Harperley POW Camp 93 is a surviving purpose-built World War II Prisoner of War camp built to accommodate up to 1400 Prisoners of War at Fir Tree near Crook, County Durham in the North-East of England. A work camp for low risk PoW's, built on a hillside overlooking Weardale and across the valley from Hamsterley Forest, it was built, initially, in 1943 by Italian Prisoners of War to similar plans of other existing Ministry Of War Standard Camps of World War II in Britain and typical of many military installations around the war-torn country. It is the main camp for a number of satellite camps numbered 93. Nearby Bishop Auckland used Harperley PoW's and Oaklands Emergency Hospital also as Camp 93.
There were approximately 1500 camps of varying categories and sizes in World War II Britain, and of those about 100 were reported as 'purpose-built', such as Harperley.
Contents |
| Camp Status | Camp Name | Location | WWII County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Harperley | Fir Tree, Crook | County Durham |
| Satellite | Oaklands Emergency Hospital | Bishop Auckland | County Durham |
| Satellite | Bedburn | Bedburn | County Durham |
| Satellite | Consett | Consett | County Durham |
| Satellite | Hamsterley Hall | Hamsterley, Rowlands Gill | County Durham |
| Satellite | High Spen | Gateshead | County Durham |
| Satellite | Lanchester | County Durham | |
| Satellite | Langton Grange | High Hulam, Nr Staindrop | County Durham |
| Satellite | Mount Oswald | South Road, Durham | County Durham |
| Satellite | Usworth | nr Washington | County Durham |
| Satellite | Windlestone Hall | Rushyford | County Durham |
The land was requisitioned from local landowner Charles Johnson, and was then constructed on by the War Office and its original Italian PoW interns who, on arrival, were initially housed in canvas bell tents.
The everyday running of Harperley PoW Camp 93 was dealt with by the military staff. The 1st Commandant at the outset of Camp 93 was Major Tetlow. His duties were mainly confined to the camp although his residence was in Wolsingham, the first village NW of Camp 93 on the main A689. A recent report from one of the British guards confirms frequent, but discreet, lunchtime visits to a local hostelry, The Duke of York in Fir Tree with Major Tetlow and two other senior staff members.
Major Tetlow eventually retired to Wolsingham in Weardale in 1945, opening the door to his successor, the 2nd and last Commandant, Lt Col George Kinnear Stobart. Lt Col Stobart remained in command until the last repatriated PoW was released and Harperley PoW Camp 93 was officially disbanded in 1948.
As with many PoW Camps, after its 1948 closure Harperley PoW Camp 93 became a DP (Displaced Persons) Camp. The satellite camp Hamsterley Hall became Hamsterley Hall DP Camp, housing about 300 to 400 men from as far away as the new East Germany (Deutsche Demokratisches Republik or DDR), Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, countries occupied by the then Soviet Union. If those men had returned home many may have ended up in Gulags or Siberian Labour Camps. Large numbers of DPs (Displaced Persons) were allowed into Britain, primarily in 1947, provided they agreed to work for about four years in agriculture, on the farms, or in the mines. Transport between the DP Camps and the farms was Government-provided, the camps being run by the YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) movement. There were a large number of similar camps including, in this area, Fir Tree, Villa Real (Consett), Gainford near Darlington and Windlestone Hall 3 miles E of Bishop Auckland also on the A689, the childhood home of the then future Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden.
The original 50 plus buildings were constructed from normal house brick & concrete foundations with reinforced concrete posts & frameworks. All the buildings are of the same width, 18' 6", the approximate height being 12' at the roof apex and of varying lengths dependant on the intended usage for the building. The wall sections were either prefabricated reinforced concrete panels or vented square-shaped clay brick construction, including a window in alternate sections. The roofs were made from corrugated asbestos sheeting and are said to be currently in a stable condition. The original interior and exterior paintworks remain extensive throughout; their composition is reputed to have a high lead content (that is why guides at Harperley PoW Camp 93 always advise visitors to wash their hands thoroughly after each camp tour). All the buildings had two entry/exit points and were heated by possibly 1 or 2 cast-iron pot-bellied stoves. Accommodation buildings are 1 room, approximately 60' long, housing about 48 men in double bunks.
