Murder at Camp 17: Lodge Moor Sheffield - 24th March 1945. - An update

A few years ago I posted an article to the site relating a murder at Camp 17 Lodge Moor Sheffield on 24th March 1945.

A summary is as follows

"It appears that a month or so before the war ended inmates at a German POW camp on the outskirts of Sheffield were enraged when a tunnel which was near to completion was discovered. They had spent many months tunneling. Suspecting an informer they rounded on a GERHARDT RETTIG who had been seen talking to guards near the tunnel entrance. Furthermore in a camp that had a large National Socialist contingent, he was not a Nazi. Once threats were made, it was decided by the Camp command to move him to another camp. But before the transfer was made, Gerhardt Rettig, was chased around the camp by a howling mob before he was severely beaten. He was taken to hospital but died from internal bleeding. "

The four ringleaders of the attack on Gerhardt Rettig were charged with the murder

Unteroffizier Heinz Ditzler
Soldat Juergen Kersting
Feldwebel Emil Schmittendorf
Armin Kuehne

and after a trial at a military court in London Emil Schmittendorf and Armin Kuehne were found guilty and sentenced to death. They were executed by Albert Pierrepoint at Pentonville prison on 16th November 1945"

On Thursday 4th July 2019 The Guardian posted a report about an archaeological dig that was taking place at the site of the camp. What I did not know when I posted the article was that the prisoner of war camp at Lodge Moor, was at its peak, the largest camp in the United Kingdom with nearly 11,000 captives.