by Florence Boyle

A couple of months ago a friend of a friend, who knew I was interested in local history, asked me about a local German POW camp in the nearby village of Hardgate (near Clydebank). Until that moment I had no idea it had existed. I am now deep in the story, trying to locate information and witnesses and unpick the strands of a remarkable story when around 200 enemy soldiers came to live among us. Still a work in progress, this small episode in history has a lot to tell us about forgiveness, shared humanity and the overwhelmingly desire of people for normality.

The 8th May marks the 80th anniversary of VE day. There is a small and shrinking group of people who have any direct memory of wartime and in recent weeks I have heard from some of them. As well as the grim times, there is some leaven; stories of good times dancing in Glasgow, of sports days and football matches, the ingenuity of those trying to circumvent rationing restrictions. The memory I found most affecting is from one lovely ninety-year-old who shared how scared he felt for years after the end of the war whenever he heard a siren.

Florence Boyle is Treasurer of Open House.

Photo of Lothar courtesy of his family