To this day, 49 buildings remain in varying states of decay and disrepair; the buildings were originally expected to last about 15 years. Harperley is reported to be one of only five PoW camps within Britain that remain virtually intact.
Camp 93 consisted of a Guards' compound and a Prisoners' compound with garden plots and recreation area. An outer barbed wire fence supported by concrete posts enclosed the prisoners' compound plus an alleged inner barbed wire coil fence. Between the Guards' and Prisoners' compounds a sterile area was established between the inner fence with a further coiled barbed wire entanglement. Contrary to popular belief, there were no guard towers at Harperley camp, as prisoners held there were considered low risk 'White' category PoWs. The overall Allied categorisation of PoWs resulted in White (Non Nazi/Low risk), Grey (Medium risk) and Black (Staunch Nazi/High risk) internees. Prisoners within Wartime Britain who were loyal Nazi supporters, members of the SS and U-Boat (Unterzeeboot) crews could be sent to camps with particularly remote locations such as the Scottish Highlands.
The complex was accessed from the A689 public highway via a single-track concrete road.
The prisoners' compound occupied a large square of land and contained approximately 41 huts including kitchens, adjacent grocery and produce store, two interconnecting dining huts, ablution and latrine blocks, the camp reception station (or medical facility), a number of accommodation huts, one hut converted into a chapel, another converted into a theatre and a carpenter's hut.
Shortly after completion of the construction of Camp 93 and the capitulation of Italy and its armed forces (signed on 3 September and publicly declared on 8 September 1943) the Italian PoWs were largely relocated to other PoW camps pending repatriation. Some stayed as PoWs encarcerated at Consett (a PoW Camp 93 satellite camp) and remained employed as local labour. German PoWs were transported to Harperley, primarily after D-Day 6 June 1944, by various means, to replace its complement of Italian PoWs who were previously an invaluable contribution to the local labour force.
The Guards' compound consisted of a group of approximately 16 huts. The maingate entrance and Guard Room was manned by British military personnel controlling the movements of everything in and out of the camp area, including personnel, prisoners and vehicles. Directly opposite the Guard Room at the main entrance was an Alarm Bell installed for any emergency, such as fire, escape attempts or PoW disturbances. Historically, it is reassuring that it never seems to have been used other than a highly polished and decorative addition to the well kept surrounding gardens.
Immediately upon gaining entrance to Harperley Camp to the right were the Durham County War Agriculture Committee (D.W.A.C. or WARAG) office buildings and staffed by Durham County Council WARAG employees. These officers would negotiate with local farmers and landowners short and long term contracts for employing PoW's on a daily basis. Each morning the PoW's being transported to their respective locations and returned each evening by the same method. Occasionally, farmers and landowners would request to billet a PoW, taking responsibility for their general welfare and employment for a particular period
Harperley held approximately 800 to 1500 PoW's and they were utilised extensively as manpower to work on agriculture, dam, forestry and many other local labour consuming projects. Six days a week, Monday to Saturday from 0700 hrs to 1900 hrs. Counted out, frequently transported to their workplace (sometimes on foot), and, upon their return, counted in. Proceeding through the only entrance and exit, their reward being ...their personal gift from King George VI, three horrible cigarettes as quoted by Johannes Heerdegen in his award winning DVD documentary Journey into the Past.
Wherever they worked their employers paid WARAG for their services, however, PoW's received only approximately 5% of that fee, dependant on their skills, anything from 6d to 6/- a week (2½p to 30p per week). Surviving PoW Reinhardt Nieke reported to the author in 2005 as a PoW he frequently spent his wages on things such as '...a slice of fruit cake and a bottle of pop.' Regulations forbade PoW's from holding on to cash and their remaining 'wages' were placed within a central Welfare fund to be banked and administered on camp by the Camp Adjutant, in liaison with the PoW Camp Committee, from which they collectively benefited.
Not all PoW's worked off-camp, there were a number of roles to be fulfilled within the PoW compound and the British lines within the various Mess buildings and offices.
