0:00:02 > 0:00:04September 3rd, 1939, and families all over the country
0:00:04 > 0:00:06flock to their radios...
0:00:06 > 0:00:09'I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received
0:00:09 > 0:00:15'and that consequently this country is at war with Germany...'
0:00:17 > 0:00:21In that brief moment, life in our country changed for ever.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24World War II had begun, but victory wouldn't be assured
0:00:24 > 0:00:26by military might alone.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31The Blitz, evacuation, rationing, the loss of loved ones -
0:00:31 > 0:00:34the war on the home front meant that everyone had to do their bit.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39From the country's women who took on everything, farming,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41factory work, even flying Spitfires,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44to the nation's auxiliary firemen
0:00:44 > 0:00:46who worked through the terror of countless air raids.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51This is the story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is How We Won The War.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Today, I'm crossing over the River Severn into Wales.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08This small nation is famed for its striking and rugged landscape
0:01:08 > 0:01:11and the warm welcome it affords visitors,
0:01:11 > 0:01:13but there's more to Wales than meets the eye.
0:01:13 > 0:01:18On today's programme, I'll be discovering how women of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
0:01:18 > 0:01:22took control of the barrage balloons protecting the skies above Cardiff...
0:01:22 > 0:01:26It was a rough, tough life for a woman.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29..taking a London evacuee back to the home
0:01:29 > 0:01:32that kept him safe throughout the war...
0:01:32 > 0:01:37We went through that door, and that became, from that minute, home.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42..and exploring the site of one of the war's most daring escapes.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44The British guards, guarding this very camp,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47gave the prisoners, the escaped prisoners, a push start.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Wales did more than its fair share during the war.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Its coal fields kept industry and transport running.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Personalities like Dylan Thomas got involved in the propaganda battle.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13It's even thought that the Welsh language was used
0:02:13 > 0:02:16to encode secret messages and fool the enemy.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Wartime Wales was full of secrets and surprises.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26'Defending a city the size of Cardiff would prove difficult,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'but one solution was the use of barrage balloons.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33'By 1940, there were some 1400
0:02:33 > 0:02:36'that had been deployed at strategic sites up and down the country
0:02:36 > 0:02:41'Here in Cardiff, they proved to be an important part of the city's air defences.'
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- I'm looking forward to seeing the view up here, Peter.- It's fantastic.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46'Peter Garwood, barrage balloon historian,
0:02:46 > 0:02:51'has brought me to Cardiff Castle for a birds' eye view of the city.'
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Now for anybody not familiar with a barrage balloon,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56just describe it, and tell us how they worked.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01Right. It's a bag of hydrogen gas, 65 foot long, 25 foot in diameter,
0:03:01 > 0:03:05with three big lobes on the back to stabilise it when it was flying,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and then you had a cable which ran from the bottom of the balloon
0:03:09 > 0:03:11to a winch on the ground,
0:03:11 > 0:03:15and it was then flown up to around 6,000, 7,000 foot.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Longer than two London buses,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20the balloons would force the Luftwaffe to fly high in the sky,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23taking them into the range of anti-aircraft fire,
0:03:23 > 0:03:28and leaving them unable to dive-bomb and drop their payloads accurately.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33For a German pilot, the looming inflatables could be lethal.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38The cables were equipped with either two parachutes or a parachute and a bomb attached.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41Planes would either be dragged out of the sky or blown up.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46We had pilots who would deliberately fly into cables
0:03:46 > 0:03:51to test out the parachute systems or the parachute with a bomb system,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55and even cable cutters. We had pilots who would do that.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I mean, I think they were crazy, but they all survived.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Were there any stationed here within the castle?
