WWII veteran marks 100th birthday 76 years after being presumed dead
Pipe-smoking WWII veteran celebrates 100th birthday… 76 years after family received telegram saying he had been killed fighting in North Africa in 1942
- Tom Greenwood was presumed dead when captured by Italian forces in Africa
- His parents were told by telegram that he had died when captured in Tripoli
- After enduring several camps he helped overthrow fascist captors in Austria
- In one camp he had to trade his watch in exchange for life-saving transfusion
Mr Greenwood (pictured wearing his Scots Guard uniform in 1941) has lived to 100 despite smoking a pipe all of his life
A World War II veteran reported dead 76 years ago only to break free from his fascist captors has lived to celebrate his 100th birthday.
Tom Greenwood was assumed to have died when he was captured behind enemy lines in June 1942 while serving as an engineer in North Africa.
The great-grandfather-of-two revealed his parents even received a telegram saying he had been killed in action.
But he was actually being held as a prisoner of war in the Italian-run Suani Ben Adem camp in Northern Tripoli.
He endured several other camps in Italy and Austria throughout the war.
Mr Greenwood would have died had he not traded his watch for a hospital place after contracting malaria.
A blood transfusion from a Canadian soldier which saved his life.
He was later part of an uprising at Markt Pongau camp, Austria, when inmates took over prior to its liberation by the American army following the end of the war.
He was eventually flown home to begin his recuperation before being discharged from the army in 1946.
Tom Greenwood (pictured, surrounded by three generations of his family) marked his 100th birthday despite being reported dead 76 years ago
The father-of-two Tom marked his centenary with a party at Brookfield Care Home in Shipley, West Yorkshire, on Saturday, with three generations of his family.
His daughter, Sheila Donaldson, 64, a retired IT Specialist, said: ‘I did ask him the other day about the secret to his long life, and he said it was to “keep breathing”.
‘Until a few years ago he would keep himself fit by walking and cutting logs for his fire with a chainsaw. He loved his cars and drove until he was 97.
This is the telegram that was sent to Mr Greenwood’s family clarifying that he had been taken a prisoner of war and was not dead
This is the original telegram sent to Mr Greenwood’s parents, which wrongly stated that he had been killed in action
‘He has smoked a pipe all his life. He wasn’t a big drinker but in later years he liked a whisky and dry ginger every evening before he went to bed.’
The ex-serviceman was born on December 29, 1918, in nearby Wilsden as the only child of William and Lily Greenwood. He left school aged 14 to start work as a motor mechanic in Bradford Moor.
He education by attending Bradford Technical College four-nights a week to gain his engineering qualifications until the outbreak of the war. His skills were immediately recognised and the then 20-year-old was transferred into the Ordnance Corps.
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He was attached to the Scots Guards which formed part of the 22nd Armoured Brigade of Infantry, whose role was to sabotage the enemy’s supply lines and ports.
Early in 1942, there was a push by the Axis and Tom’s unit found themselves trapped behind enemy lines near El Alamein with limited food and ammunition. He was captured on June 13, 1942, but a telegram was sent to his parents saying he had been killed in action.
The Axis forces would be forced out of Africa in November that year as the Allies won the Second Battle of El Alamein, ending Nazi General Erwin Rommel’s advance.
Tom Greenwood – pictured on his wedding day in 1945 to wife Marjorie – has celebrated his centenary
His fiance Marjorie Hartley never believed he was dead and Tom’s parents then received a telegram on August 26, 1942, saying that he was actually a prisoner of war.
‘Dad spoke very little about the war when he came home unless prompted by a TV programme,’ said his son Dave Greenwood, 66, a retired journalist.
‘I remember he told me he and his fellow prisoners were given the job of rebuilding the dam at Marburg.
‘They would load cement into one side of a train then take it out of the other side and throw it over the dam, just to delay the project.
‘At the same time, they were being bombed by allied aircraft who were trying to further destroy the dam and the river bridges.
‘He also mentioned that, when in one of the camps, they were adjacent to a camp containing Russian prisoners who were treated far worse than British POWs.
‘Whenever one of the Russian prisoners died, the rest would try to keep it secret for as long as possible so they could continue to draw their rations..’
Following the war, Tom married his sweetheart Marjorie. She sadly passed away in 2000.
Tom went on to work at the family garage Greenwood Bros (CB) Ltd, which he ran from 1953 until its closure in 1980. He then continued working as a private hire driver.
He is a dedicated Rotarian and has been a member for 52 years. His other passions include fell walking in the Yorkshire Dales.
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