Bruton, Frederick Lance (Captain, b.1916 - d.1994)

Collection relating to the Second World War service of 340025 (VX5865) Captain Frederick Lance Bruton, 2/7 Australian Infantry Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force, Greece and Germany, 1941-1942.

Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of one diary of Captain Frederick Lance Bruton, containing entries dated between 1 June 1941 and 9 December 1942. It covers the period of his capture by the Germans on Crete and internment in various prisoner of war camps in Europe. In his diary, Captain Bruton writes about the surrender of the Allied forces on Crete on 1 June 1941, being transported to a prisoner of war camp, being transported to mainland Greece via airplane, being housed in unhealthy conditions, crafting board games, travelling by train to a transit camp, hearing rumours about the war, daily routine, healing from injuries, travelling through Europe to a prisoner of war camp in Germany, details of daily rations, sending letters home, attending church parades and communion, a lack of tobacco products in the camp, guidelines for sending and receiving mail, writing letters home, obtaining supplies from the canteen, having his first sip of beer for months, feeling perpetually hungry, playing poker and other card games, experiencing air raids, rainy weather, playing basketball, moving to a different camp, receiving red cross parcels, pooling his food with another prisoner, seeing snow, breaking his ribs during a game of football, receiving letters, changing camps again, and heightened security due to several escape attempts. This diary also contains an Oliver Twist card, a list of 2/7 Australian Infantry Battalion personnel, names and addresses of fellow prisoners, a poem by a fellow prisoner, R A Christie [identity unknown], and detailed notes on the capitulation of Crete.