Originally constructed in 1937/38 as a barracks named Argonner Kaserne on Soester Straße in Hamm, Nordrhein-Westfalen, the site later came under British control and was renamed Brixton Camp. Initially, it housed German and Austrian prisoners of war before becoming the base for the Polish 61st Tank Transporter Unit.

In 1953, Brixton Camp was repurposed as Windsor School, a mixed boarding school. In 1959, it transitioned into Windsor Boys School (WBS), serving only male students, while the nearby Newcastle Barracks became Windsor Girls School (WGS). WBS returned to co-educational status in 1981 before permanently closing its doors in 1983.

After seeing online images of the remains of Windsor Boys School / Windsor School in Hamm, like many former students and teachers who attended between 1953 and 1983 I felt a deep sense of disappointment that the buildings were no longer standing.

I never had the opportunity to return to Hamm to see the old school and had always assumed the buildings would have been repurposed, perhaps converted into apartments or something similar. Sadly, by 2020, all that remained was a pile of debris from the demolished dining block.

Remains of the Dining Block. (2020)

Revisit the School

With a keen interest in 3D modeling, I set out to restore the School, pixel by pixel, recreating the buildings and grounds as they existed during its 30-year history.

Thanks to the generous and knowledgeable members of the Windsor Boys and Windsor Girls School Facebook groups, I was able to gather numerous old photographs and even a full floor plan of the grounds for reference.

Over the course of two years, I created a virtual tour consisting of 39 immersive 360-degree images showcasing various locations throughout the school grounds. Since that first tour of the school grounds was launched back in July 2022, more detailed photographs from the 1950s to the early 1980s have been received. These reveal a clearer view of the school’s layout and unique features, and have been used as valuable references during the remodelling and re-texturing process. There are now 64 X 360 degree images.

The tour also features popup image galleries displaying personal photographs from both former pupils and teachers, who kindly granted permission for their images to be shared beyond the Facebook groups. A full list of contributors can be found on the credits page.

Credits

Instructions

View the 360 degree tour

The Interiors

1st / 2nd year dormitory

A 360-degree view of the first and second-year dormitory in Balmoral House. The model was based on the original image below taken in 1979 when there were 8 boarders in the dorm. The view out of the window looked down to the cobblestone road that led to the old stables area.

Female dormitory in 1979/1980

Three-bed dormitory from 1979/1980

St Boniface Chapel

Two 360-degree views inside the St Boniface Chapel. One in the main area and the other up on the 6th-form balcony.

St Boniface Chapel at the Windsor Boys School Hamm Germany by Cicada Studio

The Hall

Three 360-degree views inside the Hall.

Thanks to Tim Feast and William Oxford for their detailed memories of the hall in the 1960's. Jack's Union rehearsal was recorded by Tim Feast on a 3" spool recorder at the back of the hall back in 67/68. Click on the camera icon when viewing the 360 image to open the popup window containing images and audio player.

The hall at the Windsor Boys School Hamm Germany by Cicada Studio