WWII Camouflage development at Farnham Castle

Although green or drab (later khaki) uniforms were worn in the 18th century by British Army rifle units in lieu of red coats, camouflaging first became common practice during WW1, derived from the French slang word camoufler (meaning ‘to disguise’) came into common English usage. In that war, long-range artillery and observation from the air combined to expand the field of fire, and camouflage was widely used to decrease the danger of being targeted or to enable surprise.

In the 1930s, as tensions between the European nations grew, the British military began to prepare for the likely event of another war. The British military identified the potential impact of the airplane in a bombing role, and the resulting need to disguise key targets such as airfields and factories. A Camouflage Advisory Panel (CAP) was formed to standardize and co-ordinate camouflage designs and techniques, and to generate co-operation across the Service Departments. CAP’s predecessor had been the Camouflage Sub-Committee (1937-1939), which had created the Camouflage research Unit at Farnborough at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. This location was a factor in the later selection of Farnham Castle for the Camouflage Development & Training Centre (CD&TC).

On an autumn afternoon in October 1940 a ‘curious collection’ of about 30 men disembarked from the London train at Farnham station. This group contained the first, and perhaps the most illustrious, students of British military camouflage to attend CD&TC. Within their number were professional artists, one of Britain’s leading zoology experts in animal camouflage, architects, theatre stage designers, stained glass designers and even a stage magician. For such a group of creative experts, not used to the hustle and bustle of the standard army barrack room, Farnham Castle provided a comfortable and somewhat exotic home - not at all what the new students expected; the surrealist painter and printmaker, Julian Trevelyan, enthused:

What was my surprise then, to be driven up to a venerable Tudor Castle, amongst cedar trees, and to be greeted by a charming young adjutant who apologized profusely for the shortcomings of the staff and the incompleteness of the furniture! … where were my endless rows of sleeping soldiers, and the harsh camp routine that I had come to expect? Certainly, all my conceptions about Army life would have to be quickly revised. … days of pearly autumn mornings, particularly beautiful in the wooded precincts of Farnham Castle.

The benefits of the mix of different disciplines and the co-mingling of knowledge and practices in creating innovative camouflage designs and technologies came to be appreciated by even the most ego-centric of camoufleurs. The somewhat self-assured stage magician Jasper Maskelyne admitted that his:

“Highly expert and specialised knowledge” in the art of hiding things could, after all, be improved upon by the assimilation of other expert knowledge. For example, one lesson (revealed in his description of inventing a concealing disguise for ships) is that we must use the magic known to a few specialists in the world of eye-doctors, of creating lines and projections, and patches of light and shade…

Although the location was certainly conducive to the fostering of interdisciplinary collaboration, comfort was only a minor factor in the selection of Farnham Castle as the location for the school. More importantly from the practical point of view, was the capacity within the old stable block for a workshop, extensive grounds for the practicing of camouflage objects and, close by, at the former site of the Camouflage Research unit, was Farnborough Airfield, which gave vital access to assessing their camouflage experiments from the air.