| Accession Number | P02551.008 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white |
| Physical description | Black & white |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
Czechoslovakia. 1942. The hole used as a refuge by Private Lawrence Phillip Saywell, 17th Brigade ...
Description
Czechoslovakia. 1942. The hole used as a refuge by Private Lawrence Phillip Saywell, 17th Brigade Company, 26403 Private Sydney O. C. (Mac) Kerkham of New Zealand and the two Russians they escaped from Kommando E7010 (a prison camp in Bohemia) with. They were sheltered by local villagers and in return offered to assist the Czech partisans in their sabotage operations. Private Saywell was murdered - shot in the head by a German SS Patrol on 8 May 1945 (VE Day). He is buried in the Evangelical Cemetery in Miretin, Czechoslovakia. Five months after his death, a memorial was erected in his honour by the "grateful inhabitants of the village of Miretin". In November 1945, the President of the Czechoslovak Republic awarded Private Saywell the Czechoslovak Military Cross for his "brave and eminent services to our State in the battle for liberation".