POW Football Team Watten

[rob murray]

Been looking through the on line Johnson photo collection, seems to be loads of Watten POW pictures, including a couple of what seems to be a prisoners football team ( the camp guards had a team as well ). Does anyone know anything about the POW team ? Presumably they must have played local teams, certainly post 1945 when local relationships with the camp were very friendly. Maybe a good story here ! In Moray shire post 1945, thousands of Polish soldiers were statoned around Forres...Forres mechanics actually had a couple of polish internationals playing for them, certainly ex pro players. Also in the same time period Bill Shankly, Matt Busby, and top english pro's were stationed at RAF Kinloss and played local selects at Elgin Citys ground. Who knows, maybe a top German pro may have been at the camp....interesting wee story anyhow

[Skifter]

Valerie Campbell has written a book called Camp 165 Watten. There might be information abou the football team in it.

[rob murray]

Valerie Campbell has written a book called Camp 165 Watten. There might be information abou the football team in it.

I have the book no real mention of a POW Team.

[Gronnuck]

I have a copy of the second edition of the book and there a couple of references to a POW team from the camp playing against the Thurso Swifts.

[rob murray]

I have a copy of the second edition of the book and there a couple of references to a POW team from the camp playing against the Thurso Swifts.

Can you mind any details, score etc.

[Gronnuck]

Can you mind any details, score etc.

The book makes no mention of any details other than the Thurso Swifts. One contributer who lived in Watten at the time said that he remembered them playing, "in the field with a standing stone by the river". There are a couple of reference to football matches but nothing more specific.

[rob murray]

Been doing a bit of digging and found below, there are bound to be people still living who witnessed the POW team's

HUDDLED beside a windswept football pitch, the villagers had temporarilyforgotten the hardships of Highland wartime life.

They watched enthralled (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/enthralled) en·thralled as a team of tall, lean men skillfully passed, lobbed and crossed to destroy a hapless group of local amateurs.

For the people of Watten, Caithness, football matches staged by inmates fromthe local prisoner of war camp in the 1940s became a Sunday spectacle.

But few realised that the talented players included some of Hitler's mostnotorious henchmen.

Now, for the first time, former German prisoners who were held at Camp 165 havespoken of their experiences - and revealed how they spent much of their timedeveloping their football skills.

The remote camp was one of the most secretive in wartime Britain. Inmatesincluded Hitler's personal aide and SS commander Max Wunsche, Himmler's chiefpropagandist Gunter d'Alquen, and notorious U-boat captain Otto Kretschmer,known as the Wolf of the Atlantic.

But there were so many quality footballers among the
Nazis locked up that they put together four strong teams.

As they played against sides from Thurso on public pitches, their opponents andl ocal spectators were unaware of the extent of the atrocities the men hadcommitted. former prisoner Ludwig Schoon, now 81,reveals that for most of the day they were free to do as they pleased and spentevery Sunday showing off their football skills.

Mr Schoon said: 'There were very good footballers. The kids from Watten wouldall stand around the sides watching the football.'


'Most matches took place between teams of prisoners within the camp compound.

'They even had leagues, and competitive games took place on Sundays.

'They also played a local team the Thurso Swifts, on a field near AchingaleBridge, just outside the village.

'Some played in bare feet..

Others wore their army boots.

Some wore boots borrowed from the Swifts.

'Lots of locals used to stand round and watch these matches. They enjoyed thegames and were impressed by the Germans' skills.