Shepton Mallet Military Prison (1939 -1966)

Shepton Mallet Prison, formally known as HMP Shepton Mallet, occupies a distinctive place in British military history, not only because of its well-known use by the United States Army during the Second World War, but also due to its earlier and later roles as a British military prison (a 'Glasshouse'). Constructed in 1625 as a house of correction, it became England’s oldest continuously operating prison until its closure in 2013, at which point it carried a Category C designation. The prison is now open to the public and my wife and I recently spent a fascinating afternoon there, exploring the cavernous buildings with the help of a truly excellent guide.

The Exercise Yard at HMP Shepton Mallet

Before American involvement, Shepton Mallet was already being used by the British military authorities. During the First World War, the prison was taken over by the War Office and used as a military detention facility for British servicemen. It held soldiers convicted by court martial, including deserters, those guilty of insubordination, and men who had committed criminal offences while in uniform. As with many wartime military prisons, its purpose was both punitive and corrective, reinforcing discipline within a mass citizen army under unprecedented strain. The prison’s isolation and severe conditions made it well suited to this role.

C Wing with escape room 'guard'

Shepton Mallet’s most famous military phase came during the Second World War. In 1942 the facility, having operated as a British military prison since 1939 (for the second time), was transferred to the control of the United States Army, becoming the only US-run military prison on British soil. Officially designated the 2903rd United States Army Disciplinary Training Center, it housed American servicemen convicted of serious crimes under US military law. Between 1942 and 1945, the prison held over 700 US soldiers and was the site of eighteen wartime executions, including sixteen hangings undertaken carried out by the renowned executioner Thomas Pierrepoint under American authority. The remaining executions were carried out by firing squad as the prisoners involved had committed crimes against service personnel rather than civilians. 

The execution wall at Shepton Mallet

The execution wall is a sombre place, made more so when one realises that on the right hand side there are seven unmarked civilian graves. Apparently in some instances a sentence would apply after death insofar as a burial place had to remain unmarked for one hundred years. The last civilian burial of this type (one of the seven) was in 1926 so at the end of this year the seven graves can be named or the bodies reinterred (the seven names are known, but not the order in which they were buried - they are in date sequence but it is not known whether the sequence runs left to right or visa versa). The two servicemen shot at the wall were Private Alex Miranda (30 May 1944) and Benjamin Pygate (18 November 1944). The presence of the graves and the fact that they could not be moved, almost certainly saved the site from redvelopment.

Previously, on Saturday, 14th December 1940, three British servicemen were killed at the prison in a tragic accident. The three - Frank Girvan, Glen Williams and Harold Smith were paying cards with one other having been put in 'Room 142' for what our guide said was for a relatively trivial disciplinary offence. It was a cold night and the men were playing cards around a gas lamp. To stop a draught a towel was placed under the door and sadly the four were found asphyxiated - one survived. The location of Room 142 is unknown but a plaque in the Second World War era gatehouse records the incident. 

Plaque to three British Army prisoners 

The American period did not mark a complete break from British military use. After the end of the war in Europe, Shepton Mallet was returned to British control and once again used, briefly, to hold British military prisoners. In the immediate post-war years, it housed members of the British armed forces convicted of offences under military law, including desertion and violent crime, reflecting the ongoing need for military detention facilities even after active hostilities had ended. Post war the Kray Twins and Charlie Richardson spent time in the Shepton Mallet Glasshouse - the former for refusing National Service.

Today, Shepton Mallet Prison stands as a rare physical reminder of military incarceration on British soil. Its history as both a British and American military prison illustrates the often-overlooked role of military justice in wartime and underscores how global conflict reshaped even long-established local institutions.

Link corridor between the wings

C Wing - home of the National Archive during WW2

During the Second World War one part of the prison sat outside US Army jurisdiction. This was C Wing which is used as safe, bomb proof storage for government and national archive material. Public Record Office (PRO) documents, legal and administrative records considered essential for the post war state and some historically important papers were stored in the cells which extended over three floors. A custodian and his family lived on the first floor and the wall of the block was breeched to allow quick access to the exterior. Our guide told us that one of the children had returned recently, and told how he used to run a toy train along the walkways on the second level. 

Should you visit? 

Well, this what I said in my five star Trip Advisor Review: We were absolutely blown away by our experience. The guided tour provided fascinating insights into the prison over the years. Our guide was exceptional - knowledgeable, passionate and with an obvious pride in making the visitor experience as good as it could possibly be. She succeeded. In the afternoon we had a similarly brilliant experience in one of the escape rooms. Every member of staff was totally attuned to excellent service. As for the prison itself - authentic and awesome!

