IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Comrie, CRIEFF, PH6 2AB

Once home to German POWs, now being developed locally as accommodation for tourists.

Camp 21 at Cultybraggan was built in 1941 as a prisoner of war camp, and was designed to hold some 4000 category A prisoners, many of which were considered to be the most fanatical and ardent Nazis. After World War Two was over, Cultybraggan was utilised as an MOD training centre.

Allotments established in 2009 on the site of one of the four prisoner 'compounds' demolished in the 1970s to build an assault course and small arms firing range which can be seen in the distance (Image).

The main road through Cultybraggan Camp does not lead exactly towards the rainbow.

Most of the dozens of huts at Cultybraggan remain in a semi-derelict state until the local community can raise sufficient funds for more extensive preservation work. This is a major challenge, since the former MOD site occupies 90 acres, on the outskirts of Comrie.

By some unexpected quirk of the lens, this single camera shot shows both the interior of one Nissen Hut and the exterior of its neighbour, neatly illustrating their inside and outside construction. One can imagine how Spartan this accommodation must have been for the British troops, in the cold and damp Scottish winters. No doubt, there was even less concern for the comfort of German prisoners-of-war held here during WW2. Interestingly, the huts were originally designed for a lifespan of 15 years: they are still standing, albeit in some disrepair, after 70.

In 2007, this former Army Camp was bought from the MOD by the Comrie Development Trust, and is now (partly) subject to a share offer to raise investment in a conversion project which will turn ten of the Nissen Huts into self-catering units and progressively upgrade others through the hoped-for profits of the scheme. This is the result of years of research and planning by the local Comrie Heritage Group who have been seeking a viable future for the historic camp, limited by the requirement to maintain the outward appearance of the huts while finding a new and profitable use for them. A share offer is currently available in writing and on-line and each investor can purchase from 1 to 200 shares (but thereby acquires just 1 vote per person).