Download - B-L TIMELINE edited Oct 12

Barbara Loxton: Paintbrush Reporter. 1944 –1945

She was the ONLY South African journalist on the EuropeanTheatre of Operations..

Barbara Ruth MacPherson Clark b. 21 Oct 1906 d.9 June1968married Allen Loxton

17 July 1944

Leaves Cape Town with sister Anne Bertram on board ship to England. Arrives in Liverpool, but ship stand off while everyone processed.

At sea till 12 Aug 44

13t Aug 1944. Disembarked at Liverpool. Train to London

Search for accommodation and maternity hospital. Visits friends. Wokingham etcStarts drawing. London: Firewatchers. Flying bomb damage. Underground Tube shelters.sold one to London Transport .H.A.A. Battery Walton-on-the-Naze EssexGets accreditation as War Correspondent forNaweek (South African Magazine) Broadcasts on Africa Service of the BBC

To 15 Nov 1944.

16 Nov 1944

TOUR 1. FRANCE WITH THE US ARMYTo 1 Dec 1944

16 Nov 1944

Paris. Drawings of Americans in the CityTo24 Nov 1944

24 Nov 1944

To Forward Areas. Live Blood to the front line. Evacuation Hospitals US Army Thiaucourt, Morhanges , Foulquement.

To 1 Dec 1944

polly loxton 8 Orleston Mews London N78LL 1



(article 31 Dec 44 New York Times)

1 Dec 1944

ENGLANDLondon, selling work and setting up professional contacts. Mr Coote of British War Artist might buy some work.Flying bombs falling so takes sister Anne down to North Devon – Oliver Bertram familyhouse near LyntonFriends and Teddy Berry, former fiancé. (1929-1930)Broadcasts to South Africa

To 20 Jan 1944

20 Jan 1945

TOUR 2ADVANCE ON THE RHINE

Paris Aachen Battle of the Bulge,(16 Dec44 – end of Jan 45) South Holland. Brussels, Operation Veritable Reichswald.(8– 23 February) Nymegen 3rd Brit C.C.S. Advance into Germany Cleve and Goch.. with US, Canadian and British Armies. Constantlyunder shell fire.EXCEPTIONALLY COLD. HEAVY SNOW ALL JANUARY

Brush freezing as she paints

To5 March 1945

22 Jan 1945

Paris: Hotel Scribe W.A.A.CS US Army To 23 Jan 1945

24 Jan 1945last daysof Battleof the Bulge.

Maastricht- Kasteel – Aachen. Drawing G.I.Son Front line. Newsreel made of Barbara drawing in the snow.761st Tank Battalion American Negro segregated Unit ‘Black Panthers’

To24 Jan 1945




25 Jan 1945

.With US Army to Malmedy, St. Vith. Drawing101st Airborne Div .Portraits in snow. “Thought you was a statue.” Paint froze on brush.

To 29 Jan 1945

30 Jan 1945

Paris, at The Scribe. War Correspondents hotel.

To30 Jan 1945

30 Jan 1945

Night train to Brussels. Liberated south Holland with the Canadian Army. Tilburg.

To1 Feb 1945

1 Feb 1945

Nymegen, Vucht Concentration Camp now for Collaborators and Nazis with Canadian Army. Arendonk D.P. camps. s Hertogenbosch, Grave, Flushing, Walcheren Island, Middleburg.

To6 Feb 1945

7 Feb 1945

Brussels.

8 Feb 1945

British and Canadians(launched Operation Veritable 5.am 5 hours shelling shaking hospital)To Reichswald British Army. Nymegen 3rd Brit C.C.S.Cuijk Press Camp., 51st Dragoon Guards, Regina Rifles (Canada)

To21 Feb 1945

9 Feb 1945

A.T.S at Louvainto9 Feb 1945




10 Feb 1945

Cuijk Prress Camp. Floods 3rd Brit C.C.S.. Sweep into Germany. British Army and Canadians advancing into Germany. Mook.Gennep. Hekken Cleve. Trying to get to Gochbut prevented by shell fire. Under fire forall this time. Canadian sector road signs

to21 feb 1945

21 Feb 1945

Uden Eindhoven Louvain to H.A.A. 139 Battery.

