A MUSGRAVE pensioner, Ailsa Cullen, is on a mission to find the relatives of World War II Royal Air Force (RAF) soldier Reginald Horace ‘Reg’ Attwood, who wrote short stories while held by the Germans at Stalag Luft III, a prisoner of war camp, around 1943.

Cullen, who has been married to her loving husband Bob Cullen for over 50 years, is in possession of the eight short stories, a letter from Reg’s friend from Holland, a Red Cross parcel receipt, and his release certificate from the RAF among other documents. She is searching for his surviving relatives to pass on the priceless historical items to them.

“Bob and Reg were cousins. He was given the short stories and other documents by Reg’s late wife, Elsa, and was in possession of them for decades. Over the years he forgot about them and I found them in 2023 when we were packing to move house, to a retirement home,” said Cullen. From that time Cullen has been searching for Reggie’s daughter Carole van der Walt, who had two children named Stephen and Charmaine, whom they lost contact with over the years.

Also Read: Umbilo church to honour those who died in World War I

“I want to try and get hold of Reg’s daughter because I would like her to have the documents to keep as it is part of their family history. The last location that we had for them was in Pinetown,” said Cullen. From her recollection, prior to enlisting to fight in WWII, Reg worked at a post office in Rhodesia. When the war broke out, he went to England and he enlisted in the Royal Air Force.

“Reg was seconded to an aircraft called the Winchester bomber, which was a bomber. And he was on a mission when their plane was shot down, over Holland. Reg parachuted out, landed in Holland and got taken prisoner by the Germans. He was taken to a prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III. I know that he was evacuated in 1945, but I’m not too sure how long he was actually in there,” said Cullen.

When the war ended Reg went back to Rhodesia and married Elsa. They moved from Rhodesia to South Africa around 1980. He died a few years later, and he was survived by Elsa and their daughter Carole. “Carole’s husband was in an old Berea Mail article; he had taken photographs of the pollution in the Palmiet River. This is my last resort to find them, I have searched online and called around, but nothing,” said Cullen.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Reg’s surviving family members, please email sibom@dbn.caxton.co.za.

For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok.

Click to subscribe to our newsletter – here