Local drama group Double Act's explosive new WW2 play, set in a Wareham Pub!
Entertaining local people for over 30 years!
Double Act drama group have been entertaining local people for over 30 years with their locally inspired productions. Over twelve years ago they started researching for a new play – how the second world war affected this area. Since then more official secrets have been released and more memoirs published, building up a fascinating picture of Purbeck during the war. This story is now to be told in their latest play ‘This Secret Isle’.
WW2 play set in Wareham's old Lord Nelson pub!
The play is set in May 1942 and located in a fictitious version of a real Wareham inn called ‘The Lord Nelson’. During the turmoil of the war, the matriarch of this Wareham inn does all she can to keep her family safe but even she has no real idea who is sheltering under her own roof!
Fiction merge with fact for Purbeck's WW2 Play
It has taken author, Peter Smith, much longer than expected to pull together all the characters and plot with these local historical events. Virtually all the incidents depicted or referred to in the play did actually occur in Purbeck during the war (although for dramatic purposes a few incidents have been condensed together in time). Obviously, many ‘official secrets’ only became known long after the war – like the secret Auxiliary Unit now known as the ‘Creech Barrow Seven’. So certain details have been included with dramatic hindsight, and a few liberties have been taken to get our disparate collection of characters together in the same place!
However, great pains have been taken to avoid turning it into a ‘Dads Army’ or ‘Allo Allo’ type comedy in order to respect the lives of all those who lived through these world changing events of that time. Peter hopes that the end result is not only an entertaining story but one which reflects this important chapter in Purbeck’s history.
The Secret Isle - Purbeck's War
During the Second World War, the people of Purbeck stoically endured all the stress, restrictions and deprivations that come with war, with typical British resolve and humour. Here some of the fascinating facts behind the new play by Double Act…
Purbeck was a Designated Defence and Prohibited Area and all residents had to have special ID cards. Visitors had to give their names & addresses and list who they were visiting at check points.
‘Tip and run’ bombings Purbeck’s coastal headland was a perfect navigational aid for German bombers. This meant the area suffered a high number of ‘tip and run’ bombings (remaining bombs would be dumped as the planes returned back across the channel). One of these occurred in Wareham on 16th December 1942 – with four bombs landing, including one behind the Lord Nelson! Swanage is also reported to have had more air raid warnings than London – 965 alerts to London’s 900!
Battle of Britain The close proximity to the channel meant that parts of this battle took place in the skies above Purbeck, which resulted in many downed and crash-landed planes in the fields including the Heinkel 111 at Westland Farm, Studland where the crew were captured by locals.
Operation Sealion It was once feared that the Purbeck beaches might be part of this German invasion plan, had it ever actually taken place.
Radar Research Centre One of the most well guarded secrets, and vital to the war effort, was the Telecommunication Research Establishment at Worth Matravers. The staff at TRE Worth grew rapidly, and some would walk down to the Square and Compass pub for a ploughman’s lunch and a pint! In fact it could be said that many of the scientific problems that were being encountered were solved ‘at the pub’!
Cordite Factory at Holton Heath employed many local young women, who travelled there by a train nicknamed the ‘Glamour Puffer’. The factory was protected by many anti-aircraft gun sites and a system of decoy fires on the Purbeck heaths. In 1942 these decoy fires did save the factory from a massive air raid but the heathland at Arne burnt for 6 days and was badly damaged. As a result the Arne area was evacuated for training but, unlike Tyneham, the residents were allowed back after the war.
Spies in Purbeck! A ‘blind’ man who lived on a
house boat at Shipstall Point and a lady cyclist who regularly visited him from Langton were arrested and a radio transmitter was later discovered in an old disused quarry.
‘Creech Barrow Seven’ Part of a secret Auxiliary Unit of some 4000 men, created under the direct orders of Churchill. Formed of local men, who knew their area, they were trained in guerrilla warfare. If the invading armies had reached our shores they would have gone into hiding to operate behind enemy lines and to causes as much damage as possible to the lines of communication and supply.
D-Day Training Later in the war large swathes of Purbeck, at Arne, Studland and Tyneham, became training areas for the invasion of Europe. Some of this land still hasn’t been given back as was promised at the time. The area was also swamped with young American soldiers in the build up to D Day!
This Secret Isle will be at Corfe Castle Village Hall, 21st, 22nd & 23rd November.
Tickets are on sale online at Ticketsource.co.uk or from Corfe Castle Village Stores
For more details email: doubleactdramagroup@gmail.com
Article from the Autumn 2024 edition of Love It Local magazine.
Read the magazine online on the Love It Local magazine website.
