Photographs, letter and army papers of Robert Titilah, 1897-1991, relating to his service with the 1st Parachute Regiment during the Second World War, particularly his internment as a Prisoner of War at Stalag IVB, Muhlberg, Germany.

The papers include Titilah`s `Soldier`s Release Book`, which indicates that he enlisted in April 1942. He apparently enlisted on a whim after he had been drinking with a friend, and a studio portrait captures the men together shortly after this event. There are 4 additional personal photographs from wartime, including one captioned to be of Titilah jumping from an aircraft, probably taken during his training for the parachute regiment.

There are a further 27 photographic postcards showing scenes around Muhlberg camp and others, probably taken shortly after liberation. These are stamped as copyright of Terry Hunt. Also included is a letter to Titilah`s mother from the PoW camp, written in July 1944, mentioning family and Red Cross parcels. Two booklets and a newspaper cutting relate to commemorative activity, one a programme written in French relating to the 30th anniversary their liberation from the camp, the second for a PoW re-union in Edinburgh in 1991.

Titilah was apparently amongst men of the parachute regiment dropped behind enemy lines in North Africa by American aircraft in late 1942. He subsequently served in Italy. He was captured and marched across country to the PoW camp. Muhlberg was one of the largest prison camps in Germany in the Second World War, and could hold 16,000 prisoners. By the time the camp was liberated in April 1945, it was overflowing with 30,000 prisoners.

Also included are the service and paybook, discharge papers and a photograph of James Duffy, the donor`s uncle, during the First World War, c.1916-1921.