A brand new exhibition will shine a spotlight on a former WWII Prisoner Of War camp.
Pennylands Camp 22, also known as Camp 22, Temple Camp and Auchinleck Camp, was situated in the parish of Auchinleck in East Ayrshire, to the north-east of Dumfries House, and will be highlighted at the Baird Institute in Cumnock from Saturday, January 13.
Built as training facilities for the Tank Corps, Pennylands was also used as a transit camp for regiments and then a prisoner of war camp, housing German and Italian prisoners.
At the end of the war the camp was used as a repatriation camp for Polish soldiers returning home; then by Ayr County Council as housing for local families. It was demolished in the 1950s and largely forgotten about until now.
Relics from the former camp will be on display at the Baird Institute in Cumnock
On display will be objects from archaeological digs of the site, extracts from oral history interviews that capture the recollections of members from the local community as well archival documents from the period.
Led by Cumnock History Group and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, this exhibition tells the story of those who lived and worked in and around Pennylands Camp 22.
Accompanying this exhibition will be a series of three free talks by Cumnock History group and the team behind the research, starting with Digging into the Past by Liz Jones of Addyman Archaeology on Thursday, February 1 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.
This will be followed by Collecting Stories by Dr Sue Morrison on Thursday, March 1 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and Remembering The Past by Bobby Grierson of Cumnock History Group on Thursday, April 5 from 6.30-7.30pm.
There will also be a free fun day on Friday, April 13 from 1-3.30pm, where families can explore some of the memories told and objects in the exhibition through drama, arts and crafts workshops.
The Pennylands Camp 22 – Hidden Histories of Ayrshire exhibition will run until Saturday, April 28 and admission is free.
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