Ok, its dawned on me that the photo's do not tell you where etc.
Right, the memorial photo's were at Buchenwald concentration camp.
Why were we there ?
If you remember the film, the great escape, 50 P.O.W's were murdered by mostly being shot and some of the survivors sent back to the stalag and the rest were sent to the concentration camp and there they were to observe horrors etc that were like in Bosnia in the 90's....
Now, in 1992 i was in Berlin and it filtered down to us in Berlin from MOD london that an ex Sqn Ldr whom was interned there and said that the last time any brits went to pay their respects to those that were murdered at Buchenwald was in 1947 and now the wall had fallen, had anyone from the military been back ?
The answer was no, so, the wheels were put in motion and hence we did a service in 1992. Now, bering in mind, east germany was broke and the autobahns were last repaired pre 1945 !
There were a big group of us in 92 and to cut a long story short, we missed the 11 o'clock timing and did not get there until nearly 1300 !

So, the following year, 1993, the year that the photo's on here show, we were told to set off the day before and slum it in an ex east german hotel !
Well, our thoughts were, "holy sh*t, what sort of a doss hole will we be dossing in" ?
Bearing in mind that the wall had not long come down, east germany did not have the money to build nice new buildings etc.
We took 'green maggots' just in case but when we got to the east german hotel in Weimar, it turned out to be really posh !
We learnt that it was an ex STASI place so hence we had nice digs.

When we got to the camp, i said to the lads as we were walking towards the main gate, "listen and also look for birds flying over the camp" ?
They did this and we passed through the gates and entered the camp itself. It was so quite and we watched 2 pigeons flying towards the camps barbed wire fence and as the got right close up to it, they turned around and flew the other way ! The guys said ; "how did you know they were going to do that " ? I told them that at Belsen, it was the same thing, all animals avoid the camps. Its like they have a 6th sense !

So, we got prepared for the parade and the bugler was a lad called Chris (didnt get his surname) from the QLR, a handfull of RAF chaps and George and myself were there on behalf of the RBL.
George told me a some stories about the camp, how all the prisoners were treated etc.
Jews, Brits, Aussies, Canadian pow's, russian pow's, free masons, poofs, relatives of the german soldiers whom tried to kill hitler, etc were all there just before we started our service.
We did the service, the RAF photographer took the photo's of us doing it and later they were sent to the Sqn Ldr, berlin bulletin, etc etc
What i found odd was that all the ss buildings were intact and being used as offices etc.
The prisoners huts were pulled down after the war !
Also, just after we did our service, George spotted some people who looked like they were about to conduct a memorial service too, so George and i walked over to them and asked, offered, to do a join service etc.
Now as true as i am sat here, this is what we were told by these people.
We found out these people were jews and get this, the rabbi said to George and i, only jews were killed here, go away !
Well, you could have knocked us down with a feather. George, whom speaks fluent german said, what about the other prisoners etc, but no, this rabbi stuck to his guns that only jews were murdered there !
We walked away from them to join the others who were looking around and told them what had happened, they too were gob smacked !

The camp still had the 'ovens' where they got rid of the bodies of the prisoners.
We went to the deathroom below the crematorium it to see what the museum's curator was going to show us and talk to us about it and George translated it all for us.
The building was an awful place. Prisoners were hung up onto metal hooks and strangled to death. After that, they were sent upstairs to be put in the ovens.
I have been to many of these camps but this was my 2nd most terrible camp to be in.
Belsen, there was not the buildings etc like the camps in the old east had.
My worst camp has to be Ravensbrück, the womens prison. I tell you what, i dont give a hoot who or what you are, this place will have you leaving with moist eyes, trust me.
The things that they did to the women, well, it does not bear thinking about. Bless their hearts.

Back to Buchenwald, after the ovens building, we went to where the ss boss had his office. The one sick thing that sticks in my mind was that on his desk he had a human skull, converted into a desk lamp. I was lost for words like the others, and it reminded me of another camp, Oranienburg / Sachsenhausen concentration camp as that place had, in the ex prisoners huts, human hair, stacked high up inside (behind glass windows) and also staked high were glasses. Tons and tons of them, all belonging to the prisoners that were murdered there ! In another hut, shoes, again piled high, suit cases etc etc....god what an awful bloody place again.....
Right, so, after looking in the mortuary, ovens etc etc we were led by the curator to the main gate. Whist we were walking, we were told of the guard towers that were still standing but again, no birds would fly over !
We got to the main gate and we looked around the building on either side and were told by the curator than women were kept in these cells and, well, i wont tell you what they had to endure, the poor mare's.
In the cells, prisoners, in the winter, had the radiators turned off, and in the summer, turned on full blast !
So, after that we walked out of the camp and saw the ss barracks still standing and we walked a short way to the rail head,
The railway was built by the prisoners, they died laying track and building the station. The line, i think, was about 8 miles from the main line, and after they did this, they were transported by train.
There was a factory near by, making ammo, parts for V1 and V2 rockets and the allies knew this and had to bomb the factory. I am unsure how many were killed during the bombings but i do belive that not many were as the RAF knew that prisoners worked there.
Buchenwald, i dont think nobody will ever know the real numbers that were murdered, killed there.
If anyone ever goes there, please remember the allied servicemen that were murdered / killed there. Like most things now, its old news and nobody of todays generation seems to care anymore what happened......
May they all R.I.P