Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 24, 2013 1:05:14 GMT 12
I knew of Jack Hinton VC but not a lot about him, so this article was quite enlightening. It comes from the Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 91, 18 April 1945, Page 6
V.C. HINTON HAD "LAST CRACK" AT GERMANS
SOME OF OWN BACK
Advanced With U.S. Troops In Borrowed Uniform
N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 2.30 p.m. LONDON, April 17.
After spending four years as a prisoner of war and 18 months under the care of British doctors, who treated his wound, which he suffered when he won the Victoria Cross, at Kalamata, Sergeant Jack Hinton, from Colac Bay, near Invercargill, managed to get some of his own back on the Germans before he was flown to England.
Liberated when the Americans captured Muhlhausen, he "borrowed" an American uniform and went forward with the 44th Infantry, taking part in brief actions while they captured three more villages. Then an American colonel discovered Hinton was a New Zealander and sent a message saying he was to go back.
Hinton went back—helping the Americans to march 400 German prisoners for 60 kilometres. Then he caught a train to Namur, in Belgium, and travelled with 2000 Germans. Eventually he reached Brussels and was flown to England. Hinton is now staying at the Norfolk Hotel, Cliftonville.
He is thin, but in good health and, like most liberated men, is just happy to sit in the sun and rest and realise that it is really true-that he is no longer a prisoner. Like all returned men he cannot say enough of the treatment he received on his return.
Escape Nearly Succeeded
This is his story. It includes one attempted escape which so nearly succeeded. In April, 1941, when the Germans had possession of Kalamata, in Greece, they were defending the waterfront with field guns, anti-tank guns and heavy machine-guns. They had to be cleaned up before the New Zealanders could evacuate by sea. About 4 p.m. small groups of New Zealanders began to move, through the streets to attack the guns and Hinton went forward with twelve men. They were armed with rifles, bayonets, and a Bren gun.
First they put out of action a field gun and then an anti-tank gun! Fighting went on all evening and past midnight. Hinton did not know much of the other men with him, but there was one, Private Jones, from Invercargill,: whom he will never forget. "He. was one of the bravest lads I have ever seen. I would like to know what became of him," said Hinton.
Wounded By Bullet
It was about 2a.m. that Hinton was wounded. A machine-gun bullet hit him in the abdomen and went right through his buttock. The amazing thing was that it did not put him out of action for about ten minutes. "I was a bit worked up and thought it was the finish for me, and I went a bit mad for about ten minutes," he said." "I really don't remember much, of what happened." Then he "blacked-out.
When he came round again he was on the waterfront. His "cobbers" bandaged him up and he remembers being put on a stretcher and taken to a Greek cottage, in which there were New Zealand and German wounded. It was he was taken prisoner later that morning. A few hours later Hinton was taken to hospital and attended by British doctors, and three weeks later he was moved by ambulance to Athens, where he was cared for by the Greek Red Cross and Greek nuns.
Food was very short "the Germans allowed us to live," said Hinton—but had it not been for the Greeks he and the others might not have survived.
Heard He had Won V.C.
It was while there Hinton learned that he had won the Victoria Cross. A letter was brought by a Greek lady and read to him by an Australian major. "I thought somebody had made a mistake," said Hinton. "I thought all of us had been in it together, and that we had done the job of work that we were entitled to do. However, there seemed no doubt about it."
He remained in hospital for six weeks, and was then transferred to a so-called convalescent camp; only to be returned to hospital ten days later. There he remained until the end of October, when he was transferred to Salonika in an Italian hospital ship.
Three weeks were spent in barracks, "one of the worst places I have ever been in," he remarked. "The conditions were rough, the food was bad; it was a shocking place?' Eventually he left for Germany by hospital train and went to Slitz, in central Germany, where he remained until March, 1942, when he went to Badsulza transit camp.
Presented With V.C. Ribbon
It was while he was there that Hinton received the V.C. ribbon sent him by Mr. C. B. Burdekin of the New Zealand Prisoners of War Department, London. A parade was summoned and Hinton was asked his name and number by the camp commandant, which made him wonder what he had done wrong. But the men were called to attention and the commandant read out the citation in German, which was read subsequently in English by a Scottish regimental sergeant-major, who was camp leader.
In the celebration that followed Hinton was carried shoulder hign round the parade ground. His next move was to Molsdorf, but Hinton was still troubled by his wound and had to return to hospital, later going to Stadtroder for six weeks under the care of a British specialist.
By December, 1942, he was a whole man again and returned to Molsdorf. He became so fit, in fact, that he decided to attempt to escape.
