Major General JN Robbs “Jack”

Not at Home for Christmas

Captured airmen, first interrogated at transit camps, the best-known being Dulag Luft at Frankfurt were then mainly assigned to a Luftwaffe administered Stalag Luft, the best known being the infamous Stalag Luft III “Great Escape” camp 160 km from Berlin. Ordered by Herman Goering to be escape proof and, built on a sandy site intended to make tunnelling very difficult, the first section opened in early 1942. By December 1944, Stalag III’s 24-hectare site held approximately 11 000 “POW’s” in six compounds enclosed by 8 km of barbed wire. American airmen were in the majority while the estimated 3 800 RAF and Allied “POW’s” included at least 25 South African’s serving in the RAF, 30 Rhodesians, many with South African connections and almost 100 SAAF airmen, their senior officer being Lt Colonel JN Robbs DFC. Several spent over three years as “POW’s” 1 and approximately 10 000 RAF and Allied airmen were held in other German Camps.

Not at Home for Christmas

Most of the South African North Compound “POW’s” were back in England when the May 12th “Pretoria News” reported on comments by Lt Colonel Robbs the senior SAAF officer in Stalag III.

Not at Home for Christmas

Lt Colonel Jack Robbs DFC attended King Edward’s School several years after Filmer, remained in the SAAF, and retired as a Major General in the 1970’s. A few of his SAAF contemporaries were “POW’s”, but he was unwilling to share his Stalag III and wartime experiences, “We often used to talk to him about the war, but he would not talk about it. It was like trying squeeze blood from a stone. All his Air Force buddies did likewise”.