Article re Blackwell Meadows clock

[theoriginalfatcat]

Taken from Echo Web page - nostalgia section.


THE SECRET HISTORY OF DARLINGTON RUGBY CLUB CLOCK.

By Echo cub reporter Ben Snitchen.

To a sizeable number of Darlo fans, the clock that sits above the Club House roof at Blackwell Meadows has become somewhat of a joke, as more often than not it reads the wrong time. However, what has remained unknown to most people over a substantial period of time, is that this clock has a rather special history.

The story goes that at the end of World War 2 the inner workings of the clock were given to the club by Kacper Kaminski, a Polish Prisoner of War, who was detained for over two years at Eden P.O.W. Camp, Pickering in North Yorkshire.

Before the war, Mr Kaminski was a well known and renowned clock maker in his home town of Rybnic. Whilst in captivity, to while away the hours, he assembled from various pieces of discarded metal a multitude of intricate cogs and gears, which he then skilfully crafted into a full size, working clock.

At the end of the war however, Mr Kaminski only had thoughts of returning home to Poland, so at this point he decided to gift the beautiful, fully operational clock to Darlington Rugby Club.

During his time at Eden Camp he had built up a close friendship with Mark Ollis, one of the on-site civilian guards, that shared along with Mr Kaminski, a mutual love for the game of Rugby.

Mr Ollis at first placed the clock into storage inside his garage, but in 1952 the clock was up and working at the Rugby Club’s new ground at Lingfield Lane. Then later in 1994 the clock was taken down and reassembled into its current position at Blackwell Meadows, and it was in the process of this second move that part of the intricate inner workings of the clock became irretrievably damaged.

On numerous occasions, over the years, the Rugby Club have attempted to repair the clock, but unfortunately, because of it’s unique history, no spare parts are available.

The cost of a complete rebuild would run into thousands of pounds, so at present, this rare, historical and valuable timepiece remains either frustratingly unreliable, or distinctly idiosyncratic ; depending on which way you look at things.

[DARLODAH]

Contact "The Repair Shop " on BBC2 !

[bga]

Very interesting maybe we need to cut the rugby club some Slack! The Poles couldn't win in the second world war invaded by the Nazis and imprusined and interned by the British!

[bga]

Meant imprisoned!

[Darlo_Pete]

Bit strange that a Pole was put in a POW camp, he must have fought for the Germans!!

[Yarblockos]

Indeed, a Nazi clock?! One thing you can say for the fascists is at least their clocks run on time....oh.

[biccynana]

Bit strange that a Pole was put in a POW camp, he must have fought for the Germans!!

Apparently 500,000 Polish nationals, of German ethnicity, were conscripted by Germany during the war, so he might have been one of those. His home town was in Silesia which had a large ethnic German population, I believe.

[Darlo_Pete]

Bit strange that a Pole was put in a POW camp, he must have fought for the Germans!!

Apparently 500,000 Polish nationals, of German ethnicity, were conscripted by Germany during the war, so he might have been one of those. His home town was in Silesia which had a large ethnic German population, I believe.

Ok thanks for that, that's very interesting.