The One That Got Away (1940)

The beautiful village of Hawkshead in the Lake District is probably not the most obvious location for a spot of World War II related drama - real or cinematic. But it is here that one of the most intriguing, and perhaps famous,  prisoner-of-war escape stories started. The German fighter ace Franz Xaver Freiherr von Werra was the only Allied PoW to return to his homeland after a successful escape attempt from Canada. It took von Werra three attempts, and the first was whilst he was in captivity at Grizedale Hall which at the time of his capture in 1940, was designated as Prisoner of War Camp No.1. Since 1939 the camp had held elite German PoWs including a large number of Kriegsmarine officers, hence it being known as the 'U-Boat Hotel'. 

Franz von Werra, a man untroubled by self doubt, was shot down over Kent on 5th September 1940. After a short period of interrogation at the London PoW 'cage' known as Trent Park, he was transferred to PoW Camp No.1 at Grizedale. His various escape attempts are documented in the 1957 film 'The one that got away'. What makes an exploration of the Hawkshead area wartime connections particularly interesting, is that the much of the film was shot in the very locations where von Werra planned and made his first escape.

Hardy Kruger as von Werra in the 1957 film

The same spot today

Leaving my wife and family at a chocolate making class, I headed off to see what I could find - armed with stills of the film and a map of the original escape route. Every day, the PoWs were marched from Grizedale Hall down to the village of Satterthwaite so I headed there, first making a bee-line for All Saints Church which is easily recognisable in the 1957 film. I was not disappointed as little had changed in the intervening years. 

It was on one of these exercise breaks that von Wirra had made his first escape. His intention was to head west and seek out a neutral ship in Liverpool Docks. To make his escape he took advantage of a distraction caused by passing fruit cart at a bend in the road a mile or so south of the village. With the aid of his fellow prisoners von Wirra slipped over a nearby dry-stone wall sand headed for Coniston Water. He was at large for three days, and was recaptured on the 10th October after a massive manhunt involving the Home Guard, local farmers and sharp-eyed land girls.

Member of the Home Guard running to a phone box

The same spot today

It took a little while to realise that a man was missing, Indeed the film shows the officer commanding the 'walking party' calling for an impromptu roll call on the road between Satterthwaite and Grizedale Hall. In the film a member of the Home Guard runs back to the village in order to alert the office back ot PoW Camp No.1. 

The phone box can be seen in the above still from the film. Given the proximity of All Saints Church I figured that the box would be easy to find. However, when I reached the spot there was no sign of the telphone box and no indication that there had ever been one as shown on the still. Perplexed, I was offered help by a local homeowner who was keen to talk about the escape story and the making of the film. Apparently, the box was erected temporarily on the day that the scene was captured by the movie makers. 

Having captured a few 'then and now' shots in Satterthwaite, my son and I made our way up to the site of PoW Camp No.1 at Grizedale Hall. The PoW Camp was decommissioned in 1946 with the remaining prisoners being repatriated to Germany, Austria and Italy. Interestingly, I was told that several returned, married local girls and lived in the village thereafter. After the camp was closed Grizedale Hall fell into disrepair and it was finally demolished in the late 1950s. In the comparison shots above, the hall can be seen behind the prisoner column in the bottom picture. The inner entrance to the camp was at the end of this roadway. 

A sentry at PoW Camp No. 1

So, what happened to von Werra after his first unsuccesful attempt? Well, following the incident he was given 21 days in solitary confinement and on the 3rd November 1940 he was transferred to Camp No. 3 in Swanwick, Derbyshire. At Swanwick, he joined a group of escapers who were constructing a tunnel underneath the wire. Four men escaped under the cover of anti-aircraft fire and an obliging prisoner choir. Three were recaptured but von Werra, masquerading as Dutch pilot, Captain Von Lock, made it to RAF Hucknall where he managed to gain access to an aircraft before being recaptured whilst he was trying to learn the controls.

In January 1941 von Werra was transported to Canada en route to a camp on the shore of Lake Ontario. As the prison train departed Montreal he jumped out of a window and trekked across open countryside to the frozen St Lawrence seaway - intent on reaching the neutral USA. Denied entrance to the USA he sought the help of the German Consul in New York who facilitated his return to Germany via Mexico, Spain and Italy. He reached Nazi Germany on the 18th April 1941. Upon his return, von Werra was treated as a hero and was awarded a Knight's Cross by Adolf Hitler. After serving a couple of months on the Eastern Front following Barbarossa, von Werra was posted to Holland where he was killed whilst undertaking a training flight on the 25th October 1941.

As mentioned above the whole story was brought to the silver screen in 1957 with Hardy Kruger playing von Werra. The script was sourced from a book by Kendall Burt and James Leasor called, unsurprisingly, 'The one that got away'.

The full movie is available on You Tube.