came to an end in December 1947, with the remaining Polish patients being disbursed to hospitals in England. The chairman of the owning hotel company said that he thought that it would be a year or two before the castle could be re-opened as a hotel. He said that the lack of tradesmen would be a big obstacle to its redecoration and renovation. Severe damage to one of the west towers, from a fire in 1946, would also have to be repaired. However, during its time as a hospital, care had been taken to protect the castle's magnificent carved oak walls and doors. These had been boarded up, using cardboard and plywood. Similar precautions had been taken to protect the marble mantelpieces and stained glass windows. Seventy-five Nissen huts were removed from the castle grounds. However, their foundations can still be seen today. Civil Defence Corps Training School (1949 – 1968) In February 1949, the government formed the Civil Defence Corps, which was a civilian volunteer organisation, which could take control of areas of the country in times of national emergency, such as after a nuclear attack. In a joint announcement by the Home Office and the Scottish Office, it was declared that Taymouth Castle was to be used as one of three training centres in Scotland, which would teach instructors in how to train a much bigger volunteer force. Alterations were made to the castle, which was designed to train between 100 and 150 men and women at a time. The cost of these alterations was finally put at £126,000, way past its original budget of £75,700. When it was opened in December 1950 by the Scottish Secretary Hector McNeil, it was described as the most up-to-date in the world. The centre also included a mock 'blitzed village', for trainees to practice in. The village was built and then partially demolished, to provide defense volunteers with practical rescue training. Roofs were said to lie at 'drunken angles', walls gaped open, timber beams were scorched with fire; and all laid out to conform with Scottish types of architecture. The village was so realistic that the visiting Sir James Henderson-Stewart, Under-Secretary of State for Scotland said that there was a staggering contrast between the beauty of the castle and the scenes of ruin, bringing home more forcibly the devastation of war and the need to be ready for any emergency. As