Over May and June 2017 our History Champions interviewed 18 Local History Heroes, recording a wide range of recollections of life in and around Pennylands from 1939 – 1959.
Ages ranged from 59 – 93 and length of interviews ranged from 5 mins to 1 hour 35 mins.
James Blyth Interview
James was a Captain in the Black Watch who was involved in organising the successful repatriation of Polish soldiers at Pennylands Repatriation Camp from 1946 to 1947.
Helen Blyth Interview
Helen’s father farmed Cooperhill Farm, near Dumfries House and remembers POWs working on the farm and King George VIs visit to inspect the troops on the estate in September 1942.
Clarke Callaghan Interview
Clarke spent a happy childhood from the late 1940s to the early 1950s at Pennylands Housing Camp. He lived at hut no 30 with mother, brother Tom and stepfather Adam Zborowski who was a Polish soldier.
Tom Callaghan Interview
Tom spent a happy childhood from the late 1940s to the early 1950s at Pennylands Housing Camp. He lived at hut no 30 with mother, brother Clarke and stepfather Adam Zborowski who was a Polish soldier.
Gib Cowan Interview
Gib recalls how his parents played host to a number of British and Allied soldiers who visited their house for food and entertainment. Gib is the younger brother of Anne Griffiths.
Geronimo Donis Interview
Gerry and his family lived for a few months in 1948 at Pennylands Housing Camp. He was involved in a shooting incident and was lucky to survive the experience.
David Gibson Interview
David watched the camp being built in the late 1930s. He witnessed a tragic accident in Auchinleck involving a hand grenade explosion. In 1957 he bought and dismantled one of the huts from Ayr County council for use as a garage.
Linda Laidlaw Interview
Linda’s grandfather, Robert Lambie was a farmer at Dalmaca Farm near Patna who had regular German POWs working on the farm. The family kept letters and other souvenirs of the POWs which are on loan for the exhibition.
Jim Liddell Interview
Jim lived in Auchinleck and remembers watching the Clydebank Blitz light up the sky. A family member, Sgt John Johnston, was stationed at Pennylands POW Camp. His son-in-law Callum Johnston has lent us the wooden walking stick which was carved by a German POW.
William McComb Interview
William lived at Pennylands Housing Camp, hut no 1 until the age of 5 when his family moved to Auchinleck.
Ian McConnell Interview
Ian and family lived in 3 different Pennylands huts. He recalls the very basic conditions and how pleased his mother was when they moved to Auchinleck.
June McKerrow Interview
June worked as a civilian typist from 1946 to 1947 in the orderly room at the Polish Repatriation Camp and recalls the working conditions and what the work entailed.
Jean McMurdo Interview
Jean recalls how her mother Ina befriended German POWs working in New Cumnock and how she maintained a correspondence with one POW after the war.
Ian Nimmo Interview
Ian visited the camp in the summer of 1946 where his father was responsible for the changeover from POW Camp to Polish Repatriation Camp. He has lent us a carved wooden plaque presented by a German POW to his father.
Elizabeth Parol Interview
Betty married a Polish military policeman Kasiemierz Parol in 1947. She recalls her wedding in Auchinleck and some tragic tales involving Polish men.
Johnny Stariski Interview
Johnny lived in Auchinleck and used to visit the camp after school with his friends looking for military souvenirs and witnessed a shocking incident.
