Henry Faulk (22 December 1907 – 4 October 2001) was an Executive Field Officer responsible for a program that aimed to "re-educate" 400,000 German Prisoners of War held in England at the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Life and Career
Henry Faulk was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and grew up in Dunshalt (also spelt Dunshelt), Fife. He went to school in Dundee, then studied Modern Languages at the
University of Glasgow
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.
Faulk joined the British Army at the outbreak of World War II, initially working as an interpreter with the
Intelligence Corps. Towards the end of the war at the age of 37, Faulk was seconded to the
Political Intelligence Department (later renamed the Prisoner of War Division; POWD) of the Foreign Office, and became an Executive Field Officer responsible for a program that aimed to "re-educate" 400,000 German Prisoners of War held in England.
Faulk wrote about his experiences in his 1977 book, ''Group Captives''. A review described the book as follows:
Faulk discusses in a concise, objective and, at times, somewhat dry manner both German and British attitudes affecting re-education, the changing environment and the aims and methods of POWD. He offers a generally favorable evaluation of the results.
Some aspects of Faulk's account have been challenged. For example, Faulk "categorically denied" the use of German informants in Prisoner of War camps; however, a 2024 analysis argued that "it is clear from other archival documents and memoirs that they were used by British officials for political gradings and to acquire intelligence in the camps".
On leaving the army in 1948, Faulk worked as a teacher in Glasgow, first at Glasgow High School, then Woodside Secondary and Cranhill Secondary.
Faulk had three children with his first wife Lena (Malcolm, Edith, and David), and one son (Andrew) with his second wife Jessie.
Published works
*Henry Faulk (1970). ''Die deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in Großbritannien: Re-education''. Bielefeld: Gieseking.
*Henry Faulk (1977). ''Group Captives: The Re-education of German Prisoners of War in Britain 1945-1948''. London: Chatto & Windus.
Recognition
Faulk was awarded an
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1947.
References
External links
Oral history Imperial War Museum (available online).
Private Papers of Lieutenant Colonel H Faulk– seven boxes of material held by the Imperial War Museum (not available online).
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