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Author Topic: Marple 1940  (Read 4142 times)

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Re: Marple 1940
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2009, 07:35:02 AM »
The post below from 2002 didn't get any public response but Ann Hearle (Marple Local History Society), Peter and I did correspond at the time with Alan Parkinson about the refugees at Brentwood. Although we were not able to give Alan very much help he has done extremely well with his research and has now written an article entitled 'From Marple to Hay and back". This is a fascinating story, although its a bit disconcerting to read of our county's treatment of the refugees, and I though that those of you with an interest in Brentwood / MacNair Court, or just Marple's history, would be interested to read it.

Click here for a pdf copy of Alan's article: www.marple-uk.com/misc/dunera.pdf

In addition to Alan's enquiry around the same time we also received one from a gentleman in Canada who was a resident of Brentwood several times during the second world war. He remembers that on one occasion there was a young Polish airman staying there who played the piano and often entertained the residents. If only a house could tell tales eh!
Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website

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Marple 1940
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2002, 09:53:58 AM »
This is posted on behalf of Alan Parkinson from Australia, who is researching this subject. If anyone can help, please let us know.

I am interested in an episode in the early part of World War II which concerns some 2,000 or more Germans and Austrians who escaped Nazi Germany to England at the outbreak of war. After some time in England they were transported to Australia aboard HMT Dunera. While they were in England, a group was housed at Brentwood in Church Lane, Marple and it is this group which interests me.
 
I grew up in Strines and at the time, my father Robert Parkinson was a part-time (wartime) policeman attached to the Marple Police Station. The refugees were required to report at intervals to the Police, and through that my parents came to know several of the group. One of the refugees returned to Marple probably during the war and was employed in munitions work in Manchester. I can remember his name, Josef Thiele, and some of the others; Walter Zion and Paul Wolfe.
 
On arrival in Australia, the refugees were all put aboard a train and sent to Hay in the centre of New South Wales. I visited Hay a couple of weeks ago and found Josef Thiele's name in a resource book. Nothing remains of the camp which housed these people, but there is a small commemorative stone at the site. From Hay, they were all moved to Tatura in Victoria and I will be visiting Tatura in the next few weeks to further my search.
 
I will be visiting Marple again in June, and would like to follow the story a little further, to make the connection between Marple, Hay, and Tatura. I might also include something about the journey onboard the Dunera, which apparently was not a pleasant experience. Army guards on the ship were later prosecuted for plundering the refugees (Manchester Guardian 1 Oct 1940).
If you have any records which might help me to identify those who were housed in Brentwood, or can point me towards any other records which could help me in my search, could you please advise me. While I am mostly interested in finding out the names, any other pieces of information, such as on their backgrounds would be helpful and interesting.
 
I have been in contact with Marple Police Station and that led to contact with Mike Walsh of Greater Manchester Police. I also contacted Cheshire Constabulary in Chester and that led to contact with Jane Gregory of Cheshire police. It was Jane who gave me your contact details and your web address which I will visit to see if I can find anything.
 
Any assistance you can give me would be much appreciated.

Alan Parkinson


Mark Whittaker
The Marple Website