Built by exiled Ukrainians after WWII, Dumfriesshire chapel has become haven for refugees of Putin's war

This refurbished chapel in Dumfriesshire has become a focal point for Ukrainian refugees | Ellen Denver Danczak

A makeshift chapel, built by Ukrainians exiled in Scotland after the Second World War, is once more offering solace in time of conflict. The modest sanctuary at Hallmuir, Dumfriesshire – part of a former prisoner-of-war camp – has become a place of hope for present-day Ukrainians displaced from their homeland.

This fragile remnant of a wartime odyssey has undergone a remarkable transformation since Dumfries and Galloway first welcomed families fleeing the trauma of the 2022 Russian invasion. In nearby Lockerbie, a town acquainted with grief – and across the region – people have been quick to offer the hand of friendship; shafts of light in the long shadows cast by war.

The tiny corrugated iron chapel – on the brink of collapse five years ago – is now a focal point for Ukrainian aid initiatives and a welcome place of worship for those far from home. Among them is cardiologist Tatyana Bondarenko, who came to the area in July 2022. “It seemed to me to be the most peaceful and friendly place in the world,” says Tatyana, who is from Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv.

“The Hallmuir community has supported my project to help a small volunteer organisation near Kharkiv, and introduced me to many others who share our concerns,” adds Tatyana, who serves on the chapel committee. “When I lack the strength to ask people for support, I comfort myself with the thought that those back home will know that Ukrainians abroad are playing their part.”

The original prisoner of war camp at Hallmuir | contributed

Beautiful singing voices

Hallmuir’s archivist Peter Kormylo, whose father was interned in the camp, is thrilled that the chapel is flourishing again. Having seen the B-listed building close for regular worship in 2014, he became part of a group that worked to save it for posterity.

Says Peter, who lives in Dumfries: “Circumstances aside, it’s wonderful to see the church packed again and to hear so many beautiful singing voices during mass. These new Scots are very supportive, traveling long distances to be part of services and social gatherings. My generation, who were the children of the original prisoners, are delighted as we can now see a future for this place.”

Located just off a minor road, cheek by jowl with a bus depot and all but engulfed by forest, Hallmuir is easy to miss. Before renovations got underway in 2019, it seemed that time too had passed it by. The overriding impression was that the last man to leave the camp – Wasyl Humonczak in 1992 – had only just dimmed the lights and closed the door.

Candle holders made from shell casings

Contrast that with today: the chapel’s corrugated iron roof, plasterboard walls and timber-framed windows have all been replaced; the new concrete floor has been freshly carpeted. It looks as sharp as a new pin; bright and uncluttered, yet true to its founders’ vision.

Survivals from the 1940s remain. Among them are candle holders made from shell casings, a hand-carved wooden cross, a miniature basilica modelled with a penknife and an altar screen fashioned out of plywood. Next to it are two flags brought to the camp in 1947.

The interior is brightened with rushnyks – embroidered towels that decorate the windows, icons and altar – some made by the original diaspora; others by recent arrivals.

Prisoners of war

Wasyl Humonczak’s departure closed a remarkable chapter in local history. Dumfriesshire has absorbed waves of settlers since the Stone Age, often in dramatic circumstances. The Ukrainians of 1947, by contrast, slipped in almost unnoticed – as prisoners of a war that ended two years previously; their story, for many, veiled in mystery and misunderstanding.

Hundreds of Ukrainians were forced to join the German army in 1943 or see their families and villages destroyed. The 14th Waffen Galicia division was formed purely from Ukrainians in 1944 to fight the Russians. When the war ended, those Ukrainians taken as prisoners of war by the British in Italy remained at Rimini, Italy, until 1947.

Previous repatriations of Soviet PoWs had ended in a swift death by firing squad, or a slower one in Siberian labour camps. Following an appeal for leniency by Pope Pius XII, the Ukrainians at Rimini, crucially, had their status changed to “surrendered enemy personnel”.

Several thousand chose to come to the UK and, in May 1947, the troop ship India Victory docked at Glasgow. Some 463 men were sent to Hallmuir, which had previously housed German and Italian prisoners, and most worked in farming and forestry. When the camp was decommissioned in the early 1950s, many settled locally.

Exhibition of religious icons

Their story can be traced in a new heritage centre, housed in the former administration barrack next to the chapel. It contains camp committee minutes and copies of the camp newspaper; a library of 1,000-plus books; and photographs capturing camp life from 1947 to 1953. Among them is a grainy shot of the detainees arriving in 1947. Other snaps capture the carefree diversion of a Gala Day sack race and the men’s first Christmas in an alien land.

The new hub will host a remarkable exhibition by artists Sofia Atlantova and Olexander Klimenko this weekend. The duo paint religious icons on the remnants of discarded Russian ammunition boxes with sales helping to fund Kyiv-based aid group Wings of Victory, which supports injured service personnel.

Helping to organise the exhibition is artist and curator Oleksandra Novatska, who arrived in Dumfries and Galloway from Kyiv in April 2022. “The chapel has been so important to me since my arrival,” says Oleksandra. “I knew nothing of the Ukrainians who came to Hallmuir in 1947 but feel a strong connection with their story as my great uncle settled in England after the Second World War. Hallmuir is a unique place and one of great significance for those of us who have found such a welcome here.

“It exudes a feeling of peace.”