Davison Brenen - Escape from a POW camp

Davison Brenen was born in South Shields on the 24th of February, 1920. Aged 15 he was working at Whitburn Colliery as a datal worker, the wages were poor so he decided to join the army.

He lied about his age and at 16 years and four months he joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery. When he was 18 he was sent to Egypt in 1938. In 1942 he went to fight in Eritrea against the Italian army, he was attached to the Indian army in the Sixth Indian Artillery Division. The Italians had fortified hill positions and used to roll grenades down the hill when the infantry attacked, so they used their Howitzers against them. The Italian army, surrendered in Eritrea.

Davison was then posted to Libya and they were given new 25 pounder field guns but he said the British army looked like Bostock and Wombwell's Circus.

Rations were cooked on a Benghazi cooker, ie a petrol tin cut in half with sand in a bottom and petrol poured into it and set alight to. Rations were tinned corned beef, streaky bacon, hard tack biscuits and jam.

During one battle his gun team were badly hit, overrun by Italian troops and they were taken prisoner. He was posted missing in action and spent some time a prisoner in an Italian prisoner of war camp, but during a British air raid over the Italian prisoner of war camp, the fences were blown down and he escaped and he walked across enemy lines back to the British side.

He then had a "cushy number" as a General's driver and during his time off had 57 tattoos on his body. He joined the Palestinian Police in 1942 he said Arabs were friendly. In 1943 he was posted to Cyprus, then Syria in June, 1943, in February, 1944, he was sent back to the UK.

He married his childhood sweetheart Francis on return and was de-mobbed in November, 1946. He got a job at Whitburn Colliery worked there until it closed in June, 1968. He received four medals for his service in World War Two, the 1939-1945 Star, the Africa Star, the Defence medal and the 1939-1945 General Service Medal.

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