How Keira Knightley’s Great-Uncle Survived as a POW
Actress Keira Knightley meets her cousin, Brian, to read excerpts from his father Andrew’s memoir about his World War II service. Andrew was the younger brother of Keira’s grandmother, Jan, and was serving in the Royal Air Force when his plane was shot down over Germany in 1943. First reported missing in action, Andrew was held as a prisoner of war for two years.
Read Transcript
To find out what happened next to Andrew, I'm meeting his son, and my distant cousin, Brian.
-Hello.
-Keira!
How are you?
-Brian!
I'm very well.
-Come in, come in.
-Thanks.
We've never spoken about this chapter in our family history.
-Now, wait a minute, you've got lots of documents on the table.
-Yes, I have.
-That's very exciting.
What's the telegram you've got over there?
-This is a telegram indicating that my father has been- has been found.
Is- is no longer registered as missing.
-Right.
Okay, it says: "Important.
"According to telegram from International Red Cross, "quoting German information, your son, Sergeant Williams, "previously reported missing, is now a prisoner of war.
Reports state he was captured on 12th March 1943."
Wow.
It's very strange 'cause in a way, this must have- this must have been such a huge relief.
-Yeah.
-At least you know he's alive.
-Yeah.
There's some pictures of the camp that shows what the main- the main camp on the Polish border was like.
-[pshhh] -And I've got an excerpt from his memoir.
Would you like me to?
-Yes, please, I want you to read it.
-Talk that one through, right?
-Yeah, that'd be lovely.
-"The worst thing about being in prison was the fact "that you had no idea how long you were going to be there, "or what would happen to you if the Germans won the war.
"That and the thought you might never see your family again.
"There were things that made you depressed.
"I used to stand inside the mesh fence and- "and circle my eyes with my fingers, "so that I could see the sky and the land outside the camp, "without having to look through the wire, so that I could pretend that I was free."
-That's an extraordinary thing, isn't it?
Andrew was held in appalling conditions for over 18 months.
But in 1945, as Russian troops advanced into Germany, Nazi soldiers evacuated the camp.
They forced Andrew and hundreds of P.O.W.s to march 600 miles west.
-"The weather was terrible, "and we soon became weak from lack of food and sleep.
"I believe it was one of the coldest winters for 25 years.
"The march lasted from the 22nd of January, "to the 22nd of March, 1945.
"And then, "American tanks appeared.
They'd broken through.
"We went out of our hut to welcome them.
"I remember staggering over to a wall... [laughs] You read the last bit.
-"I remember staggering over to a wall "and leaning back against it, "sliding down to the ground and crying.
"We'd finally been released.
"I was only about seven stone by this time, "and I'd thought we were all going to die.
Andrew Williams."
Whew.
