Papers of William Rogan, prisoner of war in Germany, 1940-c.1980

The collection includes photographs, medals and notebooks of William Rogan.

Most of the black and white photographs show prisoners of war at Stalag VIIIB (later Stalag 344) and at other prison camps, and street scenes and historical monuments in Egypt and the Middle East. c.1940-1950 (MS 695/1);

Photographic slides, primarily copies of some of Rogan's original photographs from his army service days. c.1995 (MS 695/2);

Medals awarded to William Rogan and others, possibly including his father. 1914-1945 (MS 695/3);

Notebooks of poems and sonnets kept by Rogan, with contributions from his fellow captives. 1940s (MS 695/4);

Other items include a pocket diary for 1940; two tape cassettes recording Rogan's experience as a prisoner of war; typescript recommendation for a military medal; Christmas 1944 issue of 'The Clarion', magazine printed by the prisoners of war at Stalag 344; programmes for prison camp dramatic performances; prisoner of war identity card; letter from King George accompanying the Military Medal; five fabric badges of the Sherwood Foresters and other ephemera; 1940-1980 (MS 695/5).

Little is known about William Rogan, the person responsible for compiling this collection. During the 1930s, Rogan was a member of the Sherwood Foresters, a regiment of the Territorial Army. He lived in Newark, Nottinghamshire and was employed by Ransome and Marles, a bearing manufacturer in the town. He was called up along with the rest of the 8th battalion to take part in the Norway campaign, 1940-1941. He was taken prisoner on 27 April 1940 during the campaign and was a captive in German prison camps including Stalag VIIIB (later Stalag 344) until February 1945. Rogan was also involved in campaigns in north Africa and the Middle East. He was awarded the Military Medal.

In later years he seems to have used his photographs and memorabilia to share his wartime experiences with others; slide copies of his photographs form part of the collection. Regiment Sergeant William Rogan M.M. lived into the 1980s.

The collection has been divided by document type into five series.

ACCESS: Accessible to all registered readers by appointment.

LANGUAGE: English

• This description is the only finding aid available for the collection. Copyright on the description belongs to the University of Nottingham.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

COPYRIGHT: Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).

The collection was acquired by The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in May 1999.