WWII

From 1939 to 1946 Duff House was used as a military base, first briefly as an internment camp, followed by a brief period as a prisoner of war camp and then as an Allied headquarters for various English and Scots regiments. In 1942 it became the HQ for Norway’s Norwegian Brigade and, after the war, as a base for Polish soldiers waiting for resettlement in Scotland.

The Banffshire Coast might seem a sleepy backwater today but during the Second World War the north east of Scotland was a key location for planning a northern offensive against the Germans. The area came under fire from the enemy on more than one occasion.

Early on Monday, 22 July, 1940 a Heinkel III bomber flew over Duff House at around 250 mph. There was no warning, no alarms sounded and the prisoners exercising in the area outside the front of the house had no time to seek shelter. Several prisoners and two guards were killed and the building still bears the scars. Two incendiary bombs fell through the roof but did not go off but the wing at the east side of the house, added during the 19th century, was so badly damaged it had to be demolished.

A fragment of shrapnel found embedded in a tree outside the House is on display in the house. Visitors can still see military signs around the house from that period, most visible are the ones in Polish on the Ground Floor and the Norwegian flag on the third floor, strong reminders of this painful past.

Information on this fascinating period in the House’s history is contained in our new book Duff House at War by Allan Burnett which is available in the Shop. There is also a small cased display containing personal items belonging to soldiers stationed in the house found under the floorboards during the restoration. Dramatic first hand accounts of the bombing of Duff House in 1940 are also available online at Remembering Scotland at War. Look for Aberdeenshire Council’s project What’s The War Got To Do With Us?