THE last known living survivor of a Second World War prison camp in Bury has spoken of his horror-filled experiences, 77 years after he was released.

Jewish-German refugee Henry Wuga, now 94-years-old, escaped Nazi Germany aged 15, but was arrested in Scotland and accused of espionage.

He was then interned, in 1940, at Warth Mills, a notorious internment camp at a disused 19th century cotton works on the Irwell in Redvales.

In deplorable conditions, the camp housed thousands of falsely imprisoned Italians and German Jews who had resided in Britain for decades or escaped the terror of Nazi death camps — including many significant artists such as Kurt Schwitters and Paul Hamann.

As the Nazis conquered Europe, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the internment of all Germans, Italians and Austrians in Britain.

Labelled "enemy aliens", those interned included chefs, cafe owners, artists and academics — most posed no threat to the UK and some went on to fight for the allies.

Mr Wuga's story has now come to light as part of the Warth Mills Project.

Revealed this week, the project tells the little-known history of the camp and its inmates through a programme of commemorative events and website.

Born into a Jewish family of caterers in 1924, Mr Wuga, was educated as an apprentice Commis Chef in Baden Baden in the Black Forest, aged 14.

As war broke out in early 1939, his parents found him a place on the Kindertransport child rescue effort from Nuremberg.

On a train crammed full of crying infants, Mr Wuga made the "awful journey" through The Netherlands and onto London.

Mr Wuga said: "We passed through Holland and got on a boat to Essex before reaching Liverpool Street Station in London by train.

"Some children were collected by people who had acted as guarantors for us and I remember it being like a cattle market, with siblings separated. "The children without a guarantor were taken to a holiday camp."

From Euston station Mr Wuga travelled to Glasgow where he lived with an elderly Jewish woman named Etta Hurwich.

But one day in 1940 the police unexpectedly came to the house and arrested Mr Wuga.

He was sent to Edinburgh's High Court accused of corresponding with the enemy — due to letters sent to his family back home.

Charged and declared a Dangerous Enemy Alien, Mr Wuga was given one hour to pack his things and one phone call.

Aged just 16 he was under the age of internment but was sent straight to Mary Hill Barracks internment camp in Glasgow.

There he was housed with 25 German sailors who verbally abused him as a "dirty Jew" and worse.

Mr Wuga was then moved to camps in Edinburgh and York Racecourse, where he became the chef, before finally arriving in Bury.

Mr Wuga said: "While all the other internment camps were rough, internees were treated reasonably, but Warth Mills was a completely different story.

"It was awful and I remember I was still only 16 years old. I was strip searched and had any valuables taken away.

"I was given a Hessian bag and sent to a place where hundreds of men were already – it was a crazy, horrible place.

"Extremely dangerous and primitive, there was overhead steel hanging down and little food.

"We all slept on straw. I can remember we had to cross an open yard to get around and, on one occasion, a guard ordered everyone to stop or he’d shoot us – and one man begged to be shot. That was an indication of what it was like."

With scarce food and only one water tap for 60 men, Warth Mills was a death trap, and numerous inmates died.

Mr Wuga remained at the camp for around 10 days before he was moved to the Isle of Man where he remained until his release in 1941.

He then returned to Glasgow where met his wife Ingrid Wolff, a fellow Kindertransportee, with whom he set up a kosher catering business.

Mr and Mrs Wuga have now been married 73 years and have two daughters and four grandsons.

He said: "Ingrid and I are now enjoying our retirement in Glasgow.

"Since stopping work, we aimed to give back to our local community and I did voluntary work with Jewish Care and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospital.

"I was also honoured to receive the MBE in 1999 from Her Majesty the Queen for Services to Sport for Disabled People, which recognised my long association as a Ski Bob instructor for the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association."

Imprisonment at Warth Mills was finally ended following the sinking of SS Arandora Star on July 2, 1940, when hundreds of men transported from Bury drowned on their way to Canada, after the ship was torpedoed.

The building still exists and is now offices and industrial units.

To learn more about Warth Mills or for more information on the upcoming commemorative events visit www.warthmillsproject.com.