Woolf Magnus Austoker

Woolf Magnus Austoker (27 July 1921 Johannesburg, South Africa - 2 August 1980 Johannesburg, South Africa) service number 221480, 2nd Transvaal Scottish Regiment, was the son of Leopold Austoker (1885-1955) and Jenny Austoker (nee Glass) (1889-1976) of Johannesburg. He was schooled at Parktown Boys' High School. During World War Two, he enlisted in the Union Defence Force and was a private in the 2nd Transvaal Scottish Regiment. As soon as he had finished his basic training, during which he was trained to be an expert in detecting mines and minefields, he was sent to fight in North Africa. During the Battle of Tobruk (17-21 June 1942), after hearing that the Germans were advancing on the Allied stronghold, he was instructed to lead his fellow soldiers through the minefields back to Tobruk, which he accomplished without losing a single man. However he was taken prisoner of war at Tobruk and was sent to Italy, where he spent a year at Camp, P.G. 54, Paso Corese, Fara Sabina. In Italy he was stricken with malaria and hospitalised. He learnt to speak Italian and after he left hospital, he worked as a translator. In Italy, he was treated fairly decently but there was never enough food and he couldn't wait for his Red Cross parcels that would be delivered every few months. His favourite foods remained bully beef and condensed milk. In September 1943, after the Italian capitulation, he and many others from Camp P.G. 54, were captured by the Germans in Italy, and were sent with to Germany, to Stalag IV-B, which was one of the largest prisoner-of-war camps, located near the town of Mühlberg, Saxony. From there, he and the other prisoners were transferred to stalags in Saxony. He was fluent in German. He was made to work in mines and continued to suffer from malaria and Meniere's disease After he was liberated at the end of the war, he was repatriataed to England . He spent 6 months in Cornwall, where he lived with an English family in order to recuperate before being sent back to South Africa. He never spoke about the actual fighting other than to say that almost all his close friends including his best friend, Norman Rosenthal (1918-1941), were killed in action. Norman Rosenthal served with the South African 1st Irish Regiment, and was killed in action during the Battle of Sidi Rezegh in November 1941. After the war, he would speak Italian with his Italian clients but did not ever want to speak German. He married Joyce Lewis on the 22nd September 1946 in Johannesburg and they had three daughters. His wife was a Biology high school teacher at Waverley Girls' High School, Johannesburg and an author of numerous Biology text books which were used by the Department of Education for several decades. Following his death, the Woolf Austoker award for Academic Excellence in Life Sciences was bestowed at Waverley Girls' High School. Sources: 1. Extracted from the Sunset Call of The Jock Column, No.1 March 1962 https://jocks.co.za/honours-list/#B-list 2. Zionist Record 4th September 1942 page 17 Roll of Honour- Previously reported missing, now reported Prisoner of War. 3. Forces War Records w.w.w. forces-war-records.co.uk Imperial Prisoners of War held in Italy 1943: Austoker W M service number 221480 Transvaal Scottish;British POW In Germany and Italy. 4. Letters in a Shoe Box 1940-1945. Schamroth -Rapeport Naomi 2017 5. Correspondence Enid Levin nee Austoker (daughter) and Jill Segal nee Austoker(daughter)