Hermanis Vins
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My father, Hermanis, the youngest of four children,was born in Mazstraupes, Vidzeme, on the 30th December 1914.
The son of farmer Janis Vins, he planned to follow in his father's footsteps and farm for a living after studying at agricultural college.

In 1941, he married his first wife Kristine Krumins of Priedites Farm, District Mazstraupes, but this was dissolved in June 1944. There were no children

When Germany invaded (after the Russian occupation of 1940-41) my father was conscripted into the Wehrmacht and spent the remainder of the war fighting on the Eastern Front. Luckily, he fell into Allied hands af the end of the war and, after a spell as a POW, found himself at the DP Assembly Centre in Grossenbrode, Germany.

My father gained entry into England in 1947 and met my mother the following year.In 1949, after an 18 month engagement they finally married and had two children, my elder sister Ingrida (b.1952) and me, Viktors (b.1956).

Sadly, my father died prematurely in December 1971, on the eve of his 57th birthday.Of his Latvian family, little is known.One of his brothers did make it to the U.K. but died in Tredagar,Wales,in the early 60's. Also,his mother and sister were reportedly still alive in 1960, living at a collective farm in Mazstraupes, though no-one can remember their names.