Alan Roberts reports on the visit to Skipton of the granddaughter of Edward Snee, one of the camp interpreters:

It was a real pleasure to welcome Richard and Jill Topham to Skipton earlier this summer. They were in England on holiday from their home in Melbourne in Australia. Richard is a proud Yorkshireman and a keen family historian. Jill's grandfather was Edward Snee who was one of the two interpreters working in the camp at the time the book Kriegsgefangen in Skipton was written. Jill was never able to meet Edward Snee as he died when she was very young. She was however brought to England from India by her mother towards the end of the Second World War when she was still a little girl, and was raised by Edward Snee's wife who she referred to as Granny Snee. (It rhymes with knee.)

 Richard and Jill enjoyed their time in Skipton. They were able to see the site of our forthcoming archaeological dig, to inspect the artefacts that had been found previously and to peruse the growing collection of documents about the camp. Pride of place must of course go to the book, Kriegsgefangen in Skipton itself. 

Richard and Jill commented several times on how green the countryside was around Skipton. We look forward to welcoming them back when they can spend some more time with us, and when we can update them on our progress. Who knows we should have a definitive translation of the book by then!

 Further details about Edward Snee and Skipton Camp can be found on this website in the article ‘Edward Snee – Camp Interpreter’.