Cultybraggan Camp
| Cultybraggan Camp | |
|---|---|
| Comrie | |
 Entrance to Cultybraggan Camp | |
  Cultybraggan Camp Location within Perth and Kinross | |
| Coordinates | 56°21′20″N 03°59′39″W / 56.35556°N 3.99417°W |
| Type | Prisoner of War Camp |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Comrie Development Trust |
| Operator | Comrie Development Trust |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1941–2004 |
Cultybraggan Camp, also known as Camp 21 and the Black Camp of the North, lies close to the village of Comrie, in west Perthshire, Scotland. It was one of two high-security prisoner of war (PoW) camps in Britain during World War II, later housing a Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring post and a Regional Government Headquarters during the Cold War. Control of Cultybraggan has since been transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Comrie Development Trust, who have overseen the sale and subsequent conversion of some Nissen huts into business ventures and accommodation. The site is considered to be one of the three best preserved PoW camps in Britain, with many huts having category A or B listings from Historic Scotland.
History[edit]
James V of Scotland came to Cultybraggan in September 1532 to hunt deer. Records survive of the food he consumed included bread, ale, and fish sent from Stirling.[1]
Second World War[edit]
Land for Cultybraggan Camp was acquired by the British Army from Cultybraggan Farm in 1941.[2] The camp was built in September 1941[3] by the refugee members of 249 Company Pioneer Corps.[4][5] Initially, Cultybraggan was used as a labour camp for Italian Prisoners of War, before later being designated a transit and then base camp for German PoWs. The camp had a maximum capacity of 4500 prisoners.[3] An additional camp was located at Cowden, two miles distant.[6]
Cultybraggan was one of two maximum-security PoW camps in Britain, having a large quantity of "black" or "category C" prisoners - those who were considered to be the most committed Nazis and likely to cause trouble.[3][7] Prisoners were brought to Comrie on special railway trains, and were subsequently marched through the village towards Cultybraggan.[2][8] The camp was divided into four sections of approximately 100 Nissen huts each, designated with the letters A to D.[9] Compounds A and B housed "black" category prisoners, whereas compounds C and D housed "grey" and "white" category prisoners, who were considered less ardent Nazis and allowed to leave the camp to undertake work in the local community.[9] Compounds had access to facilities including shower blocks, classrooms, a library and a place of worship.[5]
British guards were originally responsible for the security of the camp, however had been replaced with Polish guards of the Free Polish Forces by 1944.[5][9] It was believed that the Polish would be less lenient towards the German prisoners as a result of the German occupation of Poland, and would be an effective deterrent to misbehaviour.[2][5][9] In one incident, a guard shot a prisoner in the head for allegedly getting too close to the camp's perimeter fence.[9]
Cultybraggan gained notoriety after the death of Feldwebel Wolfgang Rosterg on its premises.[4][7] Rostberg was a PoW with known anti-Nazi views who openly spoke against Hitler and Nazism.[10] He was sent to Cultybraggan by accident along with conspirators of the failed Devizes plot, an attempt at staging the mass escape of PoWs to attack London, stalling the Allied invasion of Germany and turning the tide of the war.[10][11] The conspirators incorrectly believed that Rosterg had been an informant of their plot to the British and had been taken to Cultybraggan to spy on them.[10] Rosterg was accused by a group of PoWs of treason and tried in a kangaroo court, he was subsequently beaten and lynched[10] in Hut 4 of Compound B.[12] Six PoWs were later convicted in a military court for his murder, one of which was sentenced to life imprisonment and the other five hanged at Pentonville Prison, the last such mass-execution in Britain.[11]
Due to the large amount of "black" prisoners housed in Cultybraggan some areas of the camp contained groups of hardline Nazis who were hostile towards guards and the "white" prisoners, in particular Compound B.[5] Following the murder of Rostberg many "black" prisoners were transferred to other camps such as Watten in Caithness, reducing tension in the camp.[5]
Post-Second World War[edit]
The last prisoners left Cultybraggan by May 1947 to be repatriated and the site was disbanded as a PoW camp.[3] Following the war, in 1949, Cultybraggan was opened as a training camp. It was used by the Regular Army, the Territorial Army and was popular with Cadet units for their annual camps. The camp covered approximately 8 acres (3 hectares) and could accommodate 600 personnel in a mixture of huts and tents. Units rotating through the camp enabled 80,000 'man training days' of military exercising, including adventure training, cross-country driving, and helicopter operations, using the 12,000-acre (4,900-hectare) Tighnablair Training Area, leased from the Drummond Estate.[6]
Some of the original 100 Nissen huts on the western side of the camp were demolished in the 1970s to make way for a firing range and assault course.[2]
As part of the Cold War defence of the nation, construction of an underground Royal Observer Corps (ROC) monitoring post began in 1960. This facility was closed by 1992.[4]
