Private George F Malbon

George Fraser Malbon was the son of John and Ann Malbon, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and the husband of Doris Malbon, of Hanley.

After volunteering for airborne forces, Private Malbon took part in parachute training course 16 at RAF Ringway. The course lasted from 22 - 29 June 1942. Upon successful completion of the course, Pte Malbon was posted to 2nd Parachute Battalion, The Parachute Regiment.

He saw action with his unit in North Africa and Italy.

George was reported as missing in action on 30 Nov 1942. He was captured by the Germans on 2 Dec 1942, possibly wounded. He was then flown to Sicily and incarcerated in POW Camp 98. Other prisoners have described the poor conditions in the camp and it was clearly a unpleasant place to live in.

In 1943 Sicily is invaded by British and American troops in “Operation Husky” and George and other prisoners were moved to mainland Italy and eventually to camps in Poland, Stalag 2D – Stargard and then westward to Stalag IVB in Muhlberg in Saxony as the Soviet Army started to liberate Eastern Europe. Conditions in 1944/45 were very poor. Sometime during this period George contracted TB and on 2 Feb 1956 he was repatriated by the Red Cross to Shaftsbury Military Hospital in Dorset where on 27 Feb 1945, just three months before VE Day, he died.