This is interesting. My local newspaper has today printed a story with a 9 minute video included so watch it soon as it may not be available for long.
Basically, Much Hadham is a typical English village in the County of Hertfordshire (30 miles north of London, 8 miles south of Stansted Airport).
So here goes. This man, David Murray recently moved into a house and has unwittingly unearthed a monster of a WWII site in his back garden.
Read on and watch the video. It is quite amazing.
http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Hertfordshire/Much-Hadham-man-finds-Second-World-War-camp-in-his-back-garden.htm
WHEN David Murray unearthed a small shard of rusty metal in his garden, he had no idea it would lead to one of Much Hadham’s most fascinating historical finds in decades.
Some 13 months after that first discovery, which turned out to be a dog tag from a German prisoner of war, the 39-year-old plumber and heating engineer is still busy excavating a massive Second World War camp that housed up to 10,000 troops – and he reckons the dig could last two or three more years.
David -- who moved into a bungalow off Widford Road just over a year ago -- was fascinated by his find, which happened by chance as he dug for flint to build a wall for his flower beds.
Despite having no experience in history or archaeology, it ignited his passion to find out more. He asked his landlord for permission to dig and was given the go-ahead.
Since then, on top of his full-time job, he has recovered thousands of items from the 13-acre (5.3ha) site’s rubbish pits including bottles, coins, cutlery and even the decaying remains of boots.
But not all of his discoveries have been harmless – as well as finding live ammunition for Lee-Enfield .303 calibre rifles and .45 calibre pistol rounds, he’s had to call in bomb disposal experts to destroy a live grenade.
David, who lives with his brother Alec and three young nieces, said: “I was metal-detecting up here last winter and it indicated that I had a good signal, so I started digging and found a water bottle. Next to it, though I didn’t know this at the time, was this grenade which I hit with the spade. Fortunately it didn’t go off.
“I had it up here for several months before getting in touch with the police, who sent the RAF bomb disposal unit. When they came, they said it was very unstable and blew it up – they weren’t particularly happy with me when I told them I’d been holding it next to my ear and listening to see if it would go bang!”
David has now enlisted the help of local historian Richard Maddams, who has written several books on Much Hadham’s past and helped unearth a Roman villa to the north of the village about 15 years ago.
As David continues pulling items from the ground, Richard is putting together the pieces of the fascinating jigsaw puzzle they present. By carrying out extensive research, Richard and David are building a complete picture of the camp and trying to identify as many former occupants as possible.
The duo are keen to speak to anyone with memories of the site during the Second World War – as prisoners, servicemen or residents – to help them put a human face on their incredible haul.
Richard has already been in touch with former German PoW Walter Scharnagl, who was stationed at Much Hadham before returning to Bonn, where he dedicated his life to teaching future generations about the horrors of the Nazi regime.
In an online conversation, Walter told the pair: “I spent about one year in Much Hadham as a German prisoner of war, 1946 until July 1947, working for the Hertfordshire War Agricultural Executive Committee.
“I was specially engaged in our camp labour office as clerk, under Mr Wooley and later Mr Smolenski, two wonderful men. We enjoyed a lot of liberty and I really loved this little village, which I visited once again in the late 60s, when I still discovered some remainders of one of our old Nissen huts!
“These months in Hertfordshire had an immense, positive influence on all my further life, especially when I then worked in out-of-school civic education. Thank you, Much Hadham!”
Although David and Richard have not confirmed their findings, they believe the camp was built in 1939 and initially housed Allied troops – including American soldiers and Indian Gurkha units – as they geared up for various offensives including the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944.
After the war, it was converted into an open PoW camp for captives not deemed dangerous. They enjoyed a relaxed regime working as farmhands before being released when the facility was torn down in about 1950 – and some are even thought to have stayed in the village and married local girls.
As well as demolishing the temporary Nissen huts on the site, the Army would also have dug the huge rubbish pits which David is working on and tipped in hundreds of surplus items.
These objects, which are gradually being labelled and added to the pair’s collection, give a tantalising glimpse into life behind the fences.They include unopened cans of food, a Luftwaffe pilot’s cap badge, a jar of Sainsbury’s bloater paste, razor blades, elaborate belt buckles, water canteens, buttons, a tin of anti-gas ointment, frying pans and regimental pins and decorations.
David said: “I had no idea about the history of this place when I moved in. My brother knew it had been an Army camp during the war, but neither of us knew the extent of what we’d find here.
“It was pure chance that we found the first object – I’m a plumber and heating engineer, so I’ve dug for plenty of water mains in my time, but not for artefacts!
“We haven’t spoken with many official sources yet, but I’ve interviewed one or two people who grew up in Much Hadham and listened to their stories. One gentlemen told me about coming up here as a youngster when the Gurkhas were staying – they’d get tins of food and take them to the railway line to open them.
“Richard and I have also bought a photograph that shows the camp some time between 1945 and 1950, and my landlord has some plans that never went to the council – so we’re going to work out where every building would have been, as that might give us a clue as to where the other rubbish pits are.”
With the height of summer already over, the next few weeks will be a race against time to dig up as much as possible before the rain comes and the soil is too wet to sift through. At this point, David will have to resort to the much slower method of using a metal detector.
He said: “Alec’s kids always want to come up and dig, but we can’t really let them do too much because of the danger from ammunition. They do moan that I’m digging all the time, but they’re quite excited at the same time.
“The Second World War might be recent history – but how often in life do you get the chance to find all this before it’s gone and to do the research and get people’s stories before they’re gone as well?”