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Yes. Over here you can have a little look at the castle lawn,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10and there's a very famous picture of a balloon on this green here.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16Maintaining and launching balloons was originally a man's job.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19But after a successful trial, the work was undertaken by members
0:04:19 > 0:04:21of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force too.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Hazel Barrow was one of the balloon operators
0:04:25 > 0:04:28stationed at Cardiff Castle.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Her father, a Royal Marine, wasn't best pleased
0:04:30 > 0:04:32when his daughter chose to join the WAAF
0:04:32 > 0:04:35over the Women's Royal Naval Service.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38He was so cross. He said "I don't know why you joined the air force".
0:04:38 > 0:04:42I said, "I joined because my fiance was in the air force
0:04:42 > 0:04:45"and that's why I wanted to go into it.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47And I liked the colour of the uniform.
0:04:47 > 0:04:54I've got blue eyes and it went with my eyes, you see, so that was it.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58I was absolutely elated when I joined.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I didn't know what hard work I was in for.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05I didn't know what life on a balloon site was going to be.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08It was a rough, tough life for a woman.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Women were split into pairs
0:05:12 > 0:05:14to operate the various parts of equipment.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17I used to love being in the winch.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21I used to love paying out a cable
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and sending the balloon up in the air, you know.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27The surroundings at the castle were glorious,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31but the work was anything but. To stop them flying away,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35each balloon was tethered to concrete blocks weighing up to a tonne each.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40The work was physically demanding, no two ways about it.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44The fact that you were on these for two solid hours,
0:05:44 > 0:05:49and the wind was always changing, like it does here, you know,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53and you were constantly dragging these blinking concrete blocks.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58Manoeuvring the massive inflatables was tough work, and dangerous too.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01Quite a lot of ladies injured themselves with balloons
0:06:01 > 0:06:03because, imagine, there was a balloon going up on a cable,
0:06:03 > 0:06:05there'd be stray rope, catch around your leg,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09break your leg, break your arm, take your finger off.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12There were a few incidents where the balloon might go up,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16and some of the WAAFs were known to have hung on for grim death,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and ended up 20 or 30 foot in the air.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20If they fell, they were injured.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24The balloon operators faced another peril from the skies.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29The sight of balloons would help highlight potential targets for German pilots.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33If it just so happened that a balloon popped up out of the clouds,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37he would be thinking that, quite potentially, there must be a target down there.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42As a consequence, he would jettison his bombs as near as he could.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47In May 1943, in the last big air raid on Cardiff Docks,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51a bomb would claim the lives of three female balloon operators.
0:06:51 > 0:06:56Across the country, brave men and women had put themselves in danger,
0:06:56 > 0:06:59wrestling with the balloons day and night to defend our skies.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03The psychological effect for the Luftwaffe,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07the psychological benefit for the public, seeing these things
0:07:07 > 0:07:11flying in the sky around their cities, was incalculable.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Before I joined up, I worked in a large drapery store
0:07:14 > 0:07:19and I had no idea that I was going to be able to do this sort of thing.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22I was proud of what I did.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32'In the roaring cauldrons of the Swansea valley,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37'in the stamp and clutter and glare of the black and red works,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39'where the fires never go out,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42'they fight with blinding, blazing rods and piston rams.'
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Dylan Thomas' 1942 script for the film,
0:07:44 > 0:07:49Wales: Green Mountain, Black Mountain may have been propaganda,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52but it spoke of the country's industrial strength,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55so important to our war effort.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Coal was central to our manufacturing.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02We relied on it to produce everything from boats to bombs
0:08:02 > 0:08:04to bullets. You name it, demand was enormous.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09And here in South Wales, they produced some of the world's best.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I've come to the Big Pit, the National Coal Museum in Blaenavon,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15to hear more about one unusual group of conscripts.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20They'd help power the nation's war machine, not on the frontlines,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23but down the mines. Former miner, Ceri Thompson,
0:08:23 > 0:08:25has offered to take me underground.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29I mean, it's impossible to overstate the importance of coal.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31It was highly important in our time,
0:08:31 > 0:08:33because warfare was such a mechanised thing.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36the shipping, tanks, guns, you know, made of steel.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Everything come from coal originally.
