Dubbed the Kaiser of Abergavenny by the Daily Mirror, Rudolf Hess – Hitler’s right-hand man – flew his fighter bomber from Germany to Scotland on 10 May 1941. His reasons for doing so have never been fully explained, and have generated many theories over the years. Was he truly endeavouring to bring peace between Germany and Britain, or were his motivations largely self-interested? The question is unlikely ever to be resolved.
On 26 June 1942, Hess was taken to Maindiff Court Military Hospital and prisoner of war (POW) reception centre in Abergavenny, South Wales. It was on the site of Maindiff Court, a mansion house built by Crawshay Bailey Jr – one of the great landowners of Wales of the late 19th century – in 1875. The facility is believed to have been chosen because of its security and seclusion. Before the war, Maindiff Court was an admission unit for a mental hospital. There were many who thought that Hess, with his mental fragility, was well placed there.
History of Hess
Hess was born in 1894 in Alexandria, Egypt into the family of a wealthy Bavarian merchant. He served in the German Army during the first world war, then resumed his studies at the University of Munich, where he fell under the influence of nationalist propaganda. Hess joined the fledgling Nazi Party in 1920, becoming a friend and confidant to Adolf Hitler and working with him on the book Mein Kampf (My Struggle). When the Nazis swept to power in 1933, Hess was made Deputy Führer.
Despite his unwavering loyalty to Hitler, Hess found his influence waning, undermined by other top Nazi leaders during the early years of the second world war. Perhaps because of his flagging prestige and to regain his standing, Hess decided to fly to Britain on a secret mission to broker a peace deal.
Hess was an accomplished pilot, well able to fly from Bavaria to Scotland. No one questioned special adaptations made to his plane, which included two long-distance fuel tanks, a radio compass, an altered oxygen system, and a modification for one person to fly it. Several attempts were made but aborted, probably due to bad weather or mechanical problems, without arousing suspicion.
Finally, on that May day in 1941, Hess donned a flying suit and set course for Scotland. He carried money, toiletries, a torch, a camera, maps, charts, 28 medicines, and an assortment of homeopathic tablets.
What Hess had planned would never be achieved after his 1000-mile flight. Running low on fuel, he climbed to 6000 feet over Eaglesham – a small rural Scottish village – where he bailed out, injuring his left leg. Arrested by the Home Guard, he identified himself as ‘Hauptmann Alfred Horn’, and told his captors he had an important message for the Duke of Hamilton.
Interrogation and isolation
Hess was deluded in thinking that the Duke of Hamilton, a stranger to him, would help him negotiate peace by acting as a conduit to Winston Churchill and even the King. It’s possible he was under the illusion that the British aristocracy were the real power brokers, and that he could appeal to England and Germany’s shared aristocratic heritage in affecting his plan.
He also chose the most inappropriate period possible for his project. Britain had been ravaged by eight months of the Blitz. On the very night he landed, a major attack on London took place, and resumed the following day, in which the Luftwaffe flew 571 sorties and dropped 787 long-tonnes of bombs.
After his capture, Hess was held in Buchanan Castle before transfer to the Tower of London, then a lengthy stay at Mytchett Place in Surrey. This was a fortified mansion, designated ‘Camp Z’, and heavily guarded. Churchill gave orders that Hess be isolated but treated with dignity.
Hess underwent interrogation and debriefing. He was denied newspapers and radio, but was treated favourably in other ways. Subjected to psychiatrist analysis, he was found to be mentally unstable but not insane, often accusing his captors of poisoning and ‘mesmerizing’ him. He made his first suicide attempt in October 1941 by throwing himself over a balcony, breaking his leg and injuring his spine.
Abroad in Abergavenny
When Hess first arrived at Maindiff, the hospital staff lined up to greet him. He was allocated part of the ground floor comprising a bedroom and sitting room, which opened onto a veranda overlooking a small garden, enclosed on three sides by a tall hedge and fence. He had access to newspapers and other reading materials, and wrote letters and journals, but was guarded at all times, both for security and against further suicide attempts.
