It is hard to imagine a prisoner of war camp with barbed wire fences, armed guards and hundreds of captured enemy soldiers on the site of the Queensway Estate in Broadwell. The first occupants were ‘Pioneers’, mostly foreign volunteers, who had been displaced by the fighting in Europe.

By July 1942 there were 482 Italian prisoners living in tents. Some of these prisoners were set to work building the permanent camp while others were involved in forestry work. The prisoners were also allowed to listen to the radio with loudspeakers set up around the camp. Radio Roma was very popular.

There were 825 Italian prisoners by 1943. The camp had a theatre group, an orchestra, education classes and sports such as football and volleyball. Most prisoners were engaged on local farms and 342 were working in the forest and in sawmills.

The area around Coleford was not densely populated in 1942, but there was a huge demand for workers in forestry and agriculture. Between 1942 and 1948 the population increased by about one third with the arrival of prisoners, administrative staff and guards. Local people watched the arrival of long columns of prisoners marching through their villages but the prevailing mood of the onlookers was curiosity rather than hostility.

Most of the PoWs in Camp 61 had been taken prisoner in the North African campaign which included El Alamein and ended with the surrender of all Italian forces on that continent. Many of them were conscripts with little affection for Mussolini and the Fascist cause who were glad to be out of the fighting.

Prisoner movements were severely restricted and they could not drive vehicles or even ride bikes. They were not allowed to enter houses, shops or places of entertainment except in special circumstances. Civilians were urged to treat them with civility but fraternisation was labelled as unpatriotic.

But with prisoners and locals working side by side it was inevitable that relationships would develop. While the work ethic of the Italians was often compared unfavourably with that of the Germans who came after them, there is no doubt that they won over many local people with their generally cheerful demeanour and their musical and artistic abilities. Official reports also commented on the skill and artistry shown by the Italian prisoners in their ability to create beautiful objects using very basic materials.

Mussolini’s fall from power resulted in Italy’s unconditional surrender on 8 September 1943. This agreement left the Italian PoWs in limbo. The British government declared that the prisoners must remain in captivity. The severe labour shortage had convinced the government that the PoW workforce was crucial.

My article tells the story of individual prisoners such as Sergeant Bruno Porciani who arrived at Wynols Hill in November 1942 following his capture at El Alamein. Bruno wrote to his wife Primetta:

“I hope and wish to stay here because in my wandering through Britain this seems to me the best place, also the climate is excellent, we are about 800 meters (sic) above sea level and the air is invigorating”.

Bruno was in charge of the camp store and the accounts. He also designed and directed the construction of the little church, the theatre and the monument to Marconi.

We can speculate as to the reasons behind the monument. Perhaps to bolster morale by creating a work that would show off Italian genius at a time of national defeat. Marconi’s idea of using radio waves for communication had been first conceived in Bruno’s hometown.

The relations between the British camp authorities and their Italian counterparts at Camp 61 were good. The Italians maintained order and discipline which made the life of the British staff much easier.

Work on the monument was done during the free time of volunteers. Building materials were in very short supply so it was necessary to improvise and scavenge for what was needed. Paint and dyes were made from plants and vegetables, metal was scavenged from food containers and the flags for the bunting from pieces of fabric and old clothes. The bust of Marconi was made from chalk. The finished construction is said to have resembled pink marble. The 20 feet high central tower resembled a radio transmitter with the bust of Marconi in the central niche. The words on the tower and plinth, in both Italian and English, read:

“TO GUGLIELMO MARCONI, MAGICIAN OF THE ETHER, THE ITALIAN PRISONERS OF WAR, CHRISTMAS 1944.”

After the end of the war in May 1945 all the Italian prisoners were repatriated to Italy. Bruno Porciani was one of the last to be sent home and did not arrive back in Livorno until March 1946. His daughter Laura discovered the story of his time in the camp after his death in 1963 through the letters that he had written to his wife Primetta.

German PoWs began arriving at Wynols Hill in May 1946 while there were still some Italians living in the camp. The two groups were kept separate to avoid trouble as some Germans felt that they had been betrayed by their former ally. Many of these were classified as ardent Nazis and there were cases of intimidation against their less enthusiastic countrymen. Most prisoners were angry at their continuing captivity in Britain when they wanted to go home to help in the reconstruction of Germany. Many had lost touch with their families, particularly those trapped in the Soviet zone.

The dilemma for the British authorities was how to turn these resentful prisoners into an effective workforce. Restrictions on PoW movements were relaxed. They could leave the camp unsupervised although they were still forbidden to go into pubs or fraternise with the female population. They received a wage of one shilling a day and extra weekly bonuses could be earned for good work. This meant they could buy goods for themselves and also food and clothing to send back to Germany where many people were living on the brink of starvation.

By the end of 1946 one-fifth of all farm work in Britain was being done by German PoWs. The ban on fraternisation was less successful. Across the country almost 800 marriages took place in Britain between German PoWs and local women. On 7 July 1947 there were 1,075 PoWs recorded in Camp 61 and hostels in the area and morale in the camp had greatly improved.

Camp 61 survived for a number of years after the last prisoner had left. The huts were used by Carters Ribena factory in the 1950s and 60s to house seasonal workers. The Marconi monument survived until the 1970s but the structure suffered from neglect and had been badly vandalised. The monument was demolished in the late 1970s along with the remaining camp buildings during the construction of the Queensway Estate.

Some fragments survive in historical collections or in private hands, such as the two globes.

Owen McLaughlin’s article remembers the the camp and the prisoners who shaped the lives of many people living around Coleford at the time. The fuller story can be read in the New Regard available at the Forest of Dean Local History Society web site as well as a number of local outlets.