At first glance, it may be difficult to link a modern dormer bungalow peacefully nestled on the side of a wooded valley in Llansannan with the rocky North shore of Llandudno. But investigate further, back to the time of the First World War, and you will be amazed to find that these two locations are linked by a daring, but failed, escape bid made by three German POWs in 1915.

The impressive four storey mansion, Dyffryn Aled, had been built in Llansannan, near Denbigh, long ago by wealthy landowners related to the Yorke family of Erddig. In time the family fortunes dwindled and the house was mortgaged, then sold shortly before World War I broke out, to Countess Dundonald of Gwrych Castle. During WWI the house was commissioned and used to imprison captured German army officers.

Two of these officers were Herman Tholens and Heinig von Hennig. Tholens was second-in-command of the cruiser Mainz, which was sunk in 1914, and Hennig had sailed the first enemy vessel into British waters since the Napoleonic Wars. This U-18 boat was sunk after being rammed by two ships which spotted her in the waters of Scapa Flow.

The two officers devised a daring escape plan which was taken back to Germany by a lesser ranked prisoner who had been sent home on a Christmas exchange scheme. The plan involved a submarine rescue to be put into action in 1915 off the Great Orme, Llandudno.

By the night of August 13, Tholens and Hennig had been joined by a third man, Wolff-Dietrich Baron von Helldorff who, it is thought, may have discovered their plan. Slipping away before the six night security guards took up their positions at Dyffryn Aled, the three reached Llandudno by 8am. They were brave enough to breakfast in a cafe before making their way up the Great Orme. They climbed down the cliffs and hid in the bushes until 10pm - only to find that they could not find their way to the rendezvous point in the dark! Three successive nights had been allocated to the rescue attempt, so as dawn approached the men went back into hiding until the following night. This time, they actually managed to reach the shore, but again no contact was made with the waiting U-boat. It was to be more than three years later until the German officers learnt that this attempt had failed because they were waiting on one beach, while the U-38 was lying off another, only 500 yards away, but with a spur of rock hiding them from each other!

On the third day, the three men - cold, hungry and dejected - wandered back into the town separately. Tholens was arrested after a shop-keeper who sold him a packet of cigarettes became suspicious about his accent and persuaded another customer to follow him until he met a policeman. The other two remained free until 11pm the same day when a cab driver offered them a ride. The sharp-eyed cabbie drove them to the army battalion headquarters where they appeared before the senior officer. They were then taken to the Royal Hotel where they fed well, and spent the night in luxury, as was the recognised treatment for officers on both sides. The great escape attempt was foiled.

Following the departure of the prisoners from Dyffryn Aled, the great house was never lived in again. Sadly, it was eventually demolished to make way for the large modern bungalow which still stands there today, although part of the old stone wall which surrounded the mansion can still be seen across the valley.