Themes
JM D’Arcy-Levy
Article Highlights
-
Prisioner of War
Prisoner of War
Levy's service records tell us that after his forced landing the Germans took him prisoner.
During his captivity he wrote postcards to Miss Lylie Cressingham and received letters back from her. These cards give us insight into his time as a prisoner of war. However, because all his letters were censored the information about the camps themselves is limited.
Postcard sent by J M d'Arcy Levy to Lylie Cressingham when he was a german prisoner of war during WW1. This shows the German stamp and postmark.
On the card below he wrote:
'I expect you will be able to make a pretty shrewd guess . . . I'm afraid it will have to be guess work as I am not allowed to say anything.'
Postcard sent by J M d'Arcy Levy to Lylie Cressingham when he was a german prisoner of war during WW1. Card is dated 30th August 1916. In this card he writes that has been given some German newspapers. (FAA)
On one of the other cards that he sent, half of the words have been blanked out with black paint.
From the cards we know that:
-
The Germans moved him several times to Heidelberg, Crefeld and Brandenberg.
-
Levy spent several months in solitary confinement in reprisal for the treatment of German prisoners
-
They gave him German newspapers to read.
-
From reading the cards it is clear that Levy received regular letters from a wide number of people at home.
Postcard sent by J M d'Arcy Levy to Lylie Cressingham when he was a german prisoner of war during WW1. The card is dated 12th August 1915. In this card he writes that the charges against him for striking a sentry have been dropped.
Levy remained a POW until the end of the war in November 1918. His service record reports that he 'would have been promoted had he not been [a] Prisoner of War.' However, Levy is mentioned for his valuable service whilst in captivity.
Follow the link to see more of D'Arcy-Levy's postcards or to read the transcript.
To find out what happened to Levy after World War One, select Next
