HARPERLEY POW CAMP - The Great Escape
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A drive by - the cache is accessible at all times.
You can see the huts from the gate further along the road - we will post any information we can gain regarding the closure of this project - disappointing - we thought it was a great idea.
The site was granted ancient monument status in July 2002, the first World War Two camp to be scheduled.
There were approximately 1500 POW camps in WW2 Britain but only 100 were purpose built, such as Harperley. Located on a hill above the River Wear approximately 250m West of the A68 & A689 junction, it was built on farmland in the Spring of 1943 by its first occupants Italian POW's - the camp's life expectancy was then estimated to be 15 years. The camp housing 800 to 1500 prisoners originally had about 60 huts, with its own dentist, priest and chapel, an extensive library, and a large mess hut in which one of the prisoners painted murals of rural scenes in Bavaria. There was also a theatre, doubling as a cinema, with stage, orchestra pit and tiered seating, and the prisoners cheered when Hitler or high-ranking German officers appeared on Pathe newsreels, and booed Churchill with gusto. It was also a headquarters camp, eventually controlling a further 10 satellite camps across North East England - Bedburn, Langton Grange, Windlestone Hall, Bishop Auckland, Mount Oswald, Usworth, Lanchester, Consett, Hamsterley Hall and High Spen - housing in total a further 500 POW's making the maximum number controlled from Harperley 2000 men.
The German POWs arrived in September 1944, three months after D-Day, 6th June 1944. Initially, German POWs were transported to America, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. If Hitler & the Axis Powers had successfully invaded, the Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, did not want to supply a ready-made army stationed in Britain, albeit under lock & key.
British guards to the North, prisoners to the South! The Prisoners (firstly, the Italians, then, secondly, the Germans) in their compound were self-governing and catered to their own needs. The guards entered only if there was trouble, or, they were invited in. There are no evident reports of trouble at Harperley.
Depending upon their skills, agricultural, forestry, general labour etc. prisoners could earn up 6 shillings (30p) a week and on their return from their daily work they would march to the only entrance & exit from the 'Prisoner side' to be given"..their personal GIFT from King George VI, three horrible cigarettes!"
Through their farm labour, sport, arts, crafts and music, the prisoners formed strong bonds with the people of the County and nearly 10 per cent remained in Britain rather than return home.
One, Rudi Lux, stayed not only because he married a local girl but also because his home town became part of the Eastern bloc after the war. During his time at Harperley, he was transported to Roker on the back of a lorry every day. He worked on removing large concrete anti-tank blocks from the beach, part of the coastal defences against the threat of invasion. One of the better-known German ex-prisoners was Bert Trautmann, who volunteered for bomb disposal work in England after the war and became a professional goalkeeper, playing for Manchester City in the 1956 FA Cup Final. He broke his neck making a spectacular save during the game and played on for the remaining 17 minutes of the match, despite great pain.
The sports field at Harperley may also have been the venue for the first England v Germany post-war football match when the camp team took on Crook Town.
Harperley was purchased late in 2001, cleared of the 2 metre high thorns & bracken, the green slimy concrete paths & roadway and resident vermin population, in preparation for development.
The interiors of the British guards' accommodation is now a Garden Centre, Gift & Farm Shops, Tea Rooms & 'Der Quell’ Restaurant building. Accommodation is offered ‘forties style’ at £500 per week.
In 2007, just as the recession was beginning, visitor numbers tailed off and the owners had to mothball the camp.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybt vg oruvaq gur jnyy.