In 1990, an underground Regional Government Headquarters (RGHQ) bunker was completed in the north east corner of the camp site to replace the Scottish North Zone Headquarters bunker at Troywood (Anstruther). In the event of war, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the BBC, British Telecom, and other important organisations would have operated from here. However, the Cold War threat receded almost as soon as the bunker was completed, and the £3.6 million, two-storey, underground structure was declared obsolete, and closed. Sold to the Army, the bunker was added to the military training facilities.[6]
Post-Military use[edit]
The camp ceased to be used by the military in 2004, and was sold to the Comrie Development Trust in 2007 through a community right-to-buy option for £350,000.[13][14] Since taking ownership of the 90-acre (36 ha) site on 20 September 2007, the Comrie Development Trust's Cultybraggan Working Group have been working towards the sustainable development of this asset. Major infrastructure works (drainage, electricity, water and telecoms), the conversion of nine Nissen huts to make 12 units for local businesses and the refurbishment of the central mess are included in the first phase. In 2012 it was reported that a communications firm had purchased the underground bunker at Cultybraggan for use as a "digital safe house".[15] However, the bid failed and the bunker was put back on the market.[16] In April 2014, the bunker was sold at auction to a service provider who are looking to use it for long term data and media storage.[17]
The surviving huts, together with an assault course and modern Officers' Mess facility, make Cultybraggan "one of the three best preserved purpose-built WWII prisoner of war camps in Britain".[7] In 2006, a number of structures at the camp were listed by Historic Scotland. Huts 19, 20, and 44–46 are category A listed as being of national significance,[7] while huts 1–3, 21, 29–39, and 47–57 are category B listed.[18]
Amongst the Second World War PoWs was Heinrich Steinmeyer, soldier in the Waffen SS since 1942, who was captured in Normandy in August 1944. He died in 2014 and left a bequest of £384,000 to the village due to the “kindness and generosity” from the camp and from the people of the Comrie area, which has been put into the Comrie Development Trust.[19][20]
References[edit]
- ^ Excerpta e libris domicilii Domini Jacobi Quinti regis Scotorum (Edinburgh, 1836), pp. 230-231, appendix p. 32, citing National Records of Scotland E32 series.
- ^ a b c d "A history of Cultybraggan: Scotland's POW camp". The Scotsman. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Cultybraggan Prisoner Of War Camp, Guard's Block". Canmore. 11 December 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Suzie; Banks, Iain (2 January 2019). "Asset, burden, Cultybraggan. Community site ownership in a Scottish village". Journal of Community Archaeology & Heritage. 6 (1): 51–68. doi:10.1080/20518196.2018.1548223. ISSN 2051-8196.
- ^ a b c d e f Banks, Iain (2 January 2020). "'For you, the war is over? Not a chance!' Captivity and escape at Cultybraggan prisoner of war camp, Comrie, Perthshire". Journal of Conflict Archaeology. 15 (1): 32–64. doi:10.1080/15740773.2020.1853365. ISSN 1574-0773.
- ^ a b c "Cultybraggan". Secret Scotland. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d Historic Environment Scotland. "Comrie, Cultybraggan Former Cadet Camp, Huts 19 and 20 (Guard's Block) and 44, 45, 46 (Category A Listed Building) (LB50471)". Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ "Cultybraggan prisoner of war camp march to be re-enacted". BBC News. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e McEachern, Megan (27 October 2018). "WATCH: Cultybraggan: The story of Scotland's prisoners of war". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d McKie, David (23 December 2004). "A grisly Christmas tale". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b Cowen, Lewis (10 July 2008). "Grisly tale of revenge". The Gazette and Herald. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Bryce, Tracey (21 October 2018). "Writer unravels mystery of Nazi's death behind the wire in little known Scottish prisoner of war camp". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ Rymajdo, Kamila (7 February 2018). "PHOTOS: This Bakery Used to House Prisoners-of-War". Vice Media. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Peck, Tom (29 September 2009). "Nazi PoW leaves his fortune to villagers". The Independent. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Lincoln firm buys Cultybraggan nuclear bunker". BBC News. 31 January 2012.
- ^ "Home – The Courier". The Courier. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ "Tech firm Bogons buys Cultybraggan nuclear bunker". BBC News. 21 May 2014.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Comrie, Cultybraggan Former Cadet Camp, Huts 1–3, 21, 29–39, 47–57 (all nos inclusive) (Category B Listed Building) (LB50472)". Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- ^ Cramb, Auslan (2 December 2016). "Former Nazi storm trooper donates life savings to Scottish village where he was held captive". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ "The Steinmeyer Legacy". comriedevelopmenttrust.org.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
External links[edit]
- Cultybraggan, Comrie Development Trust