• If you can help David and Richard with any information or stories, phone James Burton on (01279) 866361 or email [email protected].
Basically, Much Hadham is a typical English village in the County of Hertfordshire (30 miles north of London, 8 miles south of Stansted Airport).
So here goes. This man, David Murray recently moved into a house and has unwittingly unearthed a monster of a WWII site in his back garden.
Read on and watch the video. It is quite amazing.
http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/Hertfordshire/Much-Hadham-man-finds-Second-World-War-camp-in-his-back-garden.htm
WHEN David Murray unearthed a small shard of rusty metal in his garden, he had no idea it would lead to one of Much Hadham’s most fascinating historical finds in decades.
Some 13 months after that first discovery, which turned out to be a dog tag from a German prisoner of war, the 39-year-old plumber and heating engineer is still busy excavating a massive Second World War camp that housed up to 10,000 troops – and he reckons the dig could last two or three more years.
David -- who moved into a bungalow off Widford Road just over a year ago -- was fascinated by his find, which happened by chance as he dug for flint to build a wall for his flower beds.
Despite having no experience in history or archaeology, it ignited his passion to find out more. He asked his landlord for permission to dig and was given the go-ahead.
Since then, on top of his full-time job, he has recovered thousands of items from the 13-acre (5.3ha) site’s rubbish pits including bottles, coins, cutlery and even the decaying remains of boots.
But not all of his discoveries have been harmless – as well as finding live ammunition for Lee-Enfield .303 calibre rifles and .45 calibre pistol rounds, he’s had to call in bomb disposal experts to destroy a live grenade.
David, who lives with his brother Alec and three young nieces, said: “I was metal-detecting up here last winter and it indicated that I had a good signal, so I started digging and found a water bottle. Next to it, though I didn’t know this at the time, was this grenade which I hit with the spade. Fortunately it didn’t go off.
“I had it up here for several months before getting in touch with the police, who sent the RAF bomb disposal unit. When they came, they said it was very unstable and blew it up – they weren’t particularly happy with me when I told them I’d been holding it next to my ear and listening to see if it would go bang!”
David has now enlisted the help of local historian Richard Maddams, who has written several books on Much Hadham’s past and helped unearth a Roman villa to the north of the village about 15 years ago.
As David continues pulling items from the ground, Richard is putting together the pieces of the fascinating jigsaw puzzle they present. By carrying out extensive research, Richard and David are building a complete picture of the camp and trying to identify as many former occupants as possible.
The duo are keen to speak to anyone with memories of the site during the Second World War – as prisoners, servicemen or residents – to help them put a human face on their incredible haul.
Richard has already been in touch with former German PoW Walter Scharnagl, who was stationed at Much Hadham before returning to Bonn, where he dedicated his life to teaching future generations about the horrors of the Nazi regime.
In an online conversation, Walter told the pair: “I spent about one year in Much Hadham as a German prisoner of war, 1946 until July 1947, working for the Hertfordshire War Agricultural Executive Committee.
“I was specially engaged in our camp labour office as clerk, under Mr Wooley and later Mr Smolenski, two wonderful men. We enjoyed a lot of liberty and I really loved this little village, which I visited once again in the late 60s, when I still discovered some remainders of one of our old Nissen huts!
“These months in Hertfordshire had an immense, positive influence on all my further life, especially when I then worked in out-of-school civic education. Thank you, Much Hadham!”
Although David and Richard have not confirmed their findings, they believe the camp was built in 1939 and initially housed Allied troops – including American soldiers and Indian Gurkha units – as they geared up for various offensives including the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944.
After the war, it was converted into an open PoW camp for captives not deemed dangerous. They enjoyed a relaxed regime working as farmhands before being released when the facility was torn down in about 1950 – and some are even thought to have stayed in the village and married local girls.
As well as demolishing the temporary Nissen huts on the site, the Army would also have dug the huge rubbish pits which David is working on and tipped in hundreds of surplus items.
These objects, which are gradually being labelled and added to the pair’s collection, give a tantalising glimpse into life behind the fences.They include unopened cans of food, a Luftwaffe pilot’s cap badge, a jar of Sainsbury’s bloater paste, razor blades, elaborate belt buckles, water canteens, buttons, a tin of anti-gas ointment, frying pans and regimental pins and decorations.
David said: “I had no idea about the history of this place when I moved in. My brother knew it had been an Army camp during the war, but neither of us knew the extent of what we’d find here.
“It was pure chance that we found the first object – I’m a plumber and heating engineer, so I’ve dug for plenty of water mains in my time, but not for artefacts!
“We haven’t spoken with many official sources yet, but I’ve interviewed one or two people who grew up in Much Hadham and listened to their stories. One gentlemen told me about coming up here as a youngster when the Gurkhas were staying – they’d get tins of food and take them to the railway line to open them.
“Richard and I have also bought a photograph that shows the camp some time between 1945 and 1950, and my landlord has some plans that never went to the council – so we’re going to work out where every building would have been, as that might give us a clue as to where the other rubbish pits are.”
With the height of summer already over, the next few weeks will be a race against time to dig up as much as possible before the rain comes and the soil is too wet to sift through. At this point, David will have to resort to the much slower method of using a metal detector.
He said: “Alec’s kids always want to come up and dig, but we can’t really let them do too much because of the danger from ammunition. They do moan that I’m digging all the time, but they’re quite excited at the same time.
“The Second World War might be recent history – but how often in life do you get the chance to find all this before it’s gone and to do the research and get people’s stories before they’re gone as well?”
• If you can help David and Richard with any information or stories, phone James Burton on (01279) 866361 or email [email protected].
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