The adjacent historical photograph shows the ornamental gardens to the northern end of the British Junior Ranks' accommodation buildings (painted white), the PoW lines beyond them (painted black with pitch to help with waterproofing). The WO's & Sgt's Mess is out of shot to the right of the photograph. Notice the spectators at the hill top watching an ongoing football match. It is fondly believed locally that as West Auckland FC won the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in Turin, Italy by beating FC Winterthur 2 – 0 in 1909 and successfully defended that against Juventus 1 – 6, again in Turin, in 1911 that the 1st post-WWII England v Germany football match was allegedly played here at Harperley between Crook Town and the PoW's.
Situate between the inner gate and spans approximately ⅔ the width of the PoW compound in a southerly direction. At the eastern side is the first building, the Camp Committee hut, and running south, the Kitchen (Küche) then the Canteen (Kantine). The PoW Parade Ground ends at the last row of accommodation buildings.
To the western side, the first building is the Reception/Medical Centre (a complex of 3 interlinked buildings), and running south, the Showers (Duschraum), one of the largest buildings within PoW Camp 93. The PoW Parade Ground ends at the last row of accommodation buildings, as it corresponds with the east side.
Or in English, Canteen. The PoW's regularly congregated here to play cards, read or write letters, read newspapers (both English and German) extending their education, in particular, learning English or maybe just to relax and while away the rest of their available free time.
The murals in this building are unique, valuable and extremely delicate as they were first drawn and then painted onto the now fragile fibreboard covering the concrete walling panels. Also in here are the 'elaborate' window dressings made from hardboard, pinned to a lath frame surrounding the existing window, then decorated in the style and fashion of the day using relocated materials.
(Relocated is used to establish that the materials may or may not have been issued to the PoW's and is in no way meant to infer that the materials were stolen see below per donated )
The existent owners, Lisa and James Macleod, inform that the murals appear to be the work of only one of Harperley's German interns whose identity currently remains unknown save for his disguised initials, M R, in the English-titled Foals in the Meadow in the bottom right corner.
Structurally, this building is no different to the others within Harperley. This building's interior, constructed entirely by the PoW's, is a remarkable achievement by demonstrating the successfully converted interior of a MoW (Ministry of War) Standard Hut incorporating a Stage (with Prompt Box and Orchestra Pit) and tiered auditorium flooring. It is believed none of the materials were requisitioned or issued to them and it is possible that the bricks, sand, cement & gravel were 'acquired' almost certainly 'on permanent loan' . It was tastefully decorated in the style of the day using painted everyday Hessian sacking with accompanying adapted wall lighting. The facia above the stage was adorned with theatrical masks & scroll work fabricated from papier-mâché and painted using gold paint donated by the last Camp Commandant, Lt Col George Kinnear Stobart.
(Donated is used as it is unsure how Lt Col Stobart came to be in possession of the Gold paint)
The PoW's were very talented and most of the productions here were written by themselves. There were no women and female characters were played by the prisoners using donated and re-tailored costumes and dresses. Most wigs were fabricated from Hesian sacking with the threads and fibres gently teased apart and fashioned in the styles of the day, bleached and dyed as required. Allegedly, Marlene Dietrich and Betty Grable, amongst many others, have 'tread the boards' at Harperley PoW Camp 93!
The 8 to 11 piece Camp Orchestra played music they knew and frequently wrote their own compositions. Instruments were either donated or bought using PoW monies from their Central Fund. Incidentally, on viewing the size of the orchestra pit the author is unsure how 8 to 11 prisoners, seating, music stands and instruments (a double bass & drum kit appeared in there see picture) were ALL accommodated.
We are reliably informed that Harperley's Camp Orchestra played by popular request at many local functions aided by their equally talented Musical Director, PoW Helmut Entz, in his previous civilian life a professional musician.
It is hoped to restore and return the Theatre to the community but not just to Drama and Theatre groups but also to schools and colleges. To re-dedicate it for the use it was given all those years ago by the inspired German PoW's. Many school and college groups have already expressed a interest for possible future productions.
If and when restoration commences it has been suggested to encase one of the old interior panels in Perspex to display the deplorable condition the hut was found in prior to restoration.
