Jan Kitchin, Ernie Reed

CAPTURED after fighting for his country, imprisoned in a Nazi war camp in Italy, before escaping and having to live off the land – hiding from the Germans.

John Stewart Wibberley (known as Jack)

Not many people alive today would know what it was like to live through such volatile conditions.

Well that’s what WGC’s Jan Kitchin thought as she begun her quest about her deceased father’s, John Stewart Wibberley (known as Jack), time as a bombardier in the Royal Artillery and then as prisoner of war (POW) during World War Two.

Little did she know, however, a man within the same town could reveal exactly how life was for a POW in 1940s Italy – and as a member of the Royal Artillery – after he experienced it himself.

And this week Jan met 90-year-old Ernie Reed after she put in a request for help to the WGC Royal British Legion.

Ernie Reed, Jan Kitchin

The Graysfield resident told the WHT meeting Ernie had been an invaluable experience before she heads out to follow her father’s footsteps by touring Italy to visit the remains of the six prison camps he was in.

“Sadly my father died in 1958 when I was only 11, so I can’t ask him what that life was like,” she said.

“I requested his war papers last year when I retired and have since visited the National Archives and read reports written by servicemen who were in some of those camps, which have filled in some details for me. However, it’s not the same as speaking to someone. And meeting Ernie has been absolutely terrific.

“I have very few memories of what my father told me, so to hear it through someone who actually lived as a POW and hearing the stories of what happened has really given me a picture of what it was like.

“It has made what little I knew really come to life and it seems from what Ernie has said the Italian prisons were quite relaxed in comparison to others.”

During their meeting the duo discovered Ernie and John’s paths were very closely matched.

They both served and were caught at Tobruk, North Africa.

While Ernie was only kept in the one Italian prison, just like John, he was also left to fend for himself – living off the fields, following the capitulation of Italy and the vanishing of the prison guards.

John, after being moved from camp to camp across the country, however obviously escaped.

“My dad must have been extremely brave,” Jan said.

“I’ve heard about how he and a friend made a dash over the wire, perhaps during the siesta time, and ran to the fields.

“They would have had to live off the land, before thankfully they were taken in by a family, who must have risked so much to have them there.

“Somehow he later rejoined the Allies in southern Italy, before being re-posted to Clacton to continue serving in the heavy-anti aircraft squadron.”

Jan, who is learning Italian, will be hoping for further discoveries as she sees what remains of the former prison camp sites (one still known to be standing) during her tour of Italy.