To24 Feb 1945

24 Feb 1945

US army launch Operation Grenade 23rd FebInto Germany with the 1st and 9th American Army. To Jülich Taking the Citadel, she walked along behind the advancing soldiers,drawing as she went.

to24 Feb 1945

25 Feb 1945

Spa, Düren, Aachen, Vervier, D.P. Camp. Düren

To28 Feb 1945

1 March 1945

Brussels to1 Mar 1945

2 March 1945

ParisTo5 March 1945

End of War approaching. People not rejoicing, just waiting quietly. Expecting tough times ahead.




March 1945

London Drawing V 2 Flying bomb damage at Smithfield Market.. Has been cleared to leave England, but there is no clear path toget back the South Africa. There is no civilian transport. She hopes to join the South African army demobilising in Cairo. ( husband Allen Loxton is there)

All March and April working on placing drawings, articles and broadcasts. Negotiating home passage. No luck by sea, will attempt to reach South Arican Army in Italy or Egypt and go back with them. First problm is getting to Europe. Joins SHAEF Mission to the Netherlands.Waiting to leave on Ist May at 5 am

To 1st May1945

1 May 1945

TOUR 3

Brussels, Kevelaer. D.Ps of all nationalities. End of war. Holland, Suchtelen Breda, Antwerp. Holland. P.O.Ws Zutphen Hardewijck, Appeldoorn. With Red + Jewish Relief and Vroue Hulp Korps. Utrecht< Hague, Amsterdam Binnengasthuis Hosp morgue. Paris

Fly over Germany in Courier plane. Coblenz Refugees. Euskirchen, Russians who don’t want to go home. Cologne to Erlangen.

Münich. Prague Czechoslovakia., Round Münich Ebensee. Berchtegaden.. Paris

to4 August1945


2 March 1945

ParisTo5 March 1945

6 March 1945

London. Flying bombs Placing Drawings, Trying to find a way toget back to South Africa. Hoping to get there through Middle East – Italy to Cairowhere the South Africans are. Visiting Anneat Martihoe DevonSHAEF trying to get back – applies to joinSHAEF mission to the Netherlands the north of which is still not liberated since the Germans broke the dams and flooded it so that the Allies could not get through. Holland suffering intense persecution and starvation at this time. Allies dropping weapons to the Dutch

To1 May 1945



Hamburg. Berlin

1 May 1945to 4th May.Liberation Day in Holland

Brussels. Russian D.P.s give her Red star badge. Kevelaer. P.O.Ws D.P.sTilburg Orange favours and flagsDutch celebrating the end of the war 4th May. Germany capitulated 8th May 45

To 4 August 1945

5 May 1945

Holland via Suchtelen 5PR Brussels, with Jewish Relief, Red + and Vroue Hulp Korp toBreda, Antwerp, Zutphen P.O.W 7 D.P.s Hardewijk Tilburg. Uncertainty in Holland as war ends, Onderduikers surface to fight.SHAEF at the request of Queen Wilhelmina, bans War Cos and from entering while the Dutch deal with their Quislings and Nazis.8th May 3 pm Churchill broadcasts announcingthe end of the War

To 9 May 1945

9 May 1945

Queen Wilhelmina lifts ban. Appeldoorn withRed+ 116 BRC

To 11 May 1945

11 May 1945

Utrecht with VHK. Hague, Rotterdam, Underground Press surfaces. Gets publications and NSB badge Canadian Press Camp Utrecht. Shown ancient cellars of Utrecht. Silversmith gives little silver spoon.

to16 May 1945




17 May 1945

Amsterdam. Binnenhuis Hospital Morgue to see effects of starvation of the last few months.

To 17 May 1945

18May 1945

Brussels. Most of the drawings of this period were lost. Either in Plane crash or some other mishap. Babara flew to Brussels in October to try to trace them, but none were ever found.

To 22 May 1945

23 May 1945

Paris To 24 May 1945

24 May 1945

Fly into Germany by courier plane

254May 1945.

