The South African
Military History Society

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Krygshistoriese Vereniging



Military History Society
Military Miscellany

Major Guy Nicolson, MC and Bar
POW extraordinary - Musical Treat

From: John Nicolson

Out of the two world wars of the 20th century comes an improbable story. As the American tanks rolled over the devastated landscape, a sound arose from the forbidding German prison "schloss" - four movements of the great Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem.

Guy Nicolson had fought in the French trenches from 1914 to 1918, earning an MC and Bar in the process. That same man, taken prisoner at Tobruk in 1942, then devoted 22 months to the creation and production of over 30 quality choral and orchestral concerts, writing out many of the parts from memory and often attracting the prison camp authorities into his audiences. The Requiem was his crowning achievement, performed just days before the camp was liberated.

Two short videos tell the story (4 minutes and 20 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQyt6jTcuW-TgiGLsRT0N75A4D56BK4Bu

I believe that Guy´s achievement is unmatched among POW experiences.


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