I read the article'The day Trautmann shone in Cumbria' (Gazette, April 11).

I have a paperback copy which I purchased in 1958 of Bert Trautmann's autobiography Steppes to Wembley detailing his life from early childhood to 1956, written with the help of Eric Todd, sportswriter of the Manchester Evening Chronicle.

In it he informs the reader that he arrived in England as a prisoner of war on April 9, 1945 and was taken to a POW camp at Northwich, Cheshire. After eight weeks he was moved to a POW camp in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire and remained there until March 1948.

In March 1948 he was released and was therefore no longer a prisoner of war. The government gave him the choice of repatriation to Germany or "volunteering" for agricultural work in England.

He decided to stay in England for the time being and was sent to work on a farm in Milnthorpe.

During his playing years at Manchester City he lived in Bramhall, Cheshire.

Carole Gordalla

Storth