TRIBUTES have been paid to former prisoner of war John Haynes who survived an Auschwitz satellite camp and a 1,000 mile death march who has died aged 101.

Mr Haynes, of Newport, who was known as Jack, would have celebrated his 102nd birthday in March.

He was conscripted in 1940 and joined the Royal Engineers.

Following deployments to Sierra Leone and Egypt, the 21-year-old was eventually posted to Libya and was captured by the Germans in Tobruk on June 22, 1942.

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Speaking to the Argus about his experiences during the war as he celebrated his 100th birthday Mr Haynes said: “We were in a jeep when we came across a German soldier. He told us to put our hands up and we had no choice but to do so.”

He, alongside his fellow soldiers, was held in Benghazi for a month where they endured scorching temperatures, as well as starvation and dehydration.

The PoWs were then sent to Italy, before being crammed into cattle trucks headed for Nazi-occupied Poland.

Mr Haynes said: "It was awful. We all had to go to the toilet in the same place. There were 60 men in there. We were in there for three days and were all forced to be stood up."

But the worst of his horrors was about to unfold, when the PoWs arrived at Blechhammer Camp, in Nazi-occupied Poland.

South Wales Argus: John Haynes, of Newport, who has died aged 101

John Haynes, of Newport

The camp had been established that year and was originally designed to hold incarcerated Jews and Poles. PoWs of various nationalities were also held at the site.

It would eventually be adapted into a satellite sub-camp for the infamous Auschwitz extermination camp.

Mr Haynes told of the atrocities committed at the site.

He said: “I saw a person tied to barbed wire. I saw Jews being beaten up. I remember, in particular, a young Jewish boy being punched to the floor. When he stood up he was covered in blood. It was awful.”

He said: “I saw lots of terrible things at the various camps I was held in.”

By January 1945 the tide had turned against the Axis powers – Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan.

South Wales Argus: John Haynes, of Newport, who has died aged 101

John Haynes

As a result, German officials began to frantically move PoWs and other prisoners deeper into Germany — these became known as death marches.

Mr Haynes was forced to march almost 1,000 miles in the harshest of conditions to Bavaria.

He said: “They would lock us up in barns. The cold was brutal."

Then one morning the German soldiers had fled and the PoWs ended up in deserted airfield and were told that the war was over.

Mr Haynes returned to Newport and to his sweetheart Daisy, who had waited for him throughout the war. They married on September 29, 1945 and spent 50 happy years together until Mrs Haynes passed away.

The couple had four children - Roger, the eldest who died aged five, Beverley, Shellie and Martin.

His son Martin said: "My father had just started his apprenticeship as a carpenter when he was called up. I remember him telling me he was excited rather than fearful. The nine-to-five tedium of work was not what any young man wanted and it was a chance to see the world.

South Wales Argus: John Haynes, of Newport, who has died aged 101

John Haynes

"When he returned home after the war he went back to his trade as a carpenter in the Newport area and was self employed all his life."

He said: "After witnessing the horrors of war all that mattered to Jack was the wellbeing and happiness of the family. He was always there for help, advice and guidance if needed. He never went anywhere without his late wife, Daisy.

"Anyone who met Jack knew him as a placid polite man with principles who had time for anyone. In his latter years unable to get out I would always be asked about his wellbeing from friends and neighbours.

"Jack felt unwell a week after Christmas. He was not in pain but said his strength was completely ebbing away. He refused hospital treatment and it was his wish to pass away in his own home he built surrounded by family. He had marvellous care from local health authorities and passed away peacefully from 'advancement of age'.

"We are blessed with wonderful memories of a loving father and the beautiful furniture he made as a carpenter will stay with us to remember him."

Mr Haynes has three grandsons Joe, Jack and Gareth and two great grand children, Jacob and newly-arrived Jasmine Daisy, who he was able to meet shortly before his death.