0:08:38 > 0:08:45By the summer of 1943, 36,000 men had left the coal industry.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Britain was facing a coal shortage
0:08:47 > 0:08:50and more manpower was required, fast.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Ernie Bevin, Minister of Employment,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57he decides that they would take a certain percentage of the conscripts
0:08:57 > 0:09:01and put them into the coal mines, not into the armed forces.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Whether you ended up in the forces or the mines was a real lottery.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11It's said Bevin's secretary originally picked conscription numbers out of his hat.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Warwick Taylor was 18, and had set his sights on joining the RAF
0:09:15 > 0:09:16when his number came up.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Chap at the Ministry of Labour said, "Hard luck, chum,
0:09:19 > 0:09:22"you're going in the mines." I said, "Oh, no, I'm not,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24"I'm going to the Royal Air Force. Already trained for it.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27He said, "You've been balloted to go in the mines."
0:09:27 > 0:09:30These people didn't come from the valleys,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32they came from places like Hampshire, Essex,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35all over the place, you know, never even seen a coal mine.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Named after the Minister of Employment,
0:09:38 > 0:09:44over 48,000 Bevin Boys would be recruited between 1943 and 1948.
0:09:44 > 0:09:49They were given four weeks' training before being sent down the mines.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Across the country, young lads who'd dreamt of fighting
0:09:52 > 0:09:57on the frontlines suddenly found themselves plunging into the darkness of the nation's mines.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03If one's going to get a taste of what an inexperienced Bevin boy,
0:10:03 > 0:10:05which would probably be someone like me,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07would have to get to grips with,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10- this is the perfect place to come, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15My goodness.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18'With the more experienced miners tackling the job
0:10:18 > 0:10:19'of actually harvesting the coal,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22'most Bevin Boys would carry out the tough work
0:10:22 > 0:10:24'of transporting it to the surface.'
0:10:24 > 0:10:27A lot of the Bevin boys who came in would have been doing
0:10:27 > 0:10:31the labouring jobs, working round the pit bottom area,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33the transport systems of the mine.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36They'd had to be taught how to stop drams with pieces of wood.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38So these drams, these are the carts carrying the coal out?
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Yeah. They hold about a ton and a half, two tons.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45The wheel is going round there, so if you put it in there,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48it comes round there and stops it.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51So one of the first things they'd be taught how to do is that.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56After a couple of weeks, they'd be throwing them in.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00But of course, make a mistake, you'd lose a finger.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It would be a lonely and grim job for the young lads.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05But a lot of Bevin boys, of course,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08would have been ones or twos in places like this all day.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Perhaps freezing cold or boiling hot,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13- according to where they were in the mine.- Just shovelling?
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Shovelling all day. And it'd be damp down here, water down here.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21Rats running under your feet. It's not that pleasant a place at all.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23After only three weeks working underground,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26the dank conditions took their toll on Warwick
0:11:26 > 0:11:29when he was struck down with double pneumonia.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32By the time I got to Newport Hospital, I was actually unconscious.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Consultant saw me, one million units of penicillin
0:11:36 > 0:11:39every eight hours for a week.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43And that saved my life. Temperature was 106.7.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I came round and found my parents sitting by my bedside.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48But it didn't get me out of the mines.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51After three months spent working outdoors as an electrician
0:11:51 > 0:11:55at an army gun site, Warwick passed a medical
0:11:55 > 0:11:57and was sent back down the mines.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00At the time you think, I just want to get out of here, that's it.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01You know, I shouldn't be here.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Life threatening illnesses and hard labour
0:12:05 > 0:12:08weren't all the army of Bevin boys had to put up with.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13A favourite trick down here in Wales was with the pit ponies.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Right, they used to think, we'll have fun and games with these lads.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Get Warwick here and Charlie over there to work with the pit pony.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26And we said, "Come on, get up, come on, come on."
