Located in the community of Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, Camp 30 began in 1927 as a school for delinquent youths prior to being converted into a Canadian-run POW camp for the highest-ranking German POWs captured by the allied forces during World War II. Barbed-wire fences were constructed 15 feet apart, nine guard towers were erected as were gates and barracks for the Canadian guards. All tasks were completed by 1941 when the German prisoners started arriving.

Pool and Gym

Sports played an important role at the school. The Natatorium would have been one of the first indoor pools in Canada. It was well used by both the boys and Bowmanville community. And during wartime, the POWs took up the Canadian sport of hockey by building an ice rink in the winter.

House IV (Victoria Hall)

Built in 1928, House IV, otherwise known as Victoria Hall, housed many of the PoWs, and is closest to Lamb’s Road. It was the site of one of the most famous escape attempts. The Army and Navy were competing against each other to be the first to escape. The Army was digging a tunnel under Lamb’s Road and had lighting wired in and a ventilation system installed using tin cans. Supports were every 1–2 meters and were made from wood from attics within the camp. The dirt excavated was disposed of using a trolley system, and men passing a bucket up to the attic through a hole in the ceiling. In September 1943, before the completion of the tunnel, the ceiling collapsed revealing the activity to the guards. It was Otto Kretschmer the Germans were trying to free. They had a submarine waiting on the East Coast for him. Kretschmer held the record for sinking the most ships: 47, a total of 274,333 tons. He only actively participated in the first 18 months of the war and was the famed Captain of U-boat 99. As for the incomplete tunnel, it was collapsed by the Canadian guards.

Kiranis House

The Boys Training School had support from private and public sectors, visionary leadership, and a dedicated professional staff. The local service clubs in Bowmanville helped sponsor the various dormitories. The boys were encouraged to engage in community activities and become upstanding citizens through their experience.

Infirmary/General's House

Three German Generals were housed here in the General's House between 1941 and 1945. Johann von Ravenstein was with Rommel in the African desert commanding the 21 Panzer Division. The PoW Camp inside the watchtowers and barbed wire was run by the highest ranking officers. All escape attempts had to be approved. And while there were many escapes from Camp 30, none were successful. All escapees were recaptured and returned to one of the 40 POW Camps in Canada.

Cafeteria

The CAFETERIA was built to house 300 students. During its time as a PoW Camp every meal had at least two sittings to accommodate the number of PoWs. For 3 days in 1942, the cafeteria was the
main site of the rebellion against the shackling of 100 men; a direct order from Churchill in reprisal from the manacling of Canadian soldiers in Germany. Prisoners barricaded themselves in the cafeteria, arming themselves with bats, bottles and hockey sticks so they would be equally matched.

During later incidents in the battle which spanned several days, one prisoner was wounded by gunfire, another prisoner was bayoneted and a Canadian soldier suffered a skull fracture from a thrown jar of jam. The “Battle of Bowmanville” ended when Canadian guards repelled into the building from the clerestory and subdued the rioters. After calm had returned, 126 of the prisoners were transferred to other camps.

Jury Lodge

The JURY LODGE was named for Mr. John H. H. Jury. He attended a speech by esteemed academic J. Alex Edmison in Toronto in 1922. The topic of the speech was juvenile delinquency. Jury was
so impressed by Edmison’s speech and theory that he immediately proposed to donate his farm on the outskirts of Bowmanville to the Province of Ontario if they would build a training school
for “underprivileged boys" following the theory promoted by Edmison. Mr. Jury was a horticulturist and one of his business ventures was Brookdale Kingsway Nursery. It is likely that he had an influence on the plantings on the campus. To the south there is a grove of catalpa trees, recognizable by their large leaves and long bean fruit.

Camp 30 was run as a POW camp from 1941-1945 after which it returned to its previous state as a boys training school. In September 2013, Camp 30 was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

Voice talent:
https://www.fiverr.com/rickhardy​

----- Social Media

Twitter:   / tvlbynumbers​  
Instagram:   / ​  
Facebook:   / ​  

----- Gear

https://kit.co/TravelByNumbers/vloggi...