On March 6, 1943, with an English sergeant named Denis Gallacher, from Leicester, he climbed over a 14-foot high barbed wire fence while friends kept a look-out for sentries. They had 60 seconds in which to get over that fence, and they made it, although Gallacher's trousers got caught up on the wire and, as Hinton says, "We made a terrific row." But they got away, walked nine kilometres, and jumped into a train wagon, hiding in the corners. There was a nasty moment when a guard peered into the truck but saw neither of them. They remained in the truck for 12 hours, then jumped another train, clambering into a covered wagon through a small opening near the roof. There they remained for a day and a half, living on their carefully stored food.
The train was going south, part of it for France and the rest for Spain, and their prospects' seemed good. But about 7 p.m. the train collided with another, and Hinton and Gallacher were flung about and bruised, while the doors and side of the-wagon were smashed.
It meant the end of their escape, for they were quickly rounded up, and the civil police charged them with sabotage. They were sent back to Molsdorf just when they were in reach of the Rhine on the French border.
It was Hinton's only attempt to escape, but he assisted in digging tunnels in Molsdorf until the camp was moved to Mulhausen in September, 1943, and became Stalag 9C. There were 17 New Zealanders in it at different times, and they and Hinton lived in a brewery which had accommodation for 350, but, at different times held up to 600 men.
The conditions were very indifferent. The quarters were cramped, the food poor and the supply of Red Cross parcels varied in quantity and finally stopped. The Germans carried out such thorough searches that it was impossible to hide wireless sets, but the prisoners kept up with the news by reading between the lines of German newspapers and by the arrival of captured airmen or men taken in Italy and Normandy.
Eventually came the news that the Americans had crossed the Rhine at Remagen, and then one day they heard gunfire. Hinton, with some others, climbed up the look-out tower in the camp and saw the battle as American armour and infantry attacked from West and East.
"Well Boys, You're Free"
"It was a very good scrap," said Hinton. "We saw the Germans bowled over and houses set on fire and we enjoyed every inch of it. We did not mind anti-tank shells that whizzed about here and there." It was' April 2 and that night, at 9 o'clock two American infantrymen walked in and said, "Well boys, you are free." There was almost a wild celebration, enjoyed by all except the German guards, who were mostly, old men.
Unfortunatety, four days previously, 400 prisoners had been marched east at the approach of the Americans, with the result that only 225 were liberated. But Hinton was one, for a doctor had declared that he was unable to march.
Then it was that he donned American uniform and "got some of his own back." Now, at Cliftonville, "Feeling a bit strange," Hinton is in the best of spirits. "It is a lovely place here. Everyone has been kind and has given us a wonderful reception," he said. If he lacks one thing it is the small medallion which still has to be sewn on his maroon V.C. ribbon, of which he is proud—and rather shy.
V.C. HINTON HAD "LAST CRACK" AT GERMANS
SOME OF OWN BACK
Advanced With U.S. Troops In Borrowed Uniform
N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 2.30 p.m. LONDON, April 17.
After spending four years as a prisoner of war and 18 months under the care of British doctors, who treated his wound, which he suffered when he won the Victoria Cross, at Kalamata, Sergeant Jack Hinton, from Colac Bay, near Invercargill, managed to get some of his own back on the Germans before he was flown to England.
Liberated when the Americans captured Muhlhausen, he "borrowed" an American uniform and went forward with the 44th Infantry, taking part in brief actions while they captured three more villages. Then an American colonel discovered Hinton was a New Zealander and sent a message saying he was to go back.
Hinton went back—helping the Americans to march 400 German prisoners for 60 kilometres. Then he caught a train to Namur, in Belgium, and travelled with 2000 Germans. Eventually he reached Brussels and was flown to England. Hinton is now staying at the Norfolk Hotel, Cliftonville.
He is thin, but in good health and, like most liberated men, is just happy to sit in the sun and rest and realise that it is really true-that he is no longer a prisoner. Like all returned men he cannot say enough of the treatment he received on his return.
Escape Nearly Succeeded
This is his story. It includes one attempted escape which so nearly succeeded. In April, 1941, when the Germans had possession of Kalamata, in Greece, they were defending the waterfront with field guns, anti-tank guns and heavy machine-guns. They had to be cleaned up before the New Zealanders could evacuate by sea. About 4 p.m. small groups of New Zealanders began to move, through the streets to attack the guns and Hinton went forward with twelve men. They were armed with rifles, bayonets, and a Bren gun.
First they put out of action a field gun and then an anti-tank gun! Fighting went on all evening and past midnight. Hinton did not know much of the other men with him, but there was one, Private Jones, from Invercargill,: whom he will never forget. "He. was one of the bravest lads I have ever seen. I would like to know what became of him," said Hinton.
Wounded By Bullet
It was about 2a.m. that Hinton was wounded. A machine-gun bullet hit him in the abdomen and went right through his buttock. The amazing thing was that it did not put him out of action for about ten minutes. "I was a bit worked up and thought it was the finish for me, and I went a bit mad for about ten minutes," he said." "I really don't remember much, of what happened." Then he "blacked-out.
