_105 The Beekeeper of Stalag 383 "Following his capture at St Valery-en-Caux on the 12th of June 1940, and after an arduous march into captivity, Company Sergeant Major James Hamilton Savage of the 4th Battalion the Queen\u2019s Own Cameron Highlanders, found himself imprisoned in Stalag 383.\r\n\r\nThe POW camp, located in Hohenfels, Germany, was built in 1938 and used as a training camp for German soldiers so accommodation at the camp was quite good. When war broke out, the training camp was turned int a POW camp. At first it housed only officers and was called Oflag IIIC, it was later renamed Stalag 383 as POWs from lower ranks arrived. \r\n\r\nIt was located in a high valley surrounded by dense woodland; the weather was lovely in the summer but cold in the winter. The camp had 400 detached accommodation huts, each about 36 meters squared, and housing about 14 men, a total of 5,600 POWs. As the war progressed, and more POW arrived at the camp, more huts were built. \r\n\r\nAs a non-commissioned officer, under the terms of the Geneva Convention, CSM Savage was not forced to work during his time in captivity. With no work, Savage had to look for something else to alleviate his boredom. Before the war, his father had taught him about beekeeping and while in captivity he sourced a book on the subject from the Red Cross. Beekeeping was to become Savage\u2019s escape from the monotony of daily life in a POW camp. \r\n\r\nOccasionally and under supervision of guards, POWs allowed out of the camp. Savage was allowed out of camp to meet a beekeeper from the local village who gave Savage the first hive and bees for the camp. \r\n\r\nMore hives were to follow, made from the wooden crates the Red Cross deliveries came in, and populated with bees Savage caught, there were soon many beehives in Stalag 383. \r\n\r\nIn 1942 Savage set up the Captive Drones Association, a group for POWs in Stalag 383 who were interested in beekeeping. A drone is a name for a male bee that does not work or is idle, the Captive Drones Association is a play on words that could refer to either the bees in the hives or the POWs looking after them! \r\nSoon Savage was teaching others how to keep bees and the men were even able to take exams in beekeeping arranged through The British Beekeeping Association, but the POWs did not get to enjoy the taste of the honey often, most of the honey stayed with the bees to help them survive winter. Beekeeping at Stalag 383 was more an activity to keep the men occupied during their imprisonment rather than an attempt to produce a regular source of food. \r\n\r\nOn April 24, 1945, those that had been left in Stalag 383 were liberated by the 65th Infantry Division. When CSM Savage returned home after the war he found employment with the West of Scotland Agricultural College where he lectured in beekeeping, eventually becoming the Head of Beekeeping. " eulac3d Organisation TEXT "Following his capture at St Valery-en-Caux on the 12th of June 1940, and after an arduous march into captivity, Company Sergeant Major James Hamilton Savage of the 4th Battalion the Queen\u2019s Own Cameron Highlanders, found himself imprisoned in Stalag 383.\r\n\r\nThe POW camp, located in Hohenfels, Germany, was built in 1938 and used as a training camp for German soldiers so accommodation at the camp was quite good. When war broke out, the training camp was turned int a POW camp. At first it housed only officers and was called Oflag IIIC, it was later renamed Stalag 383 as POWs from lower ranks arrived. \r\n\r\nIt was located in a high valley surrounded by dense woodland; the weather was lovely in the summer but cold in the winter. The camp had 400 detached accommodation huts, each about 36 meters squared, and housing about 14 men, a total of 5,600 POWs. As the war progressed, and more POW arrived at the camp, more huts were built. \r\n\r\nAs a non-commissioned officer, under the terms of the Geneva Convention, CSM Savage was not forced to work during his time in captivity. With no work, Savage had to look for something else to alleviate his boredom. Before the war, his father had taught him about beekeeping and while in captivity he sourced a book on the subject from the Red Cross. Beekeeping was to become Savage\u2019s escape from the monotony of daily life in a POW camp. \r\n\r\nOccasionally and under supervision of guards, POWs allowed out of the camp. Savage was allowed out of camp to meet a beekeeper from the local village who gave Savage the first hive and bees for the camp. \r\n\r\nMore hives were to follow, made from the wooden crates the Red Cross deliveries came in, and populated with bees Savage caught, there were soon many beehives in Stalag 383. \r\n\r\nIn 1942 Savage set up the Captive Drones Association, a group for POWs in Stalag 383 who were interested in beekeeping. A drone is a name for a male bee that does not work or is idle, the Captive Drones Association is a play on words that could refer to either the bees in the hives or the POWs looking after them! \r\nSoon Savage was teaching others how to keep bees and the men were even able to take exams in beekeeping arranged through The British Beekeeping Association, but the POWs did not get to enjoy the taste of the honey often, most of the honey stayed with the bees to help them survive winter. Beekeeping at Stalag 383 was more an activity to keep the men occupied during their imprisonment rather than an attempt to produce a regular source of food. \r\n\r\nOn April 24, 1945, those that had been left in Stalag 383 were liberated by the 65th Infantry Division. When CSM Savage returned home after the war he found employment with the West of Scotland Agricultural College where he lectured in beekeeping, eventually becoming the Head of Beekeeping. " "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image "" image/jpeg Image