The British Army, with many Canadians being ‘the first in,’ had discovered thousands of people that needed urgent critical aid.
238 miles away, having crossed the Rhine, the three gun battery’s of the 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the Royal Artillery was tasked with defending the newly built pontoon bridges at Mehr, Mariebaum and Bislich. Freshly re-innoculated in February 1945, somewhere, someone decided that the regiment, despite no medical training or experience, should be the ones to go to Belsen. They covered the distance, through enemy held territory, with the back-up of promised RAF cover in just 22 hours.
The 113th weren’t medically trained they were simply chosen as available manpower.
Conditions were appalling yet the unit, camped just outside the wire. Two gun batteries worked throughout the day from 5am until dark, one in the men’s camp, one in the women’s, the third battery was guard duty at night. Their first day in the camp was 18th April, 1945.
Tasks included, security, transportation, scrubbing huts, dusting internees with a powerful pesticide Typhus killer, cooking suitable foods and suppling fresh water. Elements of the unit headed to local towns to requisition beds, clothes, pots and pans and made over a 100 cots for new-born babies. The unit helped taking out internees with, who could be saved, to be scrubbed clean. They organised the burial of the dead. There were thousands of dead bodies around the camp in various states of decomposition and, despite the liberation, the death rate was 500 a day.
They remained in camp until every living internee was evacuated to a nearby barracks, converted to a hospital, or when every single body was buried. Between 1941 and 1945 historians suggests 70,000 died at the site. To this day, nobody knows how many people are buried at Belsen.
By 19th May the evacuation of the original Belsen concentration camp was complete. On the 21st there was a ceremonial burning of the last hut.
Shortly after, the 113th LAA left Belsen, forever.
Medical student, Michael Hargrave, writing in his diary, Saturday May 26th.
“Our work at Belsen had now come to an end. The Light Ack-Ack had left a couple of days ago, going off about 8 o’clock in the morning with no-one to send them off. We had not realised that they were going until they had gone when it was too late. It was a great pity because they had done an immense amount of work for the camp.”
The unit were there every day, including VE Day. Many would suffer with illness from upset stomachs, dysentry, nausea, some had mild symptoms of Typhus. They carried on.
At the time, it was important to record and film Belsen for war crimes. The Sam Mendes film, for the 80th Anniversary ‘What They Found’ available on the BBC iPlayer, uses some of this film which features a number of personnel from the 113th, including a speaking part “I know, personally, what I’m fighting for,” by 113th LAA, gunner James Illingworth. In addition photographs, including the hut burning, also features members of the unit.
Mass grave markers and two large memorial signs (one in English and one in German) were produced by signwriter, Reg Price, from the 113th LAA. Reg is my grandfather.
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Very few would ever mention Belsen to their families. All would suffer nightmares, with what we call now PTSD. History has documented the wonderful people, the medical staff, volunteers and personnel that went to Belsen but the 113th role has largely been overlooked.
So a new online archive to name and pay tribute to all service personnel (included both the 113th LAA and other units) who were involved with the liberation and huge humanitarian effort.
On the 80th anniversary, the archive would like to learn about your relatives.
Please email liberator@belsen.co.uk or visit www.belsen.co.uk thank you.