Source: File: Dyffryn
Aled. View of the grounds of the officers' camp.jpg, 2015. From The Colditz of
the Denbigh Moors - and some great escapes Thursday 28
August 2014, 10:06 Phil Carradice.
[online] Available at:<http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/3a87832f-650b-302d-acc1-39deed2f0246>
[Accessed: 6 April 2015].
I
In a North Welsh
rural setting of Denbighshire,
Stood a grand Georgian
house - a mansion
Of Dyffryn Aled -
being a agriculture residential,
And sporting place - within a wooded area,
Close to the
village of Llansannan once owned
By the Wynne
family, to be eventually sold.
With war the
grand setting turned to another
Use - of a
detention centre for German prisoners,
Of mainly naval
officers - the Llansannan villagers
Raised their grievances
against such a place,
That looked after
enemy men, better than them.
Dyffryn Aled
mansion of Georgian proportions,
Held up to a 100
detainees in over thirty rooms.
Breakfasts, lunches and dinners passed the time
Of day - with ample
supplies of wine prisoners
Lived as lords, it
seemed - but as German
Officers their
duty was to escape, back to home.
Daughters of local millers and smithy's played
In warmer days, about the village bridge - weekly
A Denbigh
wagon came to supply the local pubs -
To
avoid poor roads its route took the track
Close by their
playing place - when one day girls
Asked for a return ride across to Llansannan.
The story told
how he agreed with a condition -
They would have
to learn a song 'Britannia rules
The waves.' These
Welsh girls learned the English
Song as asked, till the time came. On the wagon,
They rode the
drive to and from the village, to sing
This song as loud as possible to the naval officers.
This song as loud as possible to the naval officers.
II
Within this
comfortable setting where Germans
Would hear this
taunt, was a duty of naval officers
To seek escape - possibly
prompted by boredom.
Amid the Dyffryn
Aled were two young Lieutenants;
Detainees, to include rescued aviator Hans Andler.
Lieutenant Andler, a fluent English speaker,
Along with his
companion Von Sanders Leben,
Had no doubt, been
working on their plan
For some time - when on 4 April to take action -
Between Sunday nights
roll call and Monday
Morning at 8 a.m. - the men escaped the camp.
Moving swiftly on
foot the men were known
To have set off, dressed in smart appearance.
Hans Andler, in a
dark brown or grey suit - while
Von Sanders Leben
wore his knickerbockers,
A vest with a smart, grey Donegal tweed coat.
At five foot ten
inches, Andler could almost
Pass as English - except for his German accent
While Sanders
Leben had the disadvantage
Of his foreign appearance
and had little ability
To speak English - with Monday's discovery
Their
descriptions were quickly released.
Hans Andler's
height was 5ft 7, dark hair,
Grey eyes medium
build - Von Sanders Leben
13 stone and five
foot 9 with brown eyes, light
Brown hair and a fresh
complexion - between
Them, carrying a
water bottle and field glasses,
They wore wristwatches
in limited preparations.
With £10 offered for any information that might
Lead to their
recapture, prompted the local Welsh
People to roam
over hills of Merionethshire,
Denbighshire and
Carnarvonshire - the route
Of the officers took
them with a purpose of hiding
About the
district, rather than a seaport and scrutiny.
The countryside where
they lingered was suited
To hiding - with sparse
population and wild land.
In the hours of
their initial escape, they remained
About
Denbighshire hills - hiding as well dressed
Gentlemen - how long might they hold out? Perhaps
To stay low and before heading out for the coast?
Gentlemen - how long might they hold out? Perhaps
To stay low and before heading out for the coast?
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915.
German Prisoners Escape - Search For Two Officers. The
Daily Telegraph, [online] 6 Apr. P.7. Col.2. Available
at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11514463/Daily-Telegraph-April-6-1915.html
[Accessed: 6 April 2015].
Source: File: The
Colditz of North Wales?: World War One at Home [online] Available at:
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p025k6wt> [Accessed: 6 March 2015].
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 6 April 2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1Wales
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