Irena Morgan, author and former chair of Abergavenny Historical Society, said: “He had the finest food available at the time … 30 guards plus officers and six medical orderlies from the Royal Army Medical Corps looked after him.” Hess’ time in Wales was also described as “a very comfortable life” by one of his guards. He was assigned a personal driver and a Morris shooting brake by the Geneva Convention, in accordance with his wartime status, and was allowed visits by high-ranking people including the Swiss foreign minister.
The people of Abergavenny were aware Hess was a detainee in Maindiff Court. In the summer he could be seen in a blue sportcoat and grey flannel paired with brown sandals; in winter he wore a long blue coat. Now and then he’d dress in his uniform. He was described by one guard as “a rather haughty and aloof man”. He could speak English, but most of the time chose to remain quiet.
Occasionally, there’d be a sudden outburst – he’d rave, shout, and stamp his feet. He enjoyed reading, listening to music, sketching, and walking. He was obsessed with his health to the point of hypochondria, and described to his captors a long list of ailments relating to his kidney, colon, gallbladder, bowels, and heart.
Out and about in Wales
Hess would sometimes be taken out by car into the surrounding countryside. He visited White Castle several times. A photograph taken on one of his ‘Three Castles’ outings, held by the Hereford Archive Service, shows Hess befriended by a dog. It’s even suggested that he went to dinner with Lord Tredegar in Newport’s Tredegar House. He often sketched landmarks, such as White Castle or the Skirrid mountain.
He also liked the Sugar Loaf, Usk Castle, and Coed y Bwnydd. (The latter is the largest and best-preserved Iron Age hillforts in Monmouthshire, with a history of human involvement going back 2,000 years). It has stunning views of the Sugar Loaf and wider Usk Valley, and in the spring the ground is carpeted in bluebells, with buzzards flying high above.
Occasionally, Hess might call in at a local pub with his guards. The Angel in central Abergavenny, the Walnut Tree in Llandewi Skirrid, and the Bailey/Victoria are recorded as some of his watering holes.
One intriguing story concerns a local landlord who sent two bottles of Red Tower Lager to the prisoner. The following day, a label was returned to him with a signature – supposedly that of Hess – and dated ‘30.5.43’. The signature has never been authenticated, and could have been a joke played on the landlord. The label remains in the safekeeping of Abergavenny Museum.
Another reality
Hess certainly enjoyed a comfortable life, and was given a great deal of freedom compared to many others, during three years in Wales. But we mustn’t forget that he was a war criminal, and mentally unbalanced.
In 1944 his letters home became so rambling that authorities feared they might justify a German demand for repatriation under the Geneva Convention. A second suicide attempt occurred in February 1945, when Hess stabbed himself with a bread knife. The wound only required a few stitches. He refused to eat the following week due to growing despondency, knowing Germany was losing the war, and only resumed eating when threatened with being force-fed.
Following Germany’s surrender in 1945, Hess faced charges as a war criminal. He was found guilty on two counts: crimes against peace (planning and preparing a war of aggression) and conspiracy with other German leaders to commit crimes. He was found not guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, though he’d signed all the anti-Jewish legislation and supported Hitler in thought, word, and deed.
Hess was given a life sentence, served in Spandau Prison. He attempted suicide again in 1977. Finally, in August 1987 at the age of 93, he was found hanged. His death was ruled a suicide but, like everything in his life, this caused controversy. His family challenged the ruling, arguing that it was impossible for a very elderly man in poor health to have hanged himself.
It’s strange to think now that a Nazi war criminal was allowed to enjoy the Welsh landscape like any other tourist, albeit accompanied by guards. But evidence of the strange story of the Kaiser of Abergavenny is there if you look for it. And as we know, we forget history at our peril.
