imagination could conjure up, ...’ had filtered back to higher authority, and
As we neared the location, we were unannounced, the Commander of 30
joined by a distressed Jock from B Corps, the redoubtable Lieut. Gen. Brian
Company, who had preceded the Battalion Horrocks arrived. It provided the only
in a hastily assembled advance party. His glimmer of humour that could be salvaged
account of what had been found almost from this grim scenario. No one was sure
defied belief. At this stage in the war, all of that all resistance in the area had been
us had witnessed and taken part in events quelled, and that isolated pockets might not
that perforce included extreme violence and still remain. Several roadblocks
carnage. Nevertheless the halting and accompanied by slit trench defences were
garbled warning of what we were to find established for this reason, as well as for
seemed quite incredible. His report of health purposes, to control entry by non-
14
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