I thought I would die a prisoner (From The Northern Echo)
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I thought I would die a prisoner
9:24am Tuesday 6th November 2007 in Veterans' Stories
HERO'S TALES: John Jeffries tells his part in the ill-fated battle for Arnhem, in which he was captured
A PARACHUTE Regiment wireless operator who was shot as he dropped into Holland will tells his story The Northern Echo website today. You can watch the video here
John Jeffries is the latest former soldier to recount his wartime experiences for Veterans' Stories, an online project for Remembrance Day.
Mr Jeffries was seriously injured taking part in Operation Market Garden - the ill-fated battle for Arnhem, Holland, in 1944.
Mr Jeffries, 85, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, was captured and taken to a Dutch hospital still carrying his weapons, which he abandoned behind a radiator.
He was then taken on a stretcher to a German prisoner of war camp. He managed to escape, but was recaptured before being freed by the US Army.
He was treated with kindness and brutality by his German captors.
Mr Jeffries describes his time in captivity as the darkest of his life and admits making promises to himself that he never kept after being released.
He said: "It was definitely the worst part of my life and I was an orphan for the first 13 years of my life - nothing at all relates to being a prisoner of war and having no hope.
"You think, I'm here forever and I'll die here'."
