POW Camp at Les Blanches Banques, Jersey

[John Beech]

Afternoon All

 

I have just been reading a BBC News Article from March 2017, concerning the above camp. This relates to the finding of photos taken of the camp by a Capt Bowers of the Royal Jersey Militia who was based there.There are several pictures of the camp and a Dr Heather Jones from the London School of Economics, claims one shows a perimeter fence with  'barbed wire on the inside... and then an electrified fence'. I presume this is based on the bottom photo in which the right hand post which appears to have something affixed to the top of the cross post supporting the fence. Other photos showing the perimeter fence, especially photo two, do not appear to support this, as none of the cross bars have anything attached to them. 
 

The fence in question appears to be similar to that described in 'A Long Slow Walk from the Station', about Brocton Camp which describes the perimeter fence as having a belt of barbed wire some six feet wide, whilst a line of plain wire fastened to white posts on the inside marked the point beyond which POW were not allowed to go .............

........... Marking the outer boundary of the barbed wire entanglement was a tall wire fence some ten feet high, with an overhang inward of three wires fixed to arms nailed to the high posts' 

 

The picture in the article appears to show this configuration with a line of posts visible on the inside ie camp side, and then a section of barbed wire. The outer fence shows inward facing posts on which is fixed the outer fence. The inward facing configuration presumable was to impede anyone trying to climb it.

 

I have seen other articles on camps referring to electric fences in use at UK POW camps but have always put this down to artistic licence or confusing a WW1 camp with a WW2 camp. Does anyone know whether electric fences were in use and, if so, any other camps where this occurred? 

 

Thanks

 

John