Family of POW padre looking for relatives of friends from WW2

KEEP CALM. John Ledgewood pictured in Stalag XV111A near Wolfsburg, Austria, during World War 2. His family are looking for Gisborne families of soldiers who may have known him as a fellow POW. Picture supplied

Calling all descendants of World War 2 prisoners of war.

The family of army chaplain the late John Ledgerwood are looking for friends and families of POWs who knew their great-uncle in Stalag XV111A near Wolfsberg, Austria.

Mr Ledgerwood, also known as Jack, was one of three camp padres and the only New Zealander.

Great niece Diane Garside said he was a well-known figure in the camp and was called either Padre Ledgerwood, or Captain Ledgerwood.

“We would like to uncover more about what our great-uncle did in the camp, particularly in regard to escapes and other clandestine work.

“We know he was on the escape committee.

“He moonlighted as head of the escape committee in Stalag XVIIIA and encouraged and helped many men to escape, despite his respectable demeanour.

“Thankfully the Nazis never caught him aiding and abetting escapers.

“He may have sent letters to these families, or they may have diaries from Stalag XVIIIA.

“We really don't know much about his experiences, perhaps due to his early death only 14 years after the end of the war.”

Mr Ledgerwood was born in Dunedin in 1908 but lived in Hamilton before and after the war.

He travelled and studied overseas around the 1929-1932 period and then worked as a YMCA secretary in New Plymouth and Hamilton.

Shortly after war broke out, he sailed on the Strathaird with the first echelon of the 2NZEF on January 5, 1940.

Mr Ledgerwood fought in Greece in April 1941 and was captured on Crete on June 1, 1941.

Six months later he arrived in Stalag XVIIIA.

The family has already established contact with some relatives of Gisborne POWS, but would like to hear from others such as the family of the late Arthur Edward Hardy, known as Ted.

Mr Hardy, a tractor driver before the war, died in July 1989 and was married to Barbara, who died in 2003.

The couple appeared to have no children according to Mr Hardy's death notice in the Herald.

His brothers and sisters — Betty Nant, Joy White, Georgina, Tom, and Des — pre-deceased him.

To those who may be able to assist, please contact Wynsley Wrigley at the Herald.