Cornish pub stripped of award after complaint about Nazi armband on display

The swastika armband was given to the pub as a war trophy by a British soldier returning from the Second World War – KARL GRAFTON/APEX

A Cornish pub has been stripped of a coveted pub of the year award after a single person complained about it having a Nazi armband on display.

The Hole in the Wall, in Bodmin, Cornwall, was given the prize by the county’s branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) last week.

But it has now had the award revoked following the complaint about the swastika armband, which was given to the pub as a war trophy by a British soldier returning from the Second World War.

Steve Hall, the pub’s landlord, said the artefact had been “taken out of context completely” and accused CAMRA of attempting to “whitewash history”.

“It’s been taken out of context completely … at national level,” he said. “It has nothing to do with CAMRA Kernow.

“Bodmin was a garrison town. These soldiers came back from the war with spoils of war memorabilia.

“It was not to hero-worship Hitler or the Nazis but to celebrate the victory over fascism and to remember their comrades who died fighting against evil. You can’t whitewash history.”

The pub is now out of the running for CAMRA’s national pub of the year award, for which it had qualified by beating the 600 other pubs in Cornwall to the county prize for the third time.

The Hole in the Wall was a debtors prison in the 18th century – KARL GRAFTON/APEX

A spokesperson for CAMRA Kernow said the “offensive” and “discriminatory” memorabilia meant the pub should not have been “considered for an award”.

Yet it had been on display ever since the pub first opened 80 years ago in an 18th century debtors prison, including when judges visited to decide this year’s winner – and in 2015 and 2016 when the pub previously won the award.

Colin Curless, the sole complainant, lives 20 miles away from the pub in Truro and Mr Hall said he was not sure he had “ever set foot in the pub” and thought that he “must have seen [the armband] online”.

Mr Curless’s complaint came to light when he emailed CornwallLive, the local newspaper, saying he had reported the pub to CAMRA, that its victory was “hypocrisy” and that the armband was “not a good advert for Cornwall”.

Mr Hall then took down the armband – which was stored in a glass cabinet on top of a pillar in a dimly lit part of the pub – as soon as he was informed of the complaint and removed it from public view.

“It’s not my memorabilia,” Mr Hall said. “It belongs to the pub. It’s been here for longer than I have.

“If I had put it there myself, Camra’s decision would be justified. But this has not been seen in context. It’s sad for Bodmin.”

Beyond a joke

He added: “To win pub of the year would have been a bit of good news, not just for us, but for the whole town.”

CAMRA has refused to reinstate the award amid a growing backlash from the pub’s punters.

“The memorabilia is a celebration of a victory over evil and a part of the pub’s history,” said Alex Sargisson.

“I hope it gets put back up and I hope that anyone without the ability to see beyond what is directly in front of them, finds something better to do than complain about something they don’t understand.”

Janice Margaret Beer added: “Can’t do this, can’t do that. It’s getting beyond a joke.”

The pub’s unique decor includes an array of other curios, including a stuffed lion, ancient guns and a picture of Winston Churchill.

A spokesperson for CAMRA Kernow said: “CAMRA’s National Campaigns and Communications Committee has taken the decision to withdraw the Cornwall Branch Pub of the Year award for 2024 to the Hole in the Wall.

“In the light of this, there will now be no Cornwall Pub of the Year Award made for 2024.”

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