South Yorkshire Times, September 16th 1944
Hit Mine After Escape
Bolton Man’s Bad Luck
From a hospital bed in Italy, Lance-Cpl. Samuel Buxton wrote to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. Buxton, 59, Lowfield Road, Bolton, telling them how three men taken prisoner by the Germans – himself and two pals of his regiment, endured three months imprisonment and further moths wandering aa fugitives before reaching the British lines.
“It was March 14th that I was taken prisoner in the battle for the Anzio beachhead. There were three of us who were pals; myself, Lance-Cpl. Eddie Copley, of Doncaster and Lance-Cpl. Tom Bray, also of Doncaster. We were kept prisoners in Rome for three months but when the Allies were moving up towards Rome, the Germans decided to transfer us further north. It was during this transfer that we escaped. We were all put in a bus with three German guards. The three of us were sitting in the rear of the bus and waited our chance. I had a small knife which I had managed to keep and it was with this that we forced open the rear door of the bus. Then we made the jump. The date was June 14th, just three months to the day that we were taken prisoner.”
“While we were trying to get back to our own lines, we lived off the Italians, some of them vey good to us, but we knew we could not take chances with them and we had to keep a sharp eye on them all the time, and we had some very narrow escapes. Some day I will be able to tell you about them, and laugh at them, but just now we are not allowed. Anyway, we got back to our lines on August 3rd and it was then that I had my first cup of tea for over six months.”
Here in apparent safety fate took a turn in what had been hitherto a story of fortitude, determination, and good fortune. The men were given a lorry in which to get back to their unit. The lorry hit a land mine. Lance-Cpl. Buxton sustained wounds in the chest and face. Both his pals were injured. All three are in hospital “When I am well again, I will be coming home for good and so will my pals,” the letter ends.
Lance-Cpl. Buxton, formerly a haulage hand at Barnburgh Main Colliery. He joined up four years ago and had fought in North Africa. His brother A/B Neville Buxton (22) is serving with the Navy.