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Hello everyone in the Forum. My name is Jim. I live in Yorkshire. I joined the Forum to read a lot of well knowledge information from people who are happy to share their knowledge and pass it on to people like myself who could take years looking for answers to what seems a silly question to ask that could be answered in minutes. My father was a sergeant in the 6th Battalion Black Watch during the war, went back to the pit and reenlisted again and was posted B.O.A.R. He met my mum who was German and who served in the Ack Ack during her time in the war. I only found out six months ago that my mum was on the Wilhelm Gustloff on the fateful night of 30th January 1945. Many thanks for all your knowledge and any help that I may need in the future.

 

Hello Jim! Nice to meet you and welcome here!

Your mother was on the Gustloff? Wow! She was a lucky one to survive that! If you have any stories about that, I for one would love to hear it!

Enjoy yourself here!

 

Hi Jim, Welcome at this homely place!

 

Hello and thanks for the welcome Darren. Sadly not a lot of details to add but will send you the details how I found out at the weekend.

 

Thank you for your welcome Ulrich.
Thanks for your welcome JW.
Thank you for your welcome Greybeard and the link, I will have a good look at the link at the weekend.

 

Hello Darren, sorry for the late reply. When I was about twelve I came home from school at lunch time and my mum had her cardboard box out that she kept all her papers in. We got talking about things and she mentioned that she had been torpedoed twice and had been in the Baltic twice. Being twelve I didn't even know where the Baltic was and I didn't ask the ten thousand questions I would love to ask her now. I found out this June she had been on the Wilhelm Gustloff. I do remember mum saying that she was in the water with her big coat and boots on at the time.
I am doing a family history file on all the family and spoke to my sister in June this year and mentioned the Baltic to her and she said that my mum had been over in Germany for a holiday many years back and she asked mum if she wanted to go swimming to the local swimming baths, but mum flatly refused. Knowing mum used to swim a lot when she was young, as we have pictures at the beach with her and her friends, for her then to say that she had had enough swimming in the past didn't make sense, but thats when she mentioned that she was on the Wilhelm Gustloff on January 30 1945. Mum told my sister that she did not want to go into the swimming pool to get out of the cold, as it was cold on the ship. She also said that she had jumped into the water with her coat and boots on and had to swim for her life. My mum died in 1990.
I found out yesterday that she was in the Marine Helferin, it says on her papers Funker something to do with Radio Operator/Assistant I think. Then in the Deutsch Feld Post M23501. Lastly Marine Flak Battery M.U221. I now need to try and find out where these places are if I can. We don't know the other reason she was swimming in the Baltic yet! I wonder now if my mum ever knew the outcome of the people who where in the swimming pool at the time or knew the overall tragedy details????

 

Hi and welcome

 

Howdy! from deep in the heart of Texas!

Belasar

 

Many thanks for your welcome Nigel and Belasar.

 

A very well informed forum on hte Kriegsmarine and they speak English too as well. Am a member of a couple years and the info's throughout are very impressive

post info what you have on your Mutti there and am sure you will receive an educated response

I for one will be interested as I have a bit of info

Forum Marinearchiv

 

Thank you Erich for the link. Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut! so that would help. My sister will be over from Germany on the 10th of this month and will be fetching the paperwork over with her that she has just found out about my mum and her military service. I received the information on the phone but can't wait to see the booklet that it's in. I will register when I have seen the booklet I don't want to send the wrong information. Again thank you.

 

make sure you ask about the Deutsche Feldpost nummer as that will indicate the unit she was in from that particular nummer.

I have a friend serving in the KM Flak Batterie 8.8cm at Kiel and then later on the isles off Finland in the summer/Fall of 44 before the movement back to the Baltic and the retreat and the escape of Hela Bay and Danzig shoreline. His brother escaped on the last ship out the Saxonwald and while sailing by the tragedy of the Gustloff the crew threw out several memorial wreathes to the fallen.

you are starting to see my interest now I gather ~

As a navy helper she studied or was trained on radio (Funk) she could send out and receive ship or land personell communiques'. Interesting of note I have a customer that was a Luftwaffe Funker, she was on the Ost front with a German Night fighter group - NJG 100, she would pic up the signals of Soviet night aircraft and radio in the co-ordinates to the Ju 88G-6 crews for interception, as with the insanity of the Baltic runs so it was with her night fighter unit always heading towards Germany as the Soviets gained mile after mile in 1945.

keep us posted please

Erich ~

 

Yes, I will ask about the Feld Post number thank you Erich. As this is all new to me, this is where I ask the silly questions. How long was it after the tragedy when they threw the memorial flowers to the fallen? It's me trying to visualize things in my head. You say regarding your Navy helper about being trained on the radio was it done on land or ship?
I have only one picture with my mum in field uniform could I send it and tell me what you see. Thank you for the above information and will keep you informed.

 

my customer was trained on land for the airforce night fighter unit. your mum I was referring to "navy helper' so am assuming she was on land with a Coastal unit and then later the Flak unit. she probably wore a field grey uniform of some sort for women but I am presuming.

can you place a scan of her on this thread ?

the Saxonwald sailed past the tragedy the first of week of May 45 on it's way to Copenhagen to surrender.

 

Welcome to htis fine forum Jim, I see you have already met some of our finest rogues

 

Thanks for posting her story Jim. Its kind of amazing that she did survive considering she had a heavy coat and boots to weigh her down! Very lucky lady!

 

Thank you for the welcome Skipper! A nice welcome from all above and good information.

 

Darren, I had a lucky mum and dad but my dads story is another thread.