Almost ninety years ago to the day, 20 year old L/Cpl Leonard Stafford was captured as part of a massive German offensive which decimated many of the allied trenches situated within northern France. The Germans hoped that  by launching an unparalleled attack on the Allies, they would be taken by surprise, and this would essentially end the war at a time where the Germans looked on increasingly likely to surrender.

The German artillery showered the trenches with an astounding one million shells in five hours which was followed with a ground attack by Germany’s most distinguished storm troopers. It was at this point that the young L/Cpl Stafford was taken prisoner along with twenty one thousand other British troops.

Ninety years later, the true horrors of the ordeal are being realised with the discovery of Stafford’s diaries, which give a shocking insight into the eight months he spent at the hands of the enemy.

The harrowing synopsis describes the inhumane conditions which were part of every day life for these British troops, and the work which they were made to undertake to aid the German war effort. Stafford tells of excruciatingly long days laying railway lines and repairing roads with token amounts of food and no access to washing facilities. He describes the fact that numerous troops were “breaking out in sores and boils all over them” – whilst others were either killed or wounded as a result if bombs unknowingly placed by the Allies.

In a rare interview with Chad, Stafford’s daughter, Marion Towle spoke about the pride which the diaries elicit for her and the fact that the “precious” diary helped her to gain an understanding into her father’s past.

“We knew that he’d been shot and was a prisoner but he didn’t talk about it in detail” Towle stated

This is a well known trait of many war heroes such as Stafford – the pain of recollection far outweighs any present day glory and for this reason we must value all written artefacts such as the diary discovered here, and treat them with as much objectivity as humanely possible.

Stafford was freed from captivity when the guns fell silent on 11th November 1918 and was soon to move to the village of Blidworth –becoming an estate manager at the local colliery’s housing dept.

He was known to be a well liked and humble man and following his death in 1959, an army of mourners saturated Mansfield Road to offer their final respects.

It has been a pleasure learning about this true hero in every sense of the word.

Leonard Wentworth Stafford 1898-1959

RIP

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