Into Germany by air. Visits Mannheim, Munich, Weimar, Ocherslebe, Fritzlar, jeep to Bad WilmingenBeautiful Germany.

to25 May 1945

26 May 1945

Bad Neuemahr. Coblenz, Euskirchen, drew Russians and their children – reluctant to return to Russia. Cologne, Düsselsorf, Kevelaer Cologne Erlangen

To 30 May 1945

1 June 1945

Münich, Wehrmacht walking home. Some drafted into agriculture or mines. Refugees on the roads. Post names on walls in hope of news.

To 20 June 1945

3 June 1945

Czecho- slovakia. Pilsen Prague. Prague joyful, Stony faced Russian border guards. Tiny bent old women working the fields. Sudeten Germans expelled, camped onborder

To 5 June 1945




6 June 1945

Münich. Garmisch Partenkirchen. Ebernsee.Fly over Dachau, Augsburg, Münich – Hungarian P.O.W.s clearing rubble. Berchtesgaden.

To20 June 1945

21 June 1945

Paris Trying to find a way home to South Africa via the Mediterranean.

To 25 June 1945

26 June Fly Brunswick, Jeep to Hamburg. Russians moving closer, people fleeing. Hollywood movie magnates visit. 1st class, row with Jack Warner who wanted to destroy the film record made by Swede living as German in Germany: Barbara said reporter risked his life. Warner angry, tried to block Barbara’s copy and attendance at conferences.Stories of Bombing.

To3 July 1945

3 July 1945

Paris, badgering officials about passage home. Told no chance via Egypt or Italy andno passage on boat for a very long time, Letters from Allen

To 13 July 1945

14 July 1945

Berlin. Stunde null. Hot. Swarming flies. Stench of death. No food. Visible starvation.. No school – all books withdrawn till new ones written. De-Nazification.Waldschule. orphans. Hospital conditions No medical supplies. Robert Koch Hosp.and Charite Hosp in Russian sector. Prof Sauerbruch invites her to observe his operations, will talk about the stripping of the hospitals. Article stopped by

To 4 Aug1945




Russian High Command who threatened the doctors. Prof S not afraid, but others are.One a Russian collaborator. Grafin von Schulenborch interpreter a friend of Sauerbruch whose 3 soms are POWs of the RussiansNight life. Cabaret song. Berlin Kommt Wieder.Drawing Potsdammer Platz with corpses floating up from the underground. Trummerfrauen (Brick and bucket women clearrubble) Refugees pulling goods on their rollwagen. Black market round the ReichKansellerei.. Treasures exchanged for food and cigarettes (currency). Cheating American shot dead by Russian .Victory Parade. Potsdam Conference.

Much moved by plight of Mothers and children. See letter 82 to daughters Polly and Lindsay




4 Aug 1945

STUCK IN ENGLAND. End October 1945

13 Aug 1945

In London. Husband Allen Loxton in London on 30 days leave. Selling work to AustrlianMagazines.

18 Aug 1945

Receives cable telling her of her Mother, Mrs Clark’s nervous breakdown; who will look after her children ? The Clarks leave the Sunshine Home,. She Is refused a passage from Cairo to South Africa. Offereda passage by ship, but not when. (Passage is given to her as a member of the SA Forces, which she is not, so must keep thatsecret,.in case she is thrown off the passenger list. (She came home by boat withthe troops)

26 Sept Still in London. Very anxious about her children and parents, They are going to Hermanus where there are family houses. Pulling strings , getting assurances she will be on ship but getting very depressed.Allen applies for release from the Army to take up an offer of a rehabilitation job onthe London Times. His application is refused and he is recalled to Cairo as essential – to check vaccinations of passengers on their way to SA through Cairo.

5 Oct 1945

Flew to Brussels in search of a lost portfolio of drawings Drawings never recovered.

7 Oct 1945




10 Oct 1945

Ship postponed 3 times

19 Oct 1945

Boat postponed again. Promise of a boat viathe middle east 5th or 7th Nov,

25 Oct 1945

LAST LETTER Promised a berth on a boatsailing on 10 Nov directly to South Africa.

Arrives end Nov or earlyDecember1945
