GRWP CADWRAETH Hut 9 preservation group

Former German POW Camp

Island Farm, Bridgend, WALES


Open weekend

Saturday & Sunday, 8 - 9 March 2014

Event photo album. Were you there?

Some of the Hut 9 rooms will be restored in an attempt to try and recreate how they would have looked during 1944-1948. In other rooms members of the Hut 9 Preservation Group and WW2 re-enactors will be telling the fascinating stories of the 4 time-frames of Island Farm:
  1. 1940-1944 - Billet for the Royal Ordnance Factory workers.
  2. 1943-1944 - American billet for the 109 Field Artillery (28th Infantry Division).
  3. 1944-1945 - German POW, Island Farm Camp 198.
  4. 1945-1948 - High Ranking German Officer Camp, Island Farm Special Camp XI.

What's to hear and see during your visit

  • Outside Hut 9, there will be WW2 re-enactors with all their "kit" and and their vehicles (weather permitting).
  • Brett Exton will give a very interesting full talk on the complete history of Island Farm.
  • Richard Williams will complement Brett's talk and guide you inside Hut 9.
  • Prior to the demolition of the other huts at Island Farm, the actual drawings made by the German POWs were carefully removed and preserved. A number of the famous Island Farm wall drawings/ paintings will be on display inside several rooms/ dormitories. Each picture gives a unique insight into the thoughts of a German POW.
  • Numerous Volunteers re-enactors will bring the place to life, dressed as former German PoWs, British Home Guards and American soldiers. They will be occupying several rooms/ dormitories with their full kit, equipment and brick-a-brac on display. Such equipment would have been used back in the day!
  • Barry Ward (Preservation Group Member and re-enactor) will be talking all about the escape; how the tunnel was made and all about the prisoners preparation prior to the escape.
  • Do not miss our Oral History Room, where you can tell us any experiences you had or any stories you know about Island Farm, Hut 9, the Welsh Great Escape and Bridgend at War.

  • Finally, Dr Jonathan Hicks will guide you around Hut 9 and talk about the Welsh Great Escape and the famous Welsh Escape Tunnel.

     

  • There is no entry fee, so a FREE for all event! However, as always your kind donations will be much appreciated. Without such funds at the moment, our voluntary work to preserve Hut 9 and its history will be impossible!

  • Due to the restricted room inside the Hut, the visitors' safety and the preservation of Hut 9, the number of visitors per tour is limited. We strongly advise people to pre-book tour time slots well in advance. Previous events were fully booked 2-3 months before their date! This shows how popular this iconic, Grade-2 listed building is.

  • There will be a chance for visitors to take a trip back down memory lane with the attendance of "Sweet and Nostalgic". They are a local business who will be supporting our event and will have lots of 1940s ideas for people to purchase. Please visit www.sweetandnostalgic.co.uk to see the type of things they will be selling outside Hut 9.


To book for this Hut 9 Event, please contact:

  • Lucy Wootton (BCBC) on (01656) 815209. Please note this information is valid for this event ONLY.

    If all of the tour slots inside Hut 9 become booked, we still encourage people to turn up over the weekend because there will be lots to see outside the Hut. Should spare spaces become available or people fail to turn up, then we will of course re-allocate these on a first come first served basis.

    Please park in the Innovation Science Park (
    opposite the Heronston Hotel) and walk from there down to and along the A48. There will be a sign at the start of the short path that will get you to the Hut 9 compound; a 2 minute walk.

  • For everyone's safety, please do not attempt to stop or park your car on the busy and fast traffic A48.

WE SINCERELY HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE DAY!

The Hut 9 Preservation Team

 

Bookings Update

All Hut 9 inside tours for this weekend are already fully booked. We are sorry, but as explained above, visitor numbers are limited.  However, should spare spaces become available or people fail to turn up, then we will of course re-allocate these on a first come first served basis.

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST!

There will be a lot happening outside Hut 9. After the guided tour inside Hut 9, there is a tour and talk around Hut 9 about the Welsh Great Escape by the Chairman of our Preservation Group, Dr Jonathan Hicks. The famous escape tunnel is still in tact . So well worth a visit, even if you do not manage to get a tour inside Hut 9 due to the limited visitor numbers per tour.

So please come along and support our local history.

To get a taste of things to come, please visit a webpage on Hut 9 and a photo album on VisitPorthcawl.co.uk showing our September 2012 Open Doors Event.

 


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