ACADEMICS delving into the history of the First World War prisoner of war camp in Skipton need to trace a man whom they believe could shed new light on the life of the German soldiers.

He recently visited an open evening at Skipton town hall called 'In Search of Raikeswood Camp' and organised by Craven District Council's Rob Freeman, who is spearheading the district's commemoration of the 1914-18 war. It attracted about 140 people.

"He was speaking to one of my colleagues and happened to mention he had a relative who was a translator at the camp, but he left without giving his name," said Rob.

German speaker Anne Buckley, a teaching fellow at Leeds University who is helping translate a diary kept by the men, said: "It would be really exciting if we could find links with one of the interpreters."

The diary, Kriegsgefangen, was sneaked out of the camp when it closed in the winter of 1919 and eventually published in Germany. A copy found its way back to Skipton and latterly was 'unearthed' in Skipton Library and is the one now being translated.

Most of the site was built upon in the 1930s and became the Raikes estate, but the far north west corner of the camp remains as a field and, for a week in August, will be combed by archaeologists led by project director and deputy head of Upper Wharfedale School, John Mitton.

He said: "It is funded by a £10,000 heritage grant and involves youngsters from local schools, who have already spent a Saturday morning learning to use a geophysics machine and how to dig an archaeological trench.

"This type of work is just up my street. I have a passion for archaeology as well as it being my degree. I think this is a fantastic project being linked with the diary as it is."

He said they had been surprised to find evidence of the site's occupation already when a scan with a metal detector had revealed a military button from a British army uniform and a silver florin, dated 1921.

The British army connection is linked to the camp's earlier function as a training camp for Kitchener's Army of volunteers, some of whom came from Bradford, John added. The camp converted to a prisoner of war institution from January 1918 to November 1919.

The site is to be thrown open to the public on one day during the week-long dig when people will be invited to do some hands on archaeology.