0:12:26 > 0:12:27Pony wouldn't move.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Course, the miners would be standing back laughing their heads off.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Only understood the commands in Welsh!
0:12:37 > 0:12:39But those miners, if you were in trouble underground,
0:12:39 > 0:12:43or in danger, they would be there to help you, no question.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48The fuel Bevin Boys and miners produced during the war was crucial
0:12:48 > 0:12:50in keeping the nation running,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53and ensuring our factories could supply our troops.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57We feel we did our bit to help the nation at the time. 48,000 of us.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01It was absolutely vital. If we hadn't produced that coal, it would have gone under.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05They didn't want to do it, they were conscripted, but they did it.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08And the majority of them did it very well, and they stuck it out.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10- Yeah.- So I think we can be very proud of them.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15Soldiers returning from war would receive medals and heroes' welcomes,
0:13:15 > 0:13:19but despite their contribution being just as important,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21the boys sent down the mines got nothing.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Many Bevin Boys have mixed feelings about their experiences,
0:13:27 > 0:13:31and when you remember that they were forced to do one of the toughest jobs
0:13:31 > 0:13:34that wartime Britain had to offer, it's easy to see why.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36They often see themselves as forgotten heroes,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39but without them and their backbreaking efforts,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42there's a very good chance that the nation's industry
0:13:42 > 0:13:44would have come to a grinding halt.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50From Blaenavon, I'm heading further into South Wales
0:13:50 > 0:13:52to a site just outside Bridgend.
0:13:53 > 0:13:54On the face of it,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57this unremarkable-looking bit of heathland
0:13:57 > 0:14:00looks like the sort of thing you'd find anywhere in the country,
0:14:00 > 0:14:04but hidden away under the trees and the scrub are the remains
0:14:04 > 0:14:06of Britain's most notorious prisoner of war camp.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08This was Island Farm.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Local Historian Brett Exton is giving me a guided tour.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22It was built in 1938, '39 to house the ammunition factory workers,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24then it was used by the Americans prior to D-Day,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and it was in the end of 1944
0:14:27 > 0:14:31that it was used to house the low-ranking German prisoners.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34It was called Camp 198 at that point.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38Prisoners would often be allowed out of the camp on escorted walks,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41leading to encounters with locals.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45David James' mother told him stories about meeting Island Farm POWs.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49They would often stop and break rank
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and come into the garden in the front of the house
0:14:52 > 0:14:57and tell my mother they had daughters or sons back home,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00they didn't know if they were still there or not,
0:15:00 > 0:15:02and they would leave sweets and chocolates
0:15:02 > 0:15:04in the pram for my sister.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06What did the locals make
0:15:06 > 0:15:10of having all these enemy prisoners dumped on them?
0:15:10 > 0:15:12There was always the threat of invasion into the UK,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16so to suddenly have 2,000 prisoners in close proximity
0:15:16 > 0:15:19to your home town must have really made it real.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Across the country,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24people would find themselves face to face with prisoners of war.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28In Monmouthshire, the sight of POWs had a marked impact
0:15:28 > 0:15:30on teacher, Mary Collins.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34She recorded her thoughts as part of the Mass Observation Project,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38an archive of personal writings held at the University of Sussex.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43"Saturday Nov 17th, 1944.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49"Some 400 German prisoners of war went up through the town.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54"They did look a sorry lot in their dreary green-grey uniforms.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59"They were all ages. Young, blonde specimens looking about 16
0:15:59 > 0:16:03"and stooping men looking more like 60.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05"I think the sight of prisoners
0:16:05 > 0:16:10"affects me more deeply than any other side of war.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14"It offends my very strong love of personal liberty
0:16:14 > 0:16:17"and brings home the futility of warfare.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21"I said, 'Oh, the dreariness of it all' and one woman said,
0:16:21 > 0:16:26"'Oh, but Mrs Collins, I hate them so'.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29"She is mothering a son lost on operations
0:16:29 > 0:16:32"so I could not tell her that was an unintelligent outlook."
