The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
New book on POW camp lays to rest Rudolf Hess rumours
Cultybraggan’s wartime secrets uncovered by Tillicoultry writer – and she solves the mystery of Hitler’s captured deputy
A new book on a Perthshire prisoner of war camp aims to finally dispel the myth that it once hosted a famous Nazi officer.
Camp 21 Comrie, written by Valerie Campbell, is the first in-depth study of the Second World War site at Cultybraggan.
In it, the author attempts to lay to rest long-standing rumours that Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, was held captive there after he parachuted into Scotland in 1941.
Ms Campbell, 48, from Tillicoultry, spent around two years researching war records and managed to track down former German prisoners of war and their families.
Cultybraggan, which was known as the “black camp of the north” and is now the UK’S best preserved former POW camp, housed thousands of men who had been captured in North Africa and Europe.
The book also details its lesser-known history during the Cold War and its uses in the 1960s and 1970s when the Combined Cadet Forces trained there.
“Camp 21 Comrie was originally classed as a black camp – designed to hold the prisoners deemed the most hardline and potentially dangerous Nazis. VALERIE CAMPBELL
Ms Campbell said she was surprised by much of what she found out – not least the absence of any records relating to Rudolf Hess.
“As my research went on, I could find no link whatsoever with the camp,” she said.
“The camp at the time he landed in Scotland in May 1941 was nowhere near secure enough to hold such a high-profile person, plus the timeline made it impossible for him to be there.
“However, there were some serious incidents at the camp, including one concerning a prisoner – Feldwebel Heinrich Schwarz – who was shot by a guard and was one of a handful of deaths.”
Ms Campbell’s father served during the Second World War and she grew up hearing his accounts of his time in the army.
In 2002, she moved to the site of another POW camp in Caithness and wrote a book about it, titled Camp 165 Watten.
During her research she came across links to Cultybraggan and that set her off on her latest project.
She said the Comrie Development Trust had been a great help and there was plenty of action in the story of the camp without the Hess connection.
Ms Campbell added: “Camp 21 Comrie was originally classed as a black camp – designed to hold the prisoners deemed the most hardline and potentially dangerous Nazis.
“Guards at the camp uncovered a dramatic escape attempt, finding a number of tunnels that had been secretly dug by inmates.”
Camp 21 Comrie is published by Whittles Publishing at £16.99.