In its heyday, in 40s Wartime Britain, it was not just a popular venue for the PoW's but also invited Guards & Officers and the local community too. Performances in the Theatre are fondly remembered by now elderly audience participants who were children in the war years. Some programmes from performances in the Theatre still exist today.
Harperley was a working camp and that work was long and hard. At the end of World War II most German PoW's repatriated, however, throughout the UK, approximately 1 in 16 PoW's remained, men such as Rudi Lux. Prisoners that chose to remain in the United Kingdom had to report weekly to the local police station as a ‘displaced’ person until as recently as 1961. Visitors to Harperley POW Camp 93 envisage its future as another Eden Camp. It is not the vision of current owners James and Lisa MacLeod and not what they wish to portray. Eden Camp, No. 83 and 250, is a fantastic interactive museum and excels at what it does depicting their theme, the Peoples' War 1939 – 1945. The MacLeods and Harperley would like to eventually depict what life was like as a Prisoner of War, a PoW. Camp 93 is frequently visited by ex-PoW's and their families. Many are emotional as their memories rush back almost instantaneously, the fear of dread and despair, and over 60 years after they were interred there.
The perimeter wire was removed after the war end from the War Office directive. All that remains are the still visible half posts with barbed wire still attached at the southern end of the PoW compound.
Rumours abound from ex-Guards, ex-Pow's and local residents alike claiming the fence was not there to keep the PoW's in but to keep the girls out! A number of local girls courted beaus from Harperley PoW Camp 93.
James & Lisa Macleod purchased Harperley late in 2001. The camp was overgrown and since cleared of extensive weeds and undergrowth. Funding was obtained from DeFRA to help refurbish the interiors of the British guards accommodation. The old WO's and Sgt's Mess (Warrant Officers and Sergeants) was transformed into the Der Quell' Restaurant and Tea Rooms.
They envisaged the PoW compound as another project to store plant and farm machinery and a possible poultry farm until their interest grew from the sights and the buildings they uncovered.
Upon clearing the site and the discovery of the extensive plot of buildings and artefacts within them the MacLeods placed a newspaper advert asking for help in tracing information relating to Harperley. The response to that advert from ex-PoW's, ex-Guards and locals alike would spark an idea into resurrecting Camp 93. One ex-PoW in paricular, Rudi Lux, played a prominent role.
Rudi Lux was born in Masow, Pomerania, in NE Germany(now Maszewo, Poland), 28 February 1929. It is about 22 miles E of Stettin (Szczecin), now in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. In the latter stages of World War II the German armed forces were dramatically depleted and under continual attack from the allies. All able-bodied males were instructed to volunteer and fight for Nazi Germany. Rudi and his friends (they were schoolmates) were given rudimentary training, their uniform (a Volksturm armband) and more frequently no weapon. They had to defend Germany but were, apparently, given their choice of adversary. To the West were the advancing British, Canadian and American forces. To the East the terrifying advancing Russian armies. About 6 weeks after 'basic training' Rudi, aged 16 and still a schoolboy, was captured by advancing American forces. He was interned in many other PoW camps before finally arriving at Harperley in 1946.
After World War II and after most of his colleagues had repatriated Rudi was unable to return to his home town, now inside the Communist Eastern Bloc and, more recently, Poland, but was able to live and work in post-war Britain were he eventually married and settled locally. He believed his family had perished in the Soviet army advance in 1945 and, therefore, had no reason to return home.
Until 1961, as with many others of his kind, Rudi reported weekly to his local Police Station as a Displaced Person and, because they were deemed a security risk, allowed only menial employment until then.
Rudi Lux's involvement was instrumental in recent past, present and future plans at Harperley. He became unwell at Christmas 2003 and was diagnosed with a terminal illness from which he died, 11 March 2004, in Morpeth.
As Rudi never repatriated he saw Harperley POW Camp 93 as part of his progression in life from boy to man to husband to father to grandfather. At his family's request his ashes are scattered in Camp 93's Rose Garden, dedicated to his memory. Rudi also wrote and published a book, From Pomerania to Ponteland, which details his life and experiences.