I am trying to clear up a detail for these 2 camps. I think that Camp 250 Thorpe Hall, Rudston was a satellite camp of Camp 83/250 Eden Camp at Malton. Does anyone know this (or not) for sure? Thank you Malcolm
Okay the referance for Thorpe Hall & Eden looks like it comes from the English Heritage Report. However, the FO Inspection Report for Eden Camp FO 939/163 a copy of which i have online FO 939/163 PoW Camp 83 Eden only gives a single Hostel for Eden as Sherburn in Elmet. Thorpe its self is NOT included within the FO Inspection Reports or the list of camps open as of 46 - that means by then it was closed as a camp - BUT it may have become a hostel. For reports the best bet would be trying to get hold of the ICRC Reports for Eden as well as Thorpe And / Or the War Diarys at Kew for both Eden and Thorpe
I have seen a photo of another hostel in Cheshire that was never a main transit, base or working camp proudly adorned with a sign showing the number of its parent working camp that was nearly 30 miles away. It is the result of these sort of local memories and shreds of evidence that makes it difficult for us to sort out today, especially with the fragmentary material in the archives on local camp administration. I do not think anyone has yet compiled a list of all hostels, and I will be surprised if anyone would be able to do so accurately.
Yep, although I suspect Pete Wood has a good list. As for me I have found the though Canmore in Scotland and their list of PoW Camps. As well as Coflein Wales. They will give the Name and location of all the PoW Camps Main and Hostels – HOWEVER: when it comes to Hostels they do not details which camp it belongs to. The UK FO & ICRC give the Names of the various hostels but NOT the location. I have been able to reconcile some of the Hostels to Main Camps in Scotland and Wales by matching the FO Name with the names and locations from Canmore & Coflein. In addition, I have also managed to reconcile the locations of some of the Hostels listed in the FO Inspection Reports in England where they have taken over AA sites and similar. In fact there was one near I live in Asfordby. It’s a Tiny village and the FO Inspection Record for Camp 94 lists “Asfordby” but not the location. It turns out that there was a small AA site. Some of these sites got stood down before VE day and the rest not long afterwards. Drop me your e-mail address and I will send you a unedited copy of the notes I have and the link to the map as you really need both to make sense of my research to date which I am doing as part of an MA in Photographer. Martin Richards Syston.images@gmail.com
Added in to Martin's tips above, a very large proportion of hostels I have come across were located in former searchlight, and especially light and heavy [LAA and HAA] anti aircraft sites. Many of these were abandoned in 1944 in the north as guns were moved south into gun belts to shoot down V1s. They were not reoccupied. The huts were often left as the pressure to re-site them disappeared with the D Day exodus. Most of those taken over were for Italian PoW Cooperators. So the learning point is, find out where the S/L and AA sites were in your area as they may be your short lived main or long lived hostel site. Try this for starters. Map of Heavy Anti-Aircraft gun sites in England, Scotland and Wales edit. spelling
Hi have just looked at the Map, I live just north of Leicester. The one just north of Leicester Labled Syston which is where I am originally from was actually in Barkby. There should also be another site called Queniborough for the munnition depot that is now the village of East Gosgote Also there should be one as Asfordby just to the West of Melton as it was a PoW Hostel. That gun was specifically sited to protect a Royal Navy big gun test range in Asfordby.
