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Remembered Today:

POW camps in England


hadham

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Can Anyone help!!!!!

(Q) Was there a POW camp at Much Hadham in Hertfordshire during ww1 ( there was one at Wynches in Hadham during ww1)

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Um. Graham Mark in Prisoners of War in British Hands during WWI (Postal History Society 2007) lists these PoW camps in Hertfordshire: Ashwell, Berkhampstead, Bishops Stortford, Braughing, Buntingford, Great Offey, Hatfield, Hemel Hemsptead, Hunton Bridge, Libury Hall, Marshmoor, Napsbury War Hospital and Panshangar.

I list all these because I don't know Hertfordshire geography. Few of these would have been PoW camps as popularly imagined, but secure accommodation for working parties, which may well have operated in locations around and about. Only Libury Hall is on the book's map of major camps.

Moonraker

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Thanks alot for that Moonraker, very helpfull.

Cheers,

Richard

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There were also working camps at Baldrock (also known as Bygrave), London Colney, Louds Water, Rickmansworth, St Albans and Standon.

According to my notes Berkhampstead was an Agricultural Group Camp and Hemelhempstead was an Agricultural Depot. As far as I am aware all the camps were administered by Pattishall Camp, Northamptonshire. All were under War Office control except for Lidsbury Hall was a civilian camp run by the Home Office.

regards

Bootneck

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Um. Graham Mark in Prisoners of War in British Hands during WWI (Postal History Society 2007) lists these PoW camps in Hertfordshire: Ashwell, Berkhampstead, Bishops Stortford, Braughing, Buntingford, Great Offey, Hatfield, Hemel Hemsptead, Hunton Bridge, Libury Hall, Marshmoor, Napsbury War Hospital and Panshangar.

I list all these because I don't know Hertfordshire geography. Few of these would have been PoW camps as popularly imagined, but secure accommodation for working parties, which may well have operated in locations around and about. Only Libury Hall is on the book's map of major camps.

Moonraker

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I have a list of around 1,000 pow camps in the UK. These have been extracted from a number of documents in the National Archive and from other sources. They appear to range in size from the two sites on the Isle of Man for 28,000 interned civilians to a few leased out to farmers.

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I have a list of around 1,000 pow camps in the UK. These have been extracted from a number of documents in the National Archive and from other sources. They appear to range in size from the two sites on the Isle of Man for 28,000 interned civilians to a few leased out to farmers.

Hello clydebank,

my grandfather had been PoW at Pattishall-Towcester (post address) from 1917-1919. I possess a pic of him made at Mendlesham/Suffolk. He told he had to work there at a farm.

Was Mendlesham one of these working camps of Pattishall? Have you more informations about Pattishall or Mendlesham?

Kind regards

Wolfgang

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Mendlesham does not appear in any list I've seen, but Kimbolton Castle does. The Pows were detained in the stables when not out working on the land. FJ Carter lists a camp at Stonley Grange which I have not been able to trace. However there is Stoneleigh Grange which is also near Kimbolton.

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Hello clydebank,

There are letters of my GF which were dated Befordness (Gefordness) 1919. Could not find this site anywhere.

Have you any idea?

Kind regards

Wolfgang

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  • 2 weeks later...
Hello clydebank,

There are letters of my GF which were dated Befordness (Gefordness) 1919. Could not find this site anywhere.

Have you any idea?

Kind regards

Wolfgang

This may possibly have been Orfordness. I don't know much about it, but apparently the camp was near the National Trust's HQ.

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Hello clydebank,

I remember that my Gf told about Sheerness. Is this site near Ofordness? ( I could not find it in my maps)?

Fritz

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Would anyone know if there were there any POW camps near Chester ?

Regards

Brett

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Graham Mark's book lists the nearest major camps as at Queen's Ferry, Leigh and Handforth, and other camps in Cheshire: Appleton, Cuddington, Frodsham, Hatherton, Knutsford, Leasowe and Thornton-le-Moors.

I don't know the area, and am a little puzzled about Appleton and Frodsham, which are listed under Cheshire but have Lancashire postal addresses, possibly reflecting the location of the local camp commander.

Doubtless there would have been smaller short-lived working camps. Some farming areas also had itinerant working parties helping with the harvest and so on.

Moonraker

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Thanks Moonraker, I know Frodsham quite well, its near Helsby Wirral, Must have been the old boundry ?

Does you book give any other information, exact locations ect?

regards

Brett

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Brett: there's nothing on the "other camps", but each "major camp" has its own section of several pages.

Moonraker

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  • 2 weeks later...
Graham Mark's book lists the nearest major camps as at Queen's Ferry, Leigh and Handforth, and other camps in Cheshire: Appleton, Cuddington, Frodsham, Hatherton, Knutsford, Leasowe and Thornton-le-Moors.

I don't know the area, and am a little puzzled about Appleton and Frodsham, which are listed under Cheshire but have Lancashire postal addresses, possibly reflecting the location of the local camp commander.

Doubtless there would have been smaller short-lived working camps. Some farming areas also had itinerant working parties helping with the harvest and so on.

Moonraker

There was also a camp at Bidston

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  • 5 months later...

Bringing this thread up to date; does anyone have an authorative list of POW camps in Britain - in my case specifically North East Wales/Cheshire border. I've seen a list on this forum, but have failed to find it today using the Search facility. Its the "smaller, short-lived working camps" which is of specific interest.

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I don't think you'll do any better than Graham Mark's book mentioned in my post 2, above, of June 17. This lists some 250 camps, many of which are those that interest you. I suspect that this is more comprehensive than any list that we members may have put together bit by bit.

Moonraker

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