Content warning: This episode discusses Nazi war crimes, specifically the murder of disabled people in Germany and Poland. It also discusses illness and death in civilian internment camps, including suicide.
Charles Henry Holton was the first War Graves gardener to die in a German internment camp.
An ex-sapper from Buckinghamshire, Charlie cared for the British military cemeteries on the Somme. He lived in Hébuterne with his wife, Maria, and their six children. During the invasion of France in 1940, the Holtons were unable to evacuate their large family. Charlie and his oldest son, Noël, were arrested and sent to an internment camp. Charlie died just nine months later, in April 1941.
Sources:
- Personnel File of Charles Henry Holton, P 633, Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archives, Maidenhead, UK
- Journal of Bernard Parsons, internee at Ilag VIII Tost, Imperial War Museum
- Journal of George Gregson, internee at Ilag VIII Tost
- Census Records, Archives départementales du Pas-de-Calais
Credits:
researched, written, and narrated by Caitlin G. DeAngelis
photo of C. H. Holton’s grave by Megan Kelleher
sound editing by Fiona Hopkins
music by Albert Behar via Uppbeat