Curtain up on PoWs’ theatre of war
A PHOTO album that reveals the extraordinary level of time and skill a group of British soldiers put into theatre productions at a PoW camp has sold for £600.
So serious was the am-dram group of Stalag 383, it turned a barn into an auditorium.
The men bartered Red Cross parcels with their German guards for materials and props.
They then spent weeks creating stage sets, costumes and concert programmes that would not have looked out of place in a West End theatre.
Productions played to packed audiences made up of prisonersof-war and their captors.
Plays including Oscar Wilde’s The Importance Of Being Earnest as well as special Christmas productions were produced by Sam Brearley, who had been a Programme gives a flavour of festivities in the camp repertory the war.
Servicemen wearing dresses made of handkerchiefs stitched together played the female roles – but they were a world away from the typical pantomime dame.
One PoW called Don “Pinky” Smith was so convincing as a woman that he became something of a pin-up in the camp.
To accompany the productions there was an orchestra that included saxophones, trumpets, tubas and guitars.
Professional-looking theatre programmes were printed with the help of the guards – and were often signed by members of the cast for the audience. Stalag 383 in Bavaria, southern Germany, was initially an “Oflag” – a camp theatre actor before A stylish design for Oscar Wilde’s hit comedy for officers. The theatre known as The Ofladium.
The camp housed about 4,000 prisoners, unlike others which held 50,000. PoWs were treated relatively well and were well-fed.
The archive, including handmade cards, has been sold by Tennants auctioneers of Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
It was compiled by Bombardier Bernard Cockcroft who ran the theatre’s costume department.
Tennants said: “This archive sheds light on the extraordinary range of events the prisoners were allowed to organise.
“Shows played to packed audiences of prisoners and their captors too.
“The enormous effort put into the details must have given the prisoners involved a focus and purpose.” was Handmade cards made light of Christmas in captivity