Aylesbury Vale author searches for other Second World War POWs like his father

Karl Petermann is penning A Brief History of Bishopstone, the book will use the small village near Aylesbury as a launching pad to explore British history.

Currently Karl is using his own father’s fascinating life to explore greater themes.

Karl’s father was a German Prisoner of War who remained in the UK long after the conflict finished.

He married Karl’s mother soon after leaving a prisoner of war camp in Hartwell and stayed in Aylesbury Vale raising his family here.

In researching his book, which is scheduled for release next year, Karl estimates 25,000 prisoners’ of war never returned home and many of them could have been in Aylesbury Vale.

His studies show that several prisoner of war camps were set up in the area, and many Italian soldiers stuck around, after they were allowed to leave the UK in 1948.

He told The Bucks Herald: “It’s fascinating because so many Italians and Germans stayed here and married English girls.

"I want to find other descendents who have assimilated into the English way of life through being at Hartwell Camp.

"It wasn’t just Hartwell Camp there were loads of other camps in the area.

“There was Quainton, Aston Abbotts, and one of the farms in the area. They weren’t allowed home until 1947-1948 by which time they’d found new relationships.”

Unsurprisingly, Karl’s dad didn’t want to discuss the war much and didn’t share too many stories with his family about being a prisoner in a foreign land.

But that didn’t stop his environmentalist son from searching for more information.

Karl added: “My father rarely talked about the wartime experience, a) because it was horrific, and b) because he probably felt like an exile in a foreign country.

"He didn’t even teach us German. He was a very quiet man.

"We lived opposite the War Memorial, and come Remembrance Sunday or the 11 November, he would hide.

"I was always fascinated, with being brought up as a half-German. You were bullied at school for one thing, but that didn’t bother me I was rather proud of my German roots.

"My father was in the German Navy, my grandfather was in the German Navy, and my cousins today are in the German Navy.

"My father fought for his country just like everyone fought for their country.

"We spent the 1960s watching Hollywood war films and he would go ‘rubbish’.”

The book won’t just cover the Second World War, it will span events from 2,000 years ago right up to present day facts.

Readers will learn about Bishopstone’s role in defining moments of history like the Civil War and Boer War.

Karl mentioned another motivation behind the book, saying: “With my mum being 93, and very ill, I just wanted to get all the stories written down.

"Because once the likes of mum’s generation are gone, that’s it there’s no one left to report the stories.”

If you can assist Karl with his upcoming book or know someone he should contact get in touch by emailing [email protected].