A MAN whose father was in a secret unit of German commandos fighting the Nazis is appealing for information about the Bradford camp where they were trained.

Bruce Barnes's father, Gotthard Baumwollspinner, was one of 87 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria who joined X Troop, dedicated to fighting the Nazis in the Second World War. The men changed their names - Gotthard became Robert Gerald Barnes - as they were on dangerous missions and couldn’t have German names if captured.

They were brought to Bradford for vetting and training in September 1942 and stayed at a Pioneer Corps camp before moving on to another training camp at Aberdovey in Wales.

The soldiers' story is told in a new book, X Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos Who Helped Defeat the Nazis, by Leah Garrett.

Bradford poet Bruce and Jewish historian Nigel Grizzard are seeking information about Pioneer Corps Number 6 Camp.

"We think the administrative centre for the Pioneer Corps was in the city centre and the men were billeted around Bradford," said Bruce. "We also know that Botany Mill in East Morton, near Bingley, was used to house over 1,000 members of the Pioneer Corps."

Bruce's father was from Cottbus, between Berlin and Dresden, in Germany.

He came to Britain in the 1930s to study structural engineering at Manchester University. When the war started he was sent to Australia on HMT Dunera, which transported foreign nationals to be interned. His parents, brother and sister remained in Germany but managed to get out safely. 

When Gotthard returned to Britain in 1942 he joined X Troop. "He initially joined the Pioneer Corps, which set up a series of troops representing different European countries," said Bruce. "X Troops were set up to go into enemy territory and capture Germans or Italians, interrogate them and feed the information back to HQ. They had to change their names - my dad came up with Barnes when he went into a phone box and saw that there were a lot of people with that name.

"X troops operated independently in a number of operations and also as part of regular Allied army operations. Dad was badly wounded during the Italian campaign, a British bazooka exploded and quite a lot of shrapnel went into him. A member of his troop got him down from the mountains and to hospital. He was lucky to survive."

At the end of the war X Troop was in Berlin, working as interpreters for the Allies. Some members were involved with identifying leading Nazis for the Nuremberg Trials. Bruce's father was looking into the administration of Berlin, to see how it could be re-built, before returning to Britain where he lived in London with his wife and became a structural engineer. He died in 1984.

"He spoke a little of his experiences in the war. Although he wasn't billeted in Bradford - he only came for a day or two for what Leah Garrett calls 'MI5 clearance' - there was a Pioneer Corps camp here. It may have been in City Hall," said Bruce. "We're hoping that someone knows where it was and can shed more light on it."

Added Nigel Grizzard: "If anyone has memories, photos or documents we’d love to hear from them." Contact Nigel Grizzard at bradfordjewish@gmail.com