0:16:34 > 0:16:39POWs had been arriving at Island Farm since November 1944,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41and they'd been busy.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45There is this great secret about Island Farm,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47and that is, well, the great escape.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50The biggest escape from any prisoner of war camp in Great Britain.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Come on, let's have a look inside.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Pretty stark conditions, weren't they, really, for these guys?
0:16:58 > 0:17:00It's starting to show the signs of age now,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03the plaster's starting to fall off.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06On the night of the 10th of March, 1945,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09POWs made a daring break for freedom,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11crawling through a tunnel they'd dug.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Because of a rare bat colony,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16we can't access the actual room where the tunnel started,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20so Brett's taken me to one which has the same layout.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22And wasn't there a big picture on the wall?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Yeah, there's a lady. It's obviously been drawn by one of the prisoners.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27It's a distraction picture, it is.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30So the guards would come in and look up...
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Yeah, some scantily-clad lady in the room,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35probably wouldn't pay much attention to the floor.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37As another distraction,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40the prisoners would throw paper aeroplanes out their windows.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Guards, worried they contained messages,
0:17:43 > 0:17:45would spend hours searching for them,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48only to find in most cases that they were blank.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51With loud singing covering the noise of covert digging,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53slowly, but surely, the tunnel was taking shape.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56But what did they do with all the soil?
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Well, that's very ingenious because when they arrived at the camp,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01they found materials still left over.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04They must have squirreled away a piece of plasterboard,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07and they fastened it on to the end of a wall that already existed,
0:18:07 > 0:18:11extending it by a couple of feet, making a false cavity.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13But they didn't have any nails or any screws
0:18:13 > 0:18:15so they made up some porridge,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18and it must have been one heck of a strong brew of porridge,
0:18:18 > 0:18:23because it stood the test of time. The wall didn't actually collapse until the '80s,
0:18:23 > 0:18:24and then it revealed the secret
0:18:24 > 0:18:27of where the soil had been hid all these years.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30At 10pm, the escape started.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Well prepared, the prisoners lined the tunnel with old clothes
0:18:34 > 0:18:36to stop them getting muddy.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Curry powder was sprinkled around the edge of the perimeter
0:18:39 > 0:18:42so guard dogs would be unable to pick up their scent.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43Seventy got through the tunnel.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46When the seventieth prisoner got out of the tunnel,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50he wasn't appropriately dressed, he'd gate-crashed the escape.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53He had a white kit bag, so as he exited the tunnel,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56one of the guards saw him.
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Actually shot him and he received hospital treatment for gunshot wounds in the local hospital.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05But at that point, seventy had got out through the tunnel exit.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07The prisoners would get help from an unexpected source
0:19:07 > 0:19:10when they came across a car like this one
0:19:10 > 0:19:12belonging to the local doctor.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15They were pushing the car up the road, trying to get it started,
0:19:15 > 0:19:17but coming down the other way was some guards,
0:19:17 > 0:19:20coming back to this very camp, spotted them in trouble,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23but mistook them for Norwegians, so they said to the Germans,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26"If you get in the car, we'll give you a bump start",
0:19:26 > 0:19:29so the British guards who were guarding this very camp,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31gave the prisoners, the escaped prisoners, a push start.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38The town was on high alert as the prisoners scrambled to freedom,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41but not everyone was in a hurry to help track them down.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44The Home Guard Sergeant rushed down to me and he said,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47"Ivor, get your uniform on." I said, "What's the matter, Dai?",
0:19:47 > 0:19:49"Oh, the prisoners of war have busted out."
0:19:49 > 0:19:54And I said to him, "I couldn't care two hoots if the bloody whole German army was out,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56"I'm going up Langerworth for a walk." But I said,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59"I'll tell you what I'll do, if I find them, I'll let you know".
0:19:59 > 0:20:02Which incidentally is exactly what happened!
