Story of Windermere Boys told in special episode of Digging for Britain
BBC Four programme exploring artefacts from the Second World War includes segment on archaeological dig at Calgarth Estate
The story of a site in the Lake District once home to hundreds of orphaned children liberated from Nazi camps has been told in an episode of Digging for Britain airing on BBC Four on Wednesday.
Some 300 child survivors, known as the “Windermere Boys”, were taken in 1945 to recuperate in since-demolished hostels originally built for local aircraft factory workers.
Over the summer, a team of archaeologists spent two weeks excavating the site at Calgarth Estate, now a school, searching for potential artefacts below ground.
The dig, conducted with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, is explored in a segment of the Digging for Britain episode, which is dedicated to the Second World War and artefacts from the period.
The episode, presented by professor Alice Roberts, will be broadcast on BBC Four on 11 December from 9pm.
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