Ref.10619A GERMAN prisoner of war and the Wiltshire farmer who employed him have been reunited after more than 55 years, thanks to the Gazette and Herald.

Despite the intervening years, Ron Wiltshire, who owns and runs Loiterton Farm, Seend, instantly recognised Hubert Gibhard when they met again on Saturday. The two men enjoyed reminiscing about the events on the farm more than half a century before.

Mr Gibhard, 83, said: "To be honest I don't remember much about the farm but I recognised Ron even though we are both now so much older.

"He was very good to me while I worked on the farm. Everyone was very good. I received nothing but friendliness from everyone I met. No prejudice. Nothing like that."

Mr Gibhard, who now lives in Bischoffen, near Frankfurt, with his wife, was a member of a Luftwaffe ground crew in North Africa in 1943 when he was taken prisoner by advancing Allied forces.

He was initially shipped to the United States and was moved around many PoW camps there.

When the war ended, he was sent to Liverpool and from there to a PoW camp in Patney, outside Devizes. He was happy to work on farms in the area, undertaking heavy manual work and helping to bring in the harvest.

While working on a farm in Allington, on the road between Devizes and All Cannings, he met Graham Doughty, at that time an eight-year-old schoolboy.

Mr Gibhard said: "One day I was sent out to bring in sheaves of corn from a field on the hillside. This small boy came up to me and took my hand. I asked him what he wanted. He said he wanted to come with me. I wasn't sure about this but I saw his mother through the window nodding that it was OK.

"From that time we were the best of friends."

Mr Doughty, now in his 60s, was the prime mover in arranging the reunion between Mr Gibhard and the Devizes community.

He said: "My mother kept in touch with Hubert after the war but then lost his address. I had been trying for years to re-establish contact with him but without success.

"Then I wrote to the German Embassy in London and after three months I had a reply from Hubert. It was wonderful to hear from him again after such a long time.

"My wife Rita and myself went to visit him in Germany. We reminisced over the war years and he asked if I could try to get hold of Mr Wiltshire.

"I used the columns of the Gazette and Herald and made contact with two Ron Wiltshires. One had never been a farmer but the other was the right one."

Mr Gibhard had been employed by Mr Wiltshire's father and Mr Wiltshire and Mr Gibhard got on like a house on fire.

Mr Wiltshire, 84, said: "My father was not a friendly type but I acted as go-between. Hubert was a very hard worker. A good worker who never gave us any trouble."

Mr Gibhard remembers Mr Wiltshire's mother as a generous soul who would sneak him cigarettes when Mr Wiltshire's father wasn't looking.

By the time Mr Gibhard arrived at Patney, the war was over and he was allowed to come and go from the camp pretty much as he pleased. But food was still scarce and the inmates used to supplement their diet with rabbits caught using a trained ferret.

Once Mr Gibhard had been repatriated, Mr Wiltshire kept in touch, even sending him a slice of wedding cake when he got married. Sadly, though, Mr Gibhard's address was lost and it wasn't until Mr Doughty's piece appeared in the Gazette that the chance for a reunion came about.

While in the Devizes area last weekend, Mr and Mrs Doughty took Mr Gibhard and his nephew, Sascha Ptzold, to all his old haunts.

At Patney, they visited the site of the former PoW camp, now a housing estate, and met Joe Schweytzer, a former PoW who decided to stay in the area after the war.

In Pewsey, they met historian Roger Pope, who took them on a guided tour of the village and to farms where Mr Gibhard worked.

Afterwards, Mr Gibhard expressed his gratitude to Mr Doughty for setting up the visit. He said: "This is my friend. He is very special to me."

Mr Doughty, who now lives in Inkpen, near Hungerford, said: "My own father was away in North Africa for most of the war and Hubert was like a father to me.

"I felt I had to make contact with Hubert again. He was so much part of my life at that time.

"We will continue to keep in touch. Having lost him for so long, it is very important to me that we can make up for lost time."

Patney farmer David Snook also played his part in putting Mr Doughty in touch with Mr Wiltshire.

Mr Doughty said: "He was the one who said he knew a Ron Wiltshire who farmed at Seend.

"That was the last piece of the jigsaw falling into place."