Page 38 - QARANC Vol 18 No 1 2020

36 The Gazette QARANC Association
Not Forgotten Association
visit to Berlin and
Colditz Castle
Diane Boisson and I were lucky enough to be invited along with other retired members of the Armed Forces to join the Not Forgotten Association in September 2019 on a tour to Berlin and Colditz. Starting in Berlin we visited Charlottenburg War Memorial where we laid poppy wreaths and crosses at various headstones in memory of those that gave their lives. We also saw the headstone of AM Sinclair who was known as the great escaper from Colditz having made several attempts, but who was sadly killed by accident when he was shot on one of his attempts. The bullet entered his arm but ricocheted into his heart killing him instantly.
From there we went to the Olympic Stadium which was especially poignant for Diane. In 1990 she took part in the Berlin 25 km run which finished inside the stadium. She had brought along pictures of that special moment. Sadly, we did not have time to go into the stadium but we did recreate then and now pictures.
It was then on to Potsdam and the Glienicker Bridge which was used in the film Bridge of Spies. The men in the group, particularly the paras, were especially excited to be walking across the bridge. The bridge was used to exchange spies with Gary Powers being a famous one. Next stop was Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm. Here is where Stalin, Truman and Churchill famously met for the Potsdam Conference to discuss how to administer Germany after its unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier on 8 May 1945.
Checkpoint Charlie was our next point of call and a good opportunity
Diane Boisson and Jan Foster pay their respects to the Fallen
for photos. This was a completely different experience from when I last visited when the Berlin wall was still up. Then it was a scary atmosphere. Going from the west to the east was like going from colour into black and white and the journey across no man's land was eerie. Now stand plush hotels and apartments.
The next day we were taking on a three hour walking tour of Berlin and told what life was like in the war. The Brandenburg Gate where Hitler's HQ once stood is now a modern museum dedicated to telling the story of the war and marked by parts of the wall on its perimeter as a memorial. We went to the site of Hitler’s Bunker which is now a car park for a residential area and visited a Jewish memorial. In the evening we visited the Reichstag building which still functions as government buildings today. If only walls could talk! It was an amazing building.
Finally, on the third day we went on to Colditz, which for most was the highlight of the trip. As it was a two hour drive, we were treated to the film ‘Escape from Colditz’ to whet our appetites. We were not disappointed and I can only describe Colditz as a surreal experience. As it is now a Youth Hostel we were able to spend the night there, whilst the other is as it was in the war. That evening we had a presentation by our tour guide for the whole trip Piers Storie-Pugh, whose father was a prisoner of war at Colditz for four years. We all sat in silence and in awe as he told us his father’s stories of his experiences and escape attempts ... spellbinding.
After surviving a night in Colditz Castle we went down to breakfast.
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
The tour group outside Colditz Castle
Sitting outside in the sunshine gazing around our surroundings, we had to pinch ourselves as we couldn't actually believe where we were. We were given a tour of the castle and grounds and the escape tunnels and then taken down to the recreation area the prisoners used (not usually available to tourists) where we posed for a photo with the legend that is Colditz Castle looking down on us, watching us.
This was an unbelievable experience that will stay with us for the rest of our days. We’d like to thank The Not Forgotten Association for the work they do and the support and help they give to veterans.
Jan Foster and Diane Boisson
Diane Boisson outside Berlin Olympic Stadium reliving old memories