I love Human Interest Stories
Housed in a Museum in a Town Called Corryong, in Australia, is a large hand knitted Rug, knitted by an Australian during his internment as a prisoner of war
Jim O'Sullivan,tells his story
''As a young man, after joining the Air Force, during the 2nd World War,our Lancaster Plane was shot down over Hanover.
5 of our crew died, 3 parachuted down , becoming uninvited guests of Hitller
I was a Prisoner of War from ( 1939 -1945)
My Mother had taught me to knit as a small child and I was always interested in art
Upon my capture, I was told by other prisoners, that all woolen jumpers would be confiscated and sent to the Russian Front
To save my nice white woolen jumper, I pulled it apart and rewound it into skeins ( in the toilet), taking 20 minutes
During my years in prison I taught over 40 other prisoners to knit, mainly socks to keep themselves warm
My plan to knit my big Aussie Rug took lots of wool,other prisoners somehow managing to find ? from plain and colour garmits.They all had to be boiled as they were full of louse.
I drew the map of Australia,and knitted it in plain stitch, with the ranges in purl
It also features the islands, close to Australia, and our coat of arms
To make the knitting needles I used handles from pots, etc., and sharpened points on one end, rubbing back and forth for many hours on the concrete floor
To the credit of the German Soldier,s my rug was not confiscated '
Jim as a handsome much older man in front of our AUSSIE TREASURE
He himself of course is an"' AUSSIE TREASUSE "
