A number of items belonging to S/Sgt Idwal Davies, comprising four photographs, a booklet and his identity tag. Davies was the contributor of a Welsh article in 'Cymro', a magazine produced by the 'Cymric Club' at that camp (now NLW MS 22424F).
A photograph depicting a desert scene, sent by Idwal Davies from the Western Desert, August 1941, to Mrs Davies [being either his wife or his mother] at Brynglas, Rhos, Wrexham.
Address panel of a letter to Idwal Pugh, at Stalag IVB, from his brother David (Dai), [postmark illegible]. The contents of the letter (not included) indicate that he had been a prisoner for some time as there is no element of surprise in the letter, concentrating as it does on news of family and friends.
A hand-written programme for a P.S.A. [Pleasant Sunday Afternoon] concert held on 25 June [1944] at Stalag IVB, in which Emrys W. Evans was the tenor soloist. The Chairman was fellow Cymric Club member Idwal Davies.
A printed map of mainland Europe, dated 30 June 1944, produced by the Red Cross & St John War Organisation, showing the locations of the principal prisoner of war camps holding British and Commonwealth soldiers. The map was owned by Emrys W. Evans’s mother at Caernarfon. Evans has later traced in ink the route of his journey through Germany, from his capture near Hamburg on 17 August 1943, through the interrogation centre for airmen at Dulagluft, to his final destination at Stalag IVB near the river Elbe.
A photograph of a boxing match at Stalag IVB, [July 1944], between 'Taffy' Jones (or 'Billy Price') of Conwy, Caernarvonshire (left) and Ameerun ('Smiling Kid'), an Allied soldier from the Philippines, mentioned in Cymro, 17 July 1944 (see NLW MS 22424F, f. 32).
Hand-written and typescript orders of Covenant Services, 16 January 1944 and 7 January 1945 respectively, used by Methodist worshippers at Stalag IVB. Emrys W. Evans, although not yet an ordained minister, led many services at the camp.
Digital images, [2009], of papers, 1943-1945, of F/Sgt Emrys W. Evans, relating to his incarceration at Stalag IVB, including letters, photographs, programmes, posters and personal documents. The original documents were lent by him to the Library in 2009 to be digitized. Also included are photographs of Evans, 1991 (with Idwal Davies) and 2009.
A photograph of cast members and orchestra of 'Mexican Gold', an original show produced at the 'Empire Theatre', Stalag IVB in January-February 1945. The female roles are played by male prisoners, including the role of 'Marquita Alvez', played by ballad-tenor Emrys W. Evans (in profile, underneath the hanging basket). The space below the stage in this theatre was used for the concealment of maps and other escape equipment.
A hand-written poster for a P.S.A. [Pleasant Sunday Afternoon] concert held on 25 June [1944] at Stalag IVB, in which Emrys W. Evans was the tenor soloist. The Chairman was fellow Cymric Club member Idwal Davies.
A photograph, 4 April 1944, of the funeral, with full military honours, of F/Sgt J. Jones ('Taffy') D.F.M. (?originally from Treorchy, Rhondda), a founder member of the Cymric Club at Stalag IV. Jones was shot dead by a German Unteroffizier during a night-time curfew whilst attempting to steal coal from the camp stores. Welsh soldiers are on the left in the picture, and the service is conducted by Church of England Padre Samuel ('Sammy') Day. The Unteroffizier who shot F/Sgt Jones is in charge of the German salute party.
The contents list, stamped 4 November 1943, accompanying the Red Cross parcel sent to Emrys W. Evans by his mother for Christmas 1943. It was received in May 1944.
A photograph of Emrys W. Evans and Idwal Davies, former members of the Cymric Club at Stalag IVB, outside the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, May 1991, after verifying the authenticity of the Library’s copies of Cymro, the Cymric Club magazine, to which they both contributed.
A prisoner of war identity tag belonging to Idwal Davies at Stalag IVB. One half of a tag would be sent to the Red Cross in Geneva in the event of a prisoner’s death. These tags were regarded as an essential form of identification if a prisoner were captured during an escape attempt. Escapees in Germany were liable to be shot as spies if the tag could not be produced.
