POW camps

[staffsreg]

were there any pow camps in Staffordshire?
i have heard snippets that Trentham may have housed a few?
Regards,
Ivan.

[Doug Johnson]

Ivan,

From the published list of camps in the UK and Empire

Brocton

Burton on Trent (working camp under Brocton)

Ettingshall (working camp under Brocton)

Somerford Hall (Agric depot under Brockton)

Stone (agric Group att to Ashbourne Agric Depot under Brocton)

Uttoxeter (agric Group att to Ashbourne Agric Depot under Brocton)

Willington (agric Group att to Burton on Trent Agric Depot under Brocton)

Wrottesley (agric Group att to Ettingshall Agric Depot under Brocton)

Due to the difficulty in searching the document there may be some I have missed.

Trentham is not listed though it may be listed under one of the above names.

Doug

[staffsreg]

much obliged Doug!

would you know if there was any military presence eg Hospital based at Trentham?

Regards,

Ivan.

[Doug Johnson]

Ivan,

Although I was born in the Midlands I had no idea even where Trentham was until I just looked it up on Multimap. It is still possible that PoWs were there even if there was no actual camp. PoW camps were organised in levels. Brocton would be the top level and responsible for all PoWs in it's area. Under that would be work camps and agricultural depots etc. All administered from Brocton but all 'Camps' in that they had administration and organisation. Whilst PoWs would have gone back to a camp at night where practical, I doubt that all did. Some must have been accommodated overnight close to where they were working. However this overnight accommodation would have little in the way of facilities and possibly not even supply food if they could be fed where they were working. They would probably go back to a camp on Saturday for a bath, get their mail etc. and then go back to work on the Monday perhaps to a different place. I can not be sure of this as I do not know that much about the operation of camps in the UK but this is the practical way and much the way they operated in Germany.

Doug