A GERMAN prisoner of war and the Wiltshire farmer who employed him have been reunited after more than 55 years.

Ron Wiltshire, 84, who owns and runs Loiterton Farm, Seend, instantly recognised Hubert Gibhard when they met again on Saturday.

He said: "Hubert was a very hard worker. A good worker who never gave us any trouble."

The former PoW admitted he did not remember much about the farm but said Ron's face would be a hard one to forget.

"I recognised Ron even though we are both now so much older," he added.

"He was very good to me while I worked on the farm. Everyone was very good. I received nothing but friendliness from everyone I met. No prejudice. Nothing like that."

Mr Gibhard, 83, who now lives in Bischoffen, near Frankfurt, with his wife, was a member of a Luftwaffe ground crew in North Africa in 1943 when he was taken prisoner by advancing Allied forces.

He was initially shipped to the United States and after the war he eventually ended up at the PoW camp in Patney, outside Devizes.

While working on a farm in Allington, on the road between Devizes and All Cannings, he met Graham Doughty, at that time an eight-year-old schoolboy.

Mr Doughty, now in his 60s, was the prime mover in arranging the reunion between Mr Gibhard and the local community.

He said: "My mother kept in touch with Hubert after the war but then lost his address. I had been trying for years to re-establish contact with him.