An 'Enemy Alien' in the Pioneer Corps

Heinz Bandman was born in Germany in 1915. He was Jewish and came to Britain in 1936 to escape Nazi persecution. At the beginning of the war he wanted to fight, but as an 'enemy alien' he was only allowed to join the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps which supported the Army but was not armed. He joined the 87th Company which was mostly made up of German Jews. The company went to France in 1940 and was eventually evacuated, though they do not seem to have been involved in any fighting. The men would have been well aware of the consequences if they were captured by the Germans and had to sign the following declaration: "I certify that I understand the risks to which my relatives and I may be exposed by my employment in the British Army outside the United Kingdom. Notwithstanding this, I certify that I am willing to be employed in any theatre of war".

In 1943 the 87th Company were stationed at Long Marston and employed in loading and unloading armament trains. They must have had some spare time as they put on a Variety Concert in the Town Hall in Leamington Spa to raise money for the Pioneer Benevolent Fund. Heinz was one of the performers.

In 1947 Heinz married Gerda Friedlander, also a German Jewish refugee who had traveled to Britain as a young teenager on the Kindertransport. Heinz must have had happy memories of Leamington Spa as he took Gerda there for their honeymoon. They both took British citizenship, and Heinz changed his name to Hugh Kenneth Bandman and was always known as Ken.

In 1948, Ken and Gerda became 'Ten Pound Poms' and emigrated to Australia. Years later, Gerda's nephew Ronnie Goldstein lived in Leamington Spa with his family.