Bruno Neuhold, young German POW in Worcestershire

My grandparents Trevor and Irene Bomford farmed Norval Farm, South Littleton, Worcestershire. They had bought it in 1940, after being a tenant of it. And not soon after he bought it, then their land was requisitioned for a supply depot and a Canadian army camp. A POW camp, camp number 665, for German prisoners of war was erected on that land after the Canadians joined the invasion of Normandy. Their farm, and the site of the POW camp, can be seen on drone footage in documentaries about the prison which was built on the site e.g. Channel 5’s “Inside HMP Long Lartin: Evil Behind Bars”, 2023.

In 1946, a young German POW aged 19 came asking for work. His name was Bruno Neuhold, born in Belgrade. He had served in the German Arbeitsdienst, (the Reich labour service). Then Bruno was forced into the uniform of the 13th SS (Schutzstaffel) Mountain Division, including the red Fez headgear. The 13th SS went to Bosnia to fight Tito's Partisans. Then they defended Hungarian border against the Russians, before retreating to Austria where he and some of his other non-fanatical comrades, surrendered to the Allies and he became a prisoner of war. After many different camps in Italy, Scotland and England, Bruno ended up in South Littleton, in the Vale of Evesham.

With a fellow POW named Josef, and my father Tony Bomford, 15, they repaired the old barn at Norval. Over 18 months Bruno and Tony developed a trusting friendship which lasted until Tony passed in 2014. Later, Bruno was released and arrived in the American zone of his homeland, where miraculously he was reunited with his two sisters. He met Ingeborg “Inge”, they married and emigrated to America in 1955. When the first of their four children was born in 1956, my Grandmother sent a silver napkin ring, engraved with the child's name, Alexandra.

Bruno Neuhold became a leading sculptor in America, working in stone and wood, he had a channel on YouTube. He lived in South Milwaukee. In 2018 Bruno sent me the little St Anthony silver medallion, that Bruno's stepmother had given to him, to keep him safe, when he was just 17. Bruno died 21st August 2022.