0:20:02 > 0:20:04And how long were they on the run for?
0:20:04 > 0:20:06All were recaptured in a week.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Obviously some were captured within a couple of hours,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13some within a couple of days, but the last were within the week.
0:20:13 > 0:20:19In November 1945, Camp 198 became Special Camp 11.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22It would hold some of the leading members of the Wehrmacht,
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Germany's armed forces, who would later stand trial at Nuremberg.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Today, the buildings lie derelict,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32with little trace of their exciting and dramatic past.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Prior to the outbreak of war, a different kind of escape plan
0:20:41 > 0:20:45was being drawn up, one which would save young lives.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50With predictions of four million civilian deaths in London alone,
0:20:50 > 0:20:53the Government came up with Operation Pied Piper,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58a plan to evacuate around 3.5 million children to the countryside.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02James Roffey was eight years old and living in London, when,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06in 1939, he and his sister, Jean, brought letters home from school
0:21:06 > 0:21:11to inform their parents they'd be leaving them to live with strangers.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14My father, he'd been a soldier in the First World War.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18He opened the letters and I remember clearly his words were,
0:21:18 > 0:21:25"They told us we were fighting the wars to end all wars,
0:21:25 > 0:21:29"but it's all starting again. They'll have to go."
0:21:29 > 0:21:32On the 31st of August, 1939,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36the order to start the evacuation was given.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39In train stations across the country,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41tiny hands clutched small suitcases
0:21:41 > 0:21:43as children prepared to leave their mums and dads.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Strict rules were laid down as to what children could take with them,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49one being a ban on hand-held toys.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Although iconic images show children with soft toys and dollies
0:21:53 > 0:21:57crammed into train carriages, the reality was different.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01They were all provided by the newspaper reporters.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03They would hand the toys up to the children,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07"Now hold these while I take your photograph",
0:22:07 > 0:22:10take the photograph, take the doll and the teddy bear away.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15Parents were kept in the dark as to where their children were being sent.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19The railway staff were under strict orders.
0:22:19 > 0:22:25"Do not tell the parents the destination of these evacuee trains."
0:22:25 > 0:22:30Just like their parents, London-born eight-year-old, Jim Wright,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33and his brother Jack had no idea where they'd arrived
0:22:33 > 0:22:35when their train pulled in at a platform.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38I always remember Jack, who was two years older than me,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41he held my hand and he says, "Where are we?"
0:22:41 > 0:22:45I said, "I don't know." Nobody knew. The teachers didn't know.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46Then you looked at the view.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49The train moved out, and I'd never seen one of them in my life.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52- All the hills...- The biggest mountain I'd ever seen
0:22:52 > 0:22:55was the sand dune on Wanstead flats. I'd never seen one of those!
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Jim and Jack would later discover they'd arrived
0:22:59 > 0:23:03in the village of Llanhilleth, just two of the 110,000 children
0:23:03 > 0:23:06evacuated to Wales over the course of the war.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08After leaving the station,
0:23:08 > 0:23:12the two brothers were taken with other children to Cae Felin Street.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Today, Jim's returned.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Each door was open and it was full of people.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21And we started back there.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24And we started to come down with the billeting officers
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and our teachers, and every so often we would stop,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31the billeting officer would either go this side or to that side,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33and say to whoever the householder was,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37"You're down for a boy or a girl". "Yes." "These are yours".
0:23:37 > 0:23:39so they went, and, right, carry on.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41So were you scared?
0:23:41 > 0:23:46Scared, apprehensive, excited, nervous.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49But I had my big brother Jack with me,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52so I wasn't too scared, cos I knew he'd...
0:23:52 > 0:23:55The instructions from Dad was, "You look after Jim".
0:23:55 > 0:23:58And we came, and then, "Halt."
0:23:58 > 0:24:01We all stood round like sheep in the pen,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04and the billeting officer went over and said "Mrs Carter,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07"I believe you're down for one boy".
