The History of Ruddington Depot
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Post War Changes
Prisoners of War find a role
Although many of the buildings were redundant the whole site continued to be kept in meticulous condition. Buildings and grounds were well maintained and much of the routine work involved was done by German prisoners of war who were unable to return to their homes for two years or more after the war ended. They came to the Depot each day in special buses.
Lilian Slack got to know one of them:
The
harbour scene in a sauce bottle made by a Prisoner of War“When
I worked in the transport office the windows were cleaned regularly by a German
prisoner of war. One day someone else in the office showed me a model ship
in a bottle he had made for her. I asked him if he would make one for me.
He came a few weeks later with a large sauce bottle, and inside there was
not only a model ship but a whole harbour with a lighthouse and buildings
in the background. I think I gave him half a crown for it (2s.6d. or about
12p).”
Other prisoners of war made small wooden toys, but it was all done “under the counter.” This was a phrase used at the time to describe secret transactions which were illegal or officially banned.
The Story > Chapter 5 > Section 5.04