When he came round again he was on the waterfront. His "cobbers" bandaged him up and he remembers being put on a stretcher and taken to a Greek cottage, in which there were New Zealand and German wounded. It was he was taken prisoner later that morning. A few hours later Hinton was taken to hospital and attended by British doctors, and three weeks later he was moved by ambulance to Athens, where he was cared for by the Greek Red Cross and Greek nuns.
Food was very short "the Germans allowed us to live," said Hinton—but had it not been for the Greeks he and the others might not have survived.
Heard He had Won V.C.
It was while there Hinton learned that he had won the Victoria Cross. A letter was brought by a Greek lady and read to him by an Australian major. "I thought somebody had made a mistake," said Hinton. "I thought all of us had been in it together, and that we had done the job of work that we were entitled to do. However, there seemed no doubt about it."
He remained in hospital for six weeks, and was then transferred to a so-called convalescent camp; only to be returned to hospital ten days later. There he remained until the end of October, when he was transferred to Salonika in an Italian hospital ship.
Three weeks were spent in barracks, "one of the worst places I have ever been in," he remarked. "The conditions were rough, the food was bad; it was a shocking place?' Eventually he left for Germany by hospital train and went to Slitz, in central Germany, where he remained until March, 1942, when he went to Badsulza transit camp.
Presented With V.C. Ribbon
It was while he was there that Hinton received the V.C. ribbon sent him by Mr. C. B. Burdekin of the New Zealand Prisoners of War Department, London. A parade was summoned and Hinton was asked his name and number by the camp commandant, which made him wonder what he had done wrong. But the men were called to attention and the commandant read out the citation in German, which was read subsequently in English by a Scottish regimental sergeant-major, who was camp leader.
In the celebration that followed Hinton was carried shoulder hign round the parade ground. His next move was to Molsdorf, but Hinton was still troubled by his wound and had to return to hospital, later going to Stadtroder for six weeks under the care of a British specialist.
By December, 1942, he was a whole man again and returned to Molsdorf. He became so fit, in fact, that he decided to attempt to escape.
On March 6, 1943, with an English sergeant named Denis Gallacher, from Leicester, he climbed over a 14-foot high barbed wire fence while friends kept a look-out for sentries. They had 60 seconds in which to get over that fence, and they made it, although Gallacher's trousers got caught up on the wire and, as Hinton says, "We made a terrific row." But they got away, walked nine kilometres, and jumped into a train wagon, hiding in the corners. There was a nasty moment when a guard peered into the truck but saw neither of them. They remained in the truck for 12 hours, then jumped another train, clambering into a covered wagon through a small opening near the roof. There they remained for a day and a half, living on their carefully stored food.
The train was going south, part of it for France and the rest for Spain, and their prospects' seemed good. But about 7 p.m. the train collided with another, and Hinton and Gallacher were flung about and bruised, while the doors and side of the-wagon were smashed.
It meant the end of their escape, for they were quickly rounded up, and the civil police charged them with sabotage. They were sent back to Molsdorf just when they were in reach of the Rhine on the French border.
It was Hinton's only attempt to escape, but he assisted in digging tunnels in Molsdorf until the camp was moved to Mulhausen in September, 1943, and became Stalag 9C. There were 17 New Zealanders in it at different times, and they and Hinton lived in a brewery which had accommodation for 350, but, at different times held up to 600 men.
The conditions were very indifferent. The quarters were cramped, the food poor and the supply of Red Cross parcels varied in quantity and finally stopped. The Germans carried out such thorough searches that it was impossible to hide wireless sets, but the prisoners kept up with the news by reading between the lines of German newspapers and by the arrival of captured airmen or men taken in Italy and Normandy.
Eventually came the news that the Americans had crossed the Rhine at Remagen, and then one day they heard gunfire. Hinton, with some others, climbed up the look-out tower in the camp and saw the battle as American armour and infantry attacked from West and East.
"Well Boys, You're Free"
"It was a very good scrap," said Hinton. "We saw the Germans bowled over and houses set on fire and we enjoyed every inch of it. We did not mind anti-tank shells that whizzed about here and there." It was' April 2 and that night, at 9 o'clock two American infantrymen walked in and said, "Well boys, you are free." There was almost a wild celebration, enjoyed by all except the German guards, who were mostly, old men.
Unfortunatety, four days previously, 400 prisoners had been marched east at the approach of the Americans, with the result that only 225 were liberated. But Hinton was one, for a doctor had declared that he was unable to march.
Then it was that he donned American uniform and "got some of his own back." Now, at Cliftonville, "Feeling a bit strange," Hinton is in the best of spirits. "It is a lovely place here. Everyone has been kind and has given us a wonderful reception," he said. If he lacks one thing it is the small medallion which still has to be sewn on his maroon V.C. ribbon, of which he is proud—and rather shy.
