Wartime Memories Project - The Great War
Harperley Prisoner of War Camp

There was a Prisoner of War Camp at Fir Tree, Harperley, near Crook in County Durham during the Great War. At first the accomodation was tents at Low Harlerly Farm, a permanent camp was built across the Wear at Shipley Moss, about a mile from the station. The POW's had to carry all thier supplies from the station, uphill to the camp. The men worked at Knitsley Fell Quarry further up the hill. There was an overhead conveyer system carrying the stone from the quarry to the rail line on the other side of the river. The camp opened on the 16th September 1916. When the Red Cross visited on the 18th June 1917 there were 230 prisoners in the camp. There were 8 dormitory huts, 60 feet long and 18 feet wide with wooden floors, asbestos lined walls and roofs covered with tarred felt. Each having 28 beds, these were heated by stoves and each man was issued with four blankets. There was also a dinning hall and an abulution hut with hot and cold water, 12 showers and latrines,

All that remains of the origional camp today is a low circular brick wall which was part of the filter bed.

Twenty Seven POWs died at Harperly camp in 1918, a result of the influenza epidemic which swept through the world. They were buried in the church yard of St James, Hamsterley but were relocated to the German War Grave Cemetery at Cannock in Staffordshire in the 1960's.

Harplerly was again used as a POW camp during the Second World War

• A Buckle. RAMC
• Major A Rouse.
• Lt. Watts. interpreter
• G Williams. RAMC

• Alfred Paul Alwin Balzke (d. 13 Nov 1918)
• Karl Edmund Beck (d. 17 Nov 1918)
• Anton Bedorf (d. 16 Nov 1918)
• Fritz Bertoldt (d. 11 Nov 1918)
• Vflwbl. Wilhelm Boog. 92 Inf. Regt
• Kurt Braunigen (d. 14 Nov 1918)
• Karl Edward Wilhelm Fink (d. 12 Nov 1918
• Otto Fischer (d. 12 Nov 1918)
• Ernst Klaus Friedrich Garling (d. 11 Nov 1918)
• Arthur Grassoff. (d. 15 Nov 1918)
• Edward Hadla (d. 11 Nov 1918)
• Willy Klaud August Horwege (15 Nov 1918)
• Hensonn Gustav Kaussmann (d. 17 Nov 1918)
• Ernst Kempe (d. 14 Aug 1918)
• Fbl. Kniesche
• Heinrich Max Krinn (d. 18 Nov 1918)
• Alfred Karl John Lange. (d. 11 Nov 1918
• Richard Lehmann (d. 12 Nov 1918)
• Rudolf Max Heinrich Meier (d. 23 Nov 1918)
• Ernst Heins Merkle (d. 13 Nov 1918)
• Otto Karl Rosnick (d. 11 Nov 1918)
• Alfred Paul Rudloff (13 Nov 1918)
• Kurt Gustav Schneider (d. 15 Nov 1918)
• Willy Schwendler (d. 12 Nov 1918)
• Paul Ernst Friedrich Sternberg (d. 7 Nov 1918)
• Anton Walkowiak (d. 17 Nov 1918)
• Felix Wloczyk (d. 8 Nov 1918)

If you have any names to add to this list, or any recollections or photos of those listed, please get in touch.

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A book about German prisoners-of-war on Wearside has been written by a Sunderland man who first heard about them at a sea scout camp 40 years ago.

• Harperley POW Camp Website
• BBC Restoration Feature
• Camp 93
• Prisoner of War camps in County Durham