For them the war really is over! WW2 prisoner

Release time：2024-05-21 23:41:35 Source：Worldly Wisdom news portal

A former WWII prisoner-of-war camp which once had a reputation for holding some of the most senior Nazi soldiers has been transformed into a thriving community hub.

Cultybraggan Camp, located near Comrie in Scotland, held up to 4,000 prisoners after its construction in WWII.

When the war ended and prisoners were sent to face trial, Cultybraggan was briefly empty, but reopened as a training camp by the Ministry of Defence in 1948.

It was closed by the MoD in 2004 and sold to the Comrie Development Trust just three years later. 

The Trust, made up of over 600 volunteers from the village, set about turning the space into a unique community hub to benefit the local community.

Now, the camp houses a mixture of businesses, volunteer groups and boasts a gym, a shop and a museum telling the history of Cultybraggan.

Hut 17 of the former Cultybraggan Camp now belongs to Beetroot and Chocolate event catering company which is owned by Sam Walker

Cultybraggan Camp in Perthshire (pictured) which was first used as a PoW camp in WWII

Hut 65 has now been transformed into Comrie and District Men Shed (pictured) 

Sam Walker, co-founder of catering business Beetroot and Chocolate, is a Comrie local who set up shop in the camp in 2017.

He said: 'Cultybraggan used to be an MoD camp when I was growing up.

'There were NATO exercises going on, and the sound of machine gun fire was quite a normal sound to hear in Comrie.

'But then the MoD decided they didn't need it any more, and it was bought by the village.'

Sam and co-owner Jamie Lang jumped at the chance to purchase a plot in Cultybraggan and say that the community is the perfect place to grow a small business.

'They have around 150 huts, and they're the perfect incubators for small businesses,' Sam added.

'We bought our unit here and set about building our kitchen. It's a beautiful setting and the buildings are, for the most part, in half-decent nick.

Hut 55 of Cultybraggan Camp now belongs to CrossFit Cultybraggan owned by Miles Key (pictured)

A row of self-catering accommodation at Cultybraggan Camp in Perthshire, Scotland (pictured) 

Inside the self-catering accommodation at the camp, which first house around 4,000 prisoners of war 

An aerial view of the camp site which is now a community of small business and has a shop, a gym and a museum

'Everyone gets to know each other, and we see each other going to and from the village all the time.

'Lots of people don't know about it in the slightest - it's hidden away on this little flat plain outside Comrie.

'It's a bit of a strange place - for us, it's become a kind of industrial estate made out of leftovers from the war.

'It's a bit like an open-air museum crossed with an industrial estate and whatever else is going on at any given time - reenactments, camping and caravan clubs, motorbike rallies and all sorts of stuff.'

Also running a business from inside the camp is Miles Key, who has been a CrossFit instructor for nearly 20 years.

Originally from Brighton, he moved to Comrie with his wife during lockdown to be closer to her family and says that Cultybraggan's history and scenery was an important part of his decision.

'I'm proud to live in Comrie - I married a local girl, and we've been coming up to visit her parents here for the last 18 years,' Miles said.

'I used to work in Brighton - and Brighton is lovely - but when you get to work here, and you can see the hills, it's just stunning.

Cultybraggan was used by the Ministry of Defence after WWII as a training camp (pictured) 

The WWII camp previously had a reputation for housing some of the most senior Nazi soldiers

A postcard depicting Cultybraggan Camp in 1955 when it was used as a training facility by the MoD

'When it comes to prisoner of war camps - I haven't been in many others, I have to say - but as a location, it's just stunning.

'When people visit the gym and the premises for the first time, they all say, 'wow.' The community is very good - it's a nice place to work.

'Cultybraggan had always been a very interesting place to visit before I worked here because of its history, so to come here every day and be able to run a business here is just fantastic.'

The premises are also home to several non-profit groups - including a Woodland Working Group who maintain and plant trees around the area, and a group who oversee the care of the community orchard onsite.

Around 4,000 prisoners were held at the site in over 100 huts during WWII

Miles Key (pictured) outside Hut 55 which appears slightly weather-beaten but in good shape 

A view of the self-catering accommodation at the Cultybraggan site 

Ken Haizer was given permission in 2018 to use the space to host a local 'men's shed' - one of over 127 groups across the country designed to allow men to make friends and provide emotional support to each other.

Starting with just five members, Ken and his team used a grant given to them by the Perth & Kinross Council to turn their huts into a warm and inviting space for their group.

'In 2018, we were given these two sheds - the place was absolute rubble,' said Ken.

'The windows were rotten, the doors needed replacing - we had to hire a skip to get the whole lot of rubble out.

The Comrie Development Trust set about transforming the Cultybraggan site into a community hub 

'The roof was collapsed in the garage area, so we cleared all that out and put a new one on.

'The MoD had cut the electrics, so we laid electric from the museum into 65 where we are now.

'This was all within the space of a couple of years.'

Ken's work paid off - and the Comrie & District Men's Shed now has over 85 members, who all enjoy spending time in their unique space at Cultybraggan.

'We've got 85 members, of which around 28 are 'hard-core' - coming up on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

'We have a ladies' day on Wednesdays, and on Thursday, we have a maintenance day, where we come in and clean the place up.

'Everyone likes the idea of it being here - we're generally all local, so we know about the place.

'The site is extremely historically important - it's the only one in Scotland. I would like to see more tourism here.

'There's a beautiful view of the mountains - the place is just dying for something in the tourist department.'

Inside Hit 17 which now belongs to the event catering company Beetroot and Chocolate (pictured) 

Bob Roseweir, who has worked in the Cultybraggan Camp Museum for two years, believes the camp is deeply important to the local community, serving as both a sign of progress and a link to the area's unique history.

'It's probably the only prisoner of war camp in the country that is in such an original state - but it's had several existences,' Bob said.

'I came for a visit, and when I saw the place and what they were doing with it, I became interested.

'I now act as a tour guide and work in the museum, as well as helping with the administration of the camp.'

Cultybraggan Camp Museum welcomes around 30-40 visitors per day during the summer months - with many tourists even having personal connections to the camp.

Visitors are often shocked by the bustling community that lives on at Cultybraggan - but Bob says that they leave with an appreciation of how the town have utilised the space to help themselves and each other.

'We get people who have some sort of link to the camp - sometimes people who have relatives who were guards there or even prisoners there.

'It's amazing how many people have a link with that and want to come and see the place.

'The visitors are usually very pleased to see the camp - they see that although it still looks the same, there's some good being done from it.

'It's a great community - and great for Comrie particularly.'

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