William RG Austin Returning Home

Debra's father joined the TA in May 1939. His name was William RG Austin in the Royal Artillery Regiment (Army Number 1454874). When war broke out he was in the first battalion to go to Norway. He then did a campaign in Egypt and Africa. Later, Debra's father was involved in the battle of Crete, on an anti-aircraft gun. He was shot and wounded in the chest, then captured and became a P.O.W. He was given a chance to escape by Yugoslavian patriots.

He was taken to the P.O.W. camp where there was no food and some of the German soldiers were brutal. From there he was repatriated to Poland in a prison in Stalog 8D. He ended up spending 2.5 years there. There was later a P.O.W. exchange, and he was taken back to Scotland after a period of time in hospital.

When he returned to his family, he couldn't eat because he had been starving for so long. After a slow recovery, he met Debra's mother and was demobilised in 1943.