Part Of The Community

■ Eden Camp was classified as a “white camp”, housing prisoners who weren’t considered a risk, and therefore it had no barbed wire fences or guard towers.

■ The prisoners were allowed to work on local farms and other businesses and some formed real friendships and bonds which encouraged many of them to stay after the war.

■ “There was a lot of trust. When you look at the original photographs there was just a white picket fence between the camp and the officers’ quarters,” Harriet explains. “And we have testimony from prisoners that the way locals viewed them after VE Day was surprisingly pleasant.”

■ The prisoners earned their own currency which they could spend in the camp on things like additional food or blankets. But they also earned sterling by making arts and crafts, toys and paintings, which they could sell in the town.

■ “Many of the men hadn’t been professional soldiers, but had other jobs like carpenters before the war. So they had real skills to make these things. And, of course, they also had the time,” Harriet says.

■ Many of the intricate crafts and toys which were made by prisoners, both at Eden and at other camps, are on display.