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- In number 16?- In number 16.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12And Jim said, "Yes", and he said,
0:24:12 > 0:24:15"Well, I'm sorry, but I've got two brothers".
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Without hesitation - "We'll take 'em".
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Me, I'm standing here with Jack's arm.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24I'm going nowhere without my big brother!
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- And the Carters took you in? - They took us in.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32We went through that door and that became, from that minute, home.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Jim was welcomed into the home of Laura and Jim Carter,
0:24:37 > 0:24:39and their three children.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41The loveliest memory I've got, it was every kid,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44as far as Jack and I were concerned, from creation,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47all yelling and screaming, "Mrs Carter! Mrs Carter!
0:24:47 > 0:24:50"Can they come out to play?!" We'd only just arrived.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53- What a welcome.- Wonderful. We've never forgotten that.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Jim and Jack soon settled into life in the Welsh village.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59But a year after arriving,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02the two young boys would receive devastating news.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05A message was sent from the headmaster to my teacher,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09"Could Jim Wright please report to the headmasters office?", so I did.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11I hadn't done anything wrong.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14And my mum's there, she said, "I want you to come home now."
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I said, "All right." So I came home with Jack,
0:25:17 > 0:25:21we sat in that room there with Laura, and she'd got some news,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25she'd had a telegram saying that Dad had been reported missing.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28And no further news was available.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31On the following day, the same thing happened, called out of school,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35she'd had another telegram saying he'd been killed in action.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38That's how we heard it. That was the worst day of evacuation.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42You can't get worse than that, no matter who you are or where you are.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46As we were filming with Jim, the current homeowner returned,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49offering him the chance to step back in time.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Do you want to come in and have a look?
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Would you like to have a look? - I would.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57- Come on, then!- Yeah? Come on then, let's go!
0:25:57 > 0:26:00How about that! In you go.
0:26:00 > 0:26:05Oh, good heavens. Oh, my sainted aunt!
0:26:05 > 0:26:07Changed a bit?
0:26:07 > 0:26:11I sat there, Jack there.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Peter, I'm not sure where he was.
0:26:14 > 0:26:20Laura there and Mother there, and Laura had the telegram,
0:26:20 > 0:26:25on both days, and that's when we knew, and...
0:26:25 > 0:26:28That's, sorry...
0:26:30 > 0:26:36'Unknown to Jim, we've laid on a reunion at the village hotel.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40'One of the surprise guests is Mr and Mrs Carter's son, Keith,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43'who Jim's not seen for more than 15 years.'
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- Ah, look at this lot! Come in, Jim!- Oh, dear!
0:26:47 > 0:26:48Here we are ! In you go, Jim.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52- Come here...- Now then, who have we got here?
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Oh, my God. This is Keith.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00This is my big foster brother.
0:27:00 > 0:27:01- This is Keith.- All right?
0:27:03 > 0:27:04Happy families.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23It is lovely to see you all together like this,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26about to have something of a party, I suspect.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29- How does the party start? - With a song.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30- Go on, then!- No, he's going to sing.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34# Forever and ever
0:27:34 > 0:27:37# My heart will be true. #
0:27:37 > 0:27:39Lovely...brilliant!
0:27:39 > 0:27:42Well, during the Blitz on Britain,
0:27:42 > 0:27:461 in 10 of the deaths it caused, it's thought, were children.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Without evacuation and the kindness of strangers of the sort
0:27:50 > 0:27:51that we can see here today,
0:27:51 > 0:27:55who knows how many more young lives would have been lost?
0:27:57 > 0:27:59Next time I'll be down on the farm,
0:27:59 > 0:28:03hearing how an army of women kept the nation fed,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07discovering how feathered friends kept our airmen safe...
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Winkie getting back to Scotland was enough for that crew to be rescued.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14..and finding out how entertainers kept troops'
0:28:14 > 0:28:15and workers' morale high.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd