Island Farm Prisoner of War Camp papers

Papers, 1946-2017, of Captain Ted Lees, relating to Island Farm Prisoner of War Camp, Bridgend. Captain Lees was the camp's Intelligence Officer and interpreter during the period 1946-1948, when it held some of the most senior German officers, including Feldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt.
The papers include a nominal roll of senior prisoners compiled by Lees (ff. i-ii, I-XVI); some eighteen letters to Lees, from von Rundstedt and others, 1946-1948, 1957 (ff. 1-21); a typescript statement by von Rundstedt concerning the Blomberg-Fritsch affair of 1938 (ff. 22-25); a typescript memorandum, dated 9 July 1947, from a prisoner to a 'Herr Bieri' [?Frederick Bieri of the IRCC], concerning the Geneva Convention (ff. 30-36); Lees's manuscript recollections of von Rundstedt, 1953 (ff. 54-57); and a copy of a War Office urgent memorandum (U.M./4202(P.W.1m)), dated 8 September 1947, enclosing a categorised nominal roll of senior German officers detained in the UK (ff. 38-53). The letters to Captain Lees, mostly in German, are from Generalmajor [Walter] Leuze, 10 May 1946 (f. 1), [Generalmajor Hans] Erdmann, 3 December 1946 (f. 2), von Rundstedt, 25 December 1946 (f. 3), [Generalmajor Burkhart] Muller-Hildebrand, 2 February 1947 (ff. 4-5), [Konteradmiral] Hans Voss, 13 August 1947 (f. 6), General der Flieger Hans-Georg von Seidel, 14 August 1947 (f. 8), General der Artillerie Anton[-Reichard Hermann Friedrich Maria] Fr[ei]h[er]r v[on] Bechtolsheim, 19 August 1947 (f. 9), Dr Rudolf Aettig, 9 December 1947 (f. 11), [General] Gunther Blumentritt, 26 February 1948 (f. 13), and [General Edwin Graf von] Rothkirch [und Trach], 1 May 1948 (f. 14). Also included are a letter to Lees's wife from von Rundstedt, 10 February 1948 (f. 12), a Christmas card from Voss, made in camp, [1946x1948] (f. 17), a note from Voss certifying the handing over of medals to Captain Lees, [1946x1948] (f. 18), and correspondence, 1957, between Lees, Wilhelm Bauer de Betaz and a Manchester bank, concerning the whereabouts of Bauer de Betaz's medals (ff. 19-21). Items subsequently added to the papers include typescript translations of two of the letters into English (ff. 7, 15), photocopies of parts of the Blomberg-Fritsch and Geneva Convention typescripts (ff. 26-29, 37, kept for conservation purposes) and printouts of web pages relating to Lees and von Rundstedt, 2010, 2017 (ff. 62-64).

Arranged at NLW as follows: nominal roll; letters; other documents.

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C&T Auctioneers and Valuers; Kenardington; Purchased at auction, lot 109 (with NLW, Llyfrau Ffoto 6130 B, 6254 B and NLW ex 3016); 15 March 2017; 99762801002419.

Title based on contents.

October 2018.

Description compiled by Rhys Jones.

Usual copyright laws apply.

'Lot 249 Bollans' on f. 38 suggests the memorandum (ff. 38-53) derives from a source other than Ted Lees; 'Forman. Camp 11 No. 7', 'Forman Camp 11 No. 10' and 'Lot 245' (labels attached to plastic sleeves previously holding some of the papers).

Other items purchased with the papers comprise photographs of the camp, prisoners and staff (now NLW, Llyfrau Ffoto 6130 B and 6254 B), marquetry cigarette boxes, framed watercolours and two small painted wooden plaques inscribed with von Rundstedt's name (2017 PO22/1-7) and unrelated papers (NLW ex 3016).

Published