At the peak of World War II there were approximately 1500 prisoner of war camps in Great Britain.
Not far from my home lies the remains of one of the very few camps which, after it's usefulness had expired, was allowed to remain untouched. So, on Saturday my brother and I got on our bikes and had a snoop around.
This is: Camp #93, Harperley.
The camp is surrounded by a 6' chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire.
My initial survey reports that this a modern addition designed to keep the English out, rather than Ze Germans (and Italians) inside.
How I long to see the other side. Tunneling under was considered but we wanted to be home in time for tea and we couldn't find a guard who would exchange cigarettes and boot polish for wire cutters. We decided the best course of action was to jump the fence on a motorbike.
Then we realised that the fence only went half way round, so we just walked in.
...and acquainted ourselves with our new surroundings. For us, the war was over.
Whenever I mention the war, you immediately start thinking in black & white. Believe or not, back in the 1940's the sky was blue and the grass was green.
The POW camp is built on farmland. For the last 60 years, many of the 50 or so huts have been used as agricultural buildings and are in very poor condition.
Some are in better condition than others, and it's these ones that give a better sense of life as a POW.
[at this point jwoody grows a beard and turns into a tour guide]
..as you can see... here... the hut is constructed from six... pre-fabricated sections... you can clearly see where the men slept... this hut is identical to all other British built POW huts in the world... where you have a window it is always opposite a wall... where you have wall it always opposite... yes, you guessed it... a window. In front of each wall section, a bunk bed... sleeping two POWs. Total of 24 men per hut... multiply that by fifty huts... you have accommodation for a thousand men... give... or... take... a few...................... hundred.
[/end tour]
One of the huts had been decorated with some impressive paintings. Here we see a fox, basking in the midday sun. You can also see how they spiced the place up with some nifty (timber) curtains.
Here's a painting of a horse.
...and some scenery.
Most impressive is the theatre hut. It isn't known exactly how the prisoners managed to acquire the materials and tools to build this but, as this was an Anti-Nazi prison camp, the prisoners would be working in the local community during the day. It is important to point out that the prisoners were not forced to work and that they were paid. Being prisoners they couldn't spend their money and at the end of the war the money they had earned was shared between the remaining prisoners.
Another view of the theatre.
The decor was impressive in it's ingenuity. The fancy trellis work on the wall has been made by cutting squares out of the plasterboard...
..and items such as curtains made from hessian sack.
The camp was featured on a BBC program called 'Restoration' in which the public had to vote on a project to be restored. The P.O.W. camp didn't win the vote.
A German amateur documentary film maker (and ex-P.O.W.) named Rudi Lux made a short film about his time at the camp.
Links:
http://www.powcamp.com/history.html
http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/...ory/wwtwo/pow/
http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/di.../PoWs/pows.htm