Alfred Bellis
Date of birth: 7.8.1918
Date of death: 7.8.1985
Area: Normanton
Regiment: Yorkshire and Lancashire
Family information: Son of the late Mr and Mrs Bellis of Birstall. Fiancé of Hilda Williams, of Normanton.
Rank: Private
Service number: 4748445
War Service
After working in a warehouse- Thomas Burnley and Son, Alfred was sent to France in April 1940. He served in Dunkirk as part of the Infantry. Alfred was wounded in France after being shot in the leg by a sniper, fortunately the bullet was deflected by a cigarette tin!
Alfred was taken prisoner by the German army and transported to Stalag 8b, in Poland where he served as a slave labourer in Polish coalmines. He and others escaped when Russian forces advanced on Germans in Poland. He was befriended by a Polish family and eventually came home on a troopship via Odessa, Russia. He was underweight, had sores and boils but was otherwise ok.
Alfred bore no malice towards the German people, though individual German soldiers would spoil the Red Cross parcels before throwing the contents at the prisoners. Alfred was always grateful for the fact that he had returned home when so many did not.
Family Life
When Alfred was stationed in Barracks in Pontefract he was requested to leave Normanton baths dance hall for dancing in his Army boots. He was also confined to Barracks as he kept going absent without leave to visit his fiancée Hilda Williams in Normanton! Alfred played accordion in ‘Rhythm Wreckers’ group and also played the piano.
When Alfred was sent to France it was very hard for his widowed mother as he was an only child. Alfred wrote regularly to Hilda and when his correspondence dried up for five weeks she knew something was amiss. However although the Army reassured her that he was still serving with his corps, the Red Cross were more helpful and sent her a letter saying that he had been captured but was “in good health”.
When Alfred returned to England he was welcomed back into his fiancé’s large family. When Hilda’s brothers offered to get him a job at the pit, he quickly declined their offer having just spent some five years in bad conditions working in Poland’s coal mines. He worked ‘on the bins’ for Normanton Council before going to work as a high power linesman for the Yorkshire Electricity Board.
Alfred and Hilda married in May 1945 and had one child, Christine, in 1947. He had a great sense of humour, loved company and played piano to entertain both at home and in pubs and clubs around Normanton.
Alfred Bellis
Letter from the Red Cross to Alfred's family
