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| Bridgend's Island Farm PoW camp escape anniversary marked | Bridgend's Island Farm PoW camp escape anniversary marked |
| (3 days later) | |
| A former German prisoner of war camp in Bridgend is being opened to mark the 70th anniversary of the escape of around 70 detainees. | A former German prisoner of war camp in Bridgend is being opened to mark the 70th anniversary of the escape of around 70 detainees. |
| They tunnelled out of Hut Nine at the former Island Farm camp on 10 March 1945 before later being rounded up. | They tunnelled out of Hut Nine at the former Island Farm camp on 10 March 1945 before later being rounded up. |
| The hut, which is all that survives of the camp, is being opened to the public on Saturday and Sunday. | The hut, which is all that survives of the camp, is being opened to the public on Saturday and Sunday. |
| A number of artefacts were retained before the camp was flattened, including graffiti painted by inmates. | A number of artefacts were retained before the camp was flattened, including graffiti painted by inmates. |
| Before housing prisoners, the camp was used as living quarters by women working at Bridgend's Royal Ordnance factory. | |
| Richard Williams, vice chairman of the Hut Nine Preservation Group, said detainees may have spent up to three months digging through thick clay to carve out the tunnel - the entrance to which is believed to have been concealed under a bed. | |
| At around midnight on the night of the breakout, the group is said to have made their escape while guards were distracted by the noise of a performance at the camp's theatre. | |
| It was later found that they had carried out a raid on the camp's stores, taking pepper powder with them in a bid to deaden the senses of sniffer dogs. | It was later found that they had carried out a raid on the camp's stores, taking pepper powder with them in a bid to deaden the senses of sniffer dogs. |
| Much debate still surrounds the distance some escapees were said to have travelled before being caught, but most were recaptured locally. | Much debate still surrounds the distance some escapees were said to have travelled